Students experience architectural artistry at Palm Springs’ immersive ‘Shag House’

The “Shag House,” an exquisitely renovated midcentury modern Alexander home located in the Little Beverly Hills neighborhood, opened its 10-foot-tall lime green doors to more than 4,500 visitors over the past 11 days during Modernism Week. But on Sunday, four very special guests were welcomed into a home that its owner calls part-home, part-immersive art experience. 

Four students, three from St. Theresa Catholic School and one from Raymond Cree Middle School, along with their parents, guardians, and teacher, toured the house thanks to a generous donation of tickets from Shag House neighbors. The students participated in this year’s Building Educational Architectural Models program (or BEAM).

The program’s curriculum, taught by volunteers from the Palm Springs Modern Committee (PS ModCom), educates local art students about mid-century architecture and design and culminates in the students designing and building their own mid-century modern home or painting a midcentury building.

The 1958 home, designed by Dan Palmer and William Krisel for the Alexander Construction Company, was purchased by Brandon McBurney in 2019 and designed by the artist Josh Agle, or Shag. Agle would create art pieces out of his creative world, and architects, engineers, and craftspeople would get to work bringing his art to life.

McBurney envisions the home being made available for fundraising for charitable events.

David Hyams, who lives next door to the Shag House, bought a half dozen tickets for an afternoon tour, intending to donate them to local schools. He told his neighbor Brian Ramos about the idea, and Ramos matched the ticket donation. 

“The idea came about really organically,” said Hyams, who, along with his wife, Dr. Botagoz Hyams, is a docent for the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation. “We need to do better to get access [to these homes] to the greater community.”

Hyams said he was inspired by McBurney’s goal of using the home as a force for good.

When Hyams and Ramos told McBurney about the idea, he said he would be there to greet the students personally. “That’s just the kind of neighborhood we live in,” Ramos said. 

Last year, the three seventh-graders from St. Theresa’s built architectural models of midcentury modern homes for a sixth-grade project. This year, they each painted an Albert Frey-designed building, working in a different medium and exploring new angles.

Valentina Villeseca chose Frey House I with its second-story futuristic turret because “It was so much more interesting than all the others.”

Alexi Rodales decided against picking a home. Instead, she produced a painting of the Palm Springs Visitor Center, formerly the Tramway Gas Station, because “Everyone else was doing buildings, and I wanted to do the station,” she said. 

Last year, two of the students had a connection to the models they built for the BEAM program. In the weeks-long design and construction process, they were forced to look closer and notice details about buildings they pass by daily. 

Rodales built a model of St. Theresa Church, the church on her school’s campus, a challenging concrete structure with curving walls designed by William F. Cody.

Lauren Lyons picked an Alexander house to model, she said because she lives in an Alexander house. She also liked picking out the tiny items from the craft store to complete the model.

During the Shag House tour, the art students got to see floor-to-ceiling murals by the artist Shag depicting what would become the backyard of the home and connect how the 2D image inspired real-life 3D space.

The students each had their favorite room, whether it was the striking orange cat bedroom or the room with the huge world map mural.

Ashley Bray, an art teacher at Raymond Cree, said the students were zooming in on details like the hidden shower drain, outdoor heaters, and pool lounge chairs.

Ramos said the home is a perfect model for the students because “It blends art, architecture, and design.”

When buying the tickets for the students, Ramos said he thought back to William Krisel, one of the architects of the original Shag House building. Krisel is credited with bringing “modernism to the masses” by architectural critics and historians.

“How do you make modernism accessible when ticket prices can be hundreds of dollars?” asked Ramos. “How do you open things up for people who might not otherwise be able to afford it?” 

He said he hoped the experience would inspire the students in whatever they pursue for years to come.

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