The Palm Springs Preservation Foundation will be the lead sponsor for the upcoming exhibition "Hugh Kaptur: Organic Desert Architecture" that will open Feb. 2 at the Palm Springs Art Museum's Architecture and Design Center.
In their quarterly newsletter, PSPF also noted that it will host a cocktail reception at the Paul and Kay Selzer Residence, which was designed by Kaptur and completed in 1988, to celebrate the release of their book The Modern Architecture of Hugh Michael Kaptur, written by PSPF board member Steven Keylon. The newsletter adds that Kaptur has said, "I consider the Selzer House to be the best house that I've ever designed." (Paul Selzer was an environmental attorney, and Kay met Kaptur when they both served on the Palm Springs Planning Commission.)
Of particular interest to architecture aficionados may also be the fact that this one-of-a-kind residence just came on the market for $2,295,000. The listing notes that the home's "twin pyramids create a sense of structure that is echoed on the inside, offering tremendous interior spaces. Each pyramid has functional skylights that allow air to vortex up through the house."
The twin pyramid-shaped rooflines and three sculptural chimneys distinguish the striking exterior of the Paul and Kay Selzer Residence.
The Selzers had asked Kaptur to design a Mediterranean-style French Provincial home, so they were more than a little surprised when Kaptur presented them with a model Kay described as "Mexican Modern." The twin pyramid-shaped rooflines and three sculptural chimneys distinguish the striking exterior of the home. A third, smaller, open-air pyramid hovers over the entry courtyard.
The guest casita features a large living area and one bathroom. It could also be used as a pool house.
The half-acre property comprises almost 4,500-square-feet of living space in four bedrooms and five bathrooms, including a separate guest casita/pool house that was built several years after the main residence. Other unique features include vaulted, wood-clad ceilings; three kivi-style fireplaces; a sunken living room; beautiful, smooth stucco walls with architectural niches; a large, open kitchen with an island and prep sink; a covered outdoor living area; a pool, with its own sculpted pyramid; and French doors that open to panoramic views of the San Jacinto Mountains.
The property is located in the quiet, gated community of Parc Andreas in South Palm Springs.
38727 Maracaibo Circle West
For more information, contact Sara Swanson / Alex Dethier, The Paul Kaplan Group, Inc., [email protected], (760) 399-0706, pshomes.com/selzer
The open, airy kitchen is one of many rooms in the home that has a vaulted ceiling clad in rough sawn wood planks.
One of three kivi-style fireplaces is in the sunken living room.
Located within one of the pyramids, the scale and volume of the master bedroom is truly unique.
