Midcentury Modern masters and mavens, we don't have to remind you what's happening April 10 through 19 in Phoenix. For everyone else, we'll give you a hand: It's Modern Phoenix Week.
With 26 speakers and seven event locations, the weeklong architecture and design bonanza is going to be something every Haver lover and Wright fan won't want to miss.
See also: Inside Misty Guerriero's Internationally Styled Ralph Haver Home in Phoenix
Modern Phoenix founder Alison Kings says, while you always want to preserve your midcentury home's integrity, "Let's face it, these homes do need some modern updating."
Throughout the week, you'll find everything you need to inspire that updating from tours to lectures, workshops to an all-day marketplace dedicated to everything midcentury modern. So grab your planners and check out our guide to Modern Phoenix Week.
Modern Phoenix Week 2015 kicks off Friday, April 10, with a party at The Strip, 4700 North 12th Street, where designer Bill Tonnesen will host a cocktail hour while giving 10-minute talks on everything from drawing on concrete to the business side of renovation. Tickets for the sold-out Modern Phoenix Home Tour will be raffled off. E-mail [email protected] to reserve a free spot.
Kirk Brown and Jill Wiltse will lead a talk at the Phoenix Art Museum, 1625 North Central Avenue, called Pattern Play: The Contemporary Designs of Jacqueline Groag, looking at the designer's spirited textiles from postwar era Great Britain, from 3 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 11. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at phxart.org.
On Sunday, April 12, Ace Bailey leads the Ultimate Tour of the Hotel Valley Ho from 1 to 3 p.m. to explore the history-packed Valley landmark. The first tour has sold out already, but King says there are still some spots available for the second tour on Saturday, April 18.
Dan Clevenger of Westlake Reed Leskosky, Jason Boyer of Gensler, Nick Tsontakis of Tsontakis Architects, and Melissa M. Farling of HDR, Inc. will be featured during the fast-paced SMoCA Architecture Slide Slam at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 14. The event is free and will take place at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts' Stage 2 Theater, 7380 East Second Street.
Prepare to be pumped about your HOA after the Design Within Reach Mixer on Wednesday, April 15. Representatives from HOAs around the Valley, including Regency on Central and The Olympus, will cover ways HOAs can work together to help restore communities. Drinks start flowing at 6:30 p.m., and the talks go from 7 to 8:30 at 4821 North Scottsdale Road in Scottsdale. For more information, call 480-970-8800.
The Arizona Storytellers series gets modern with Stories of Phoenix Design on Thursday, April 16, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, Stage 2. Listen to people including Dawn Brown of RSP Architecture, Austin King of Rafter House, and Jason Silverman of Taliesin West spin yarns about the Valley's rich architecture history (and maybe some times when it didn't seem so rich). Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at tickets.azcentral.com.
Unfortunately, the guided tours of Frank Lloyd Wright's David and Gladys Wright House are all booked on Friday, April 17, but you can schedule a tour on a different day at davidwrighthouse.org.
Throughout the day on Saturday, April 18, the Modern Marketplace takes over the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts as workshops, tours, lectures, and more continue there and in other parts of the city.
The day starts out at 9 a.m. with a tour of Paolo Soleri's 1955 Cosanti complex at 6433 Doubletree Road in Paradise Valley. Soleri's special assistant Roger Tomalty will lead the tour through the house Soleri built for himself but never occupied. Tickets are $15 with an RSVP sent to [email protected] or by calling 480-206-8228.
The Modern Marketplace is open from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. Peruse pop-up shops featuring everything from interior design and vintage fashion to home renovations and meet the professionals behind these products and services.
At 11 a.m., Donna Reiner and John Jacquemart will lead a free, small workshop on using local resources like the Modern Phoenix archives and online databases to research mid-century homes and neighborhoods. Meet on the mezzanine above the atrium in the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.
Ralph Haver fans won't want to miss the "What Would Ralph Haver Do?" panel at 12:30 p.m., which King says is one of the events to which she is most looking forward. She says she hopes the panel "gets Haver homeowners to start communicating," as a stepping stone toward having Haver homes designated as historic.
The panel will feature King herself, who plans to share "the good, bad, and the ugly of home modifications over time," architect and Haver homeowner Kevin Callahan AIA, and City of Scottsdale Preservation Officer Steve Venker. It will cover preservation philosophies and some design solutions while focusing mainly on Haver's Town and Country homes. RSVP for this free event to [email protected].
Get a second chance to tour the Hotel Valley Ho at 1 p.m. Tickets are $19.56 and can be purchased by calling 480-499-8587. But hurry back to the SMoCA Lounge for No Festival Required's presentation of Journeyman Architect: The Life and Work of Donald Wexler, looking at the man who brought the use of steel and prefabrication to the forefront of commercial and residential construction. Tickets are $7 and can be purchased by calling 480-874-4666 or at the SMoCA front desk.
For those visiting the Modern Marketplace, the door prize drawing will take place at 5 p.m. but you must be present to win "original and locally-crafted design."
Saturday, April 18, will close out with Charles Phoenix and his comedy retro slide show performance. The first show at 5:30 p.m. has sold out, but as of this writing tickets are still available for the second show at 8:30. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased through the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts box office.
Finally, Modern Phoenix Week ends with the Modern Phoenix Home Tour on Sunday, April 19, which has sold out.
For an entire list of events, more information, and to keep an eye on any other events that may be added, visit modernphoenix.net/hometour.
