Residenza Unifamiliare A Whitewater

Hidden in Snow Creek village, just seven miles from downtown Palm Springs, stands a mid-century house bearing the unmistakable stylistic motifs of the legendary architect John Lautner: a swooping butterfly roof, angular, non-rectilinear exteriors, a hybrid warm-cool materiality of stone, glass, brick, and wood, a radical balance and blend of tradition with Modernist innovation.

Built in 1958, the home is an echo of John Lautner’s famous 1952 Hollywood Hills design for musician Ted Bergren - the Bergren Residence. Although strikingly similar, there is no record of whether the unknown builder had access to Lautner’s original plans, his blessing, or simply had to work from detailed photographs to reverse engineer the design. Whatever the truth may be, historians Tycho Saariste and Jan-Richard Kikkert dub this desert echo the ’’pirated house’’ in their definitive Lautner A-Z: An Exploration of the Complete Built Work (2019). They believe it captures and preserves the spirit of Lautner’s intent better than the original.

Lautner’s signature integration of his built environments with their surrounding landscapes resonates here on 1.9-acre lot facing northward toward the Coachella Valley. The Pirate Lautner’s southern vista opens onto the rugged beauty of Mt. San Jacinto. The houses’ interior visual language includes a floor-to-ceiling mountain-facing glass wall and prominent clerestory windows dissolving hard boundaries between inside and outside, blurring the distinction between structure and setting - an effect reinforced by rough stone flooring and a sunken interior garden area along the west-facing wall with idiosyncratic windows punctuating the wall. The home provides a dynamic, open-plan spatiality, with a tranquil energy that flows under an inverted boat-hull wood ceiling from the raised living-room through the open kitchen to the library beyond. With two bedrooms and a classic pink bath, the home is a calm, enchanting window into a bygone era.

The Pirate Lautner also has two detached garages: a 2-car near the home, as well as a large 4-car garage further away. The four-car would be an ideal location for a studio or as an ADU conversion with room to still have a studio or garage space. There is nothing quite like this home - visit and you will see.