Architecture

Desert Palisades is conceived as a living continuation of Palm Springs’ modernist legacy — honoring midcentury principles while allowing for contemporary interpretation.

The community was established with a clear architectural intent: to preserve the spirit of desert modernism while creating space for thoughtful evolution.

“A progressive vision that preserves the history of Palm Springs”

Desert Palisades is the only residential community in the world guided exclusively by midcentury modernist principles. Its architectural guidelines are designed not as restrictions, but as a framework — encouraging clarity, restraint, and a meaningful relationship between structure and landscape.

Residents are invited to collaborate with architects of their choosing, using the site as a considered canvas for modern design that responds to light, climate, and terrain. The result is a collection of homes that are contemporary, sustainable, and visually coherent, while remaining individually expressive.

The community includes original works by respected modernist figures such as Al Beadle, as well as the final residential projects by Ray Kappe and Donald Wexler.

Alongside these legacy residences, Desert Palisades continues to attract a new generation of architects whose work reflects the same commitment to modernist values. A selection of architects currently working within the community is listed below and recommended for future commissions.

STUDIO AR&D

Desert Palisades’ exquisite guardhouse, designed by Studio AR&D Architects was the recent recipient of the American Institute of Architects’ prestigious Merit Award for Architecture. Studio AR&D has also designed several homes in the community, including the stunning Lot 50 home.

WOODS & DANGARAN

Brett Woods and Joseph Dangaran founded the Los Angeles-based studio that is behind the singular, iconoclastic, and award-winning Woods & Dangaran Desert Palisades Home, as featured in Wallpaper magazine, Architectural Digest, and many, many more.

JILL LEWIS

Jill Lewis is an award-winning architect with two stunning homes on lots 6 and 7 at Desert Palisades. Already a star in Southern California - Lewis has practiced architecture in Europe, Asia, and South America.

JORGE GRACIA

Jorge Gracia is a Mexican architect, and the recipient of multiple awards and recognitions, both at a national and international level. His ambitious and daring design for the Lot 64 Home has rendered many speechless and encouraged others to reach out to his studio.