A perfect modernist design. The Albert Frey House in Palm Springs. Overview and walkthrough.

This house is not designed by John Lautner, but it shares many similarities with Lautner's work. Albert Frey designed it for himself to live in. Small and compact, but feeling very spacious, it's a masterpiece of integrating the landscape in the interior and increasing the feeling of space. Dedicated to Albert Frey and to preserve his legacy.

[@JourdannChrisstian]

I absolutely love love love your videos! Thank you for letting us inside all these exciting buildings and giving us so much knowledge!!!!

[@SuperJobbel]

Thank you very much for your lovely comment. Your reaction stimulates me to make more videos! More content will come up soon. I love making these videos and make the overview of the houses as complete and detailed as possible.

[@dennisrobinson4588]

I was inside this home in 1971, was amazed at the view and style of this home. This home allowed me to appreciate a modern home with a utilitarian aesthetic design. I still appreciate this home, always wanted to live here. Thanks for being it back.

[@SuperJobbel]

Greatthat you were inside the home back in 1971, when Albert Frey was still alive. Did you meet him? Great that you liked the video, giving you the feeling of being back in the house!

[@grantwatson9232]

Thanks Jop, that was the best video I have seen on the Frey house. A perfectly simple solution to meet the requirements of the occupier while respecting the environment. Well done M8. G

[@SuperJobbel]

Thanks for your comment Grant. Thanks that you call this the best overview of the Frey house. More videos about John Lautner and other architecture designs will come up soon. I'm preparing also a video about the Eames house.

[@grantwatson9232]

@@SuperJobbel Looking forward to that. Cheers G

[@JeanPierreVanderWeerd]

Agree by far the best explanation on the house. I’m only missing the pencil sharpener beneath the diningtable😊

[@johnmccadden7121]

Not just "interesting and beautiful" but unique and lovely. Thank you for showing this house. It is a gem!

[@SuperJobbel]

Yes it's an absolute gem! You're welcome! great that you like the video. Till the next episode! :)

[@kevmagill5163]

Just perfect. The idea of sleeping next to that cooling boulder would make me feel safe somehow. I appreciate the clever solutions and the compact, thoughtful dimensions. Thanks for sharing this intriguing little artistic desert dream home. ✌️

[@SuperJobbel]

"artistic desert dream house" is a very good way to describe this home. A boulder creates a feeling of shelter and comfort so I know what you mean: it's great to have a boulder next to your bed ..

[@Cre-Art]

Once again you delight us with an unusual house that is both simple and creative. I think access to the outdoors, and any pleasant views, are more important than filling every bit of space with objects. This gives you "breathing room", and a sense of peace. Very nice. Thank you.

[@SuperJobbel]

Thanks for your positive comment! Great to read that you liked the video. Yes, I like houses that have an interior based on the philosophy ''less is more'' ... indeed like you said more ''beathing space'' and ''sense of peace''. Till the next video! (apologies for only reacting after 7 days but there were so many reactions)

[@Cre-Art]

@@SuperJobbel It's good that there were a lot of reactions, and no need to apologize. Some channels never do, so it's not always expected. But it is always nice when someone does reply. :)

[@SuperJobbel]

@@Cre-Art I always try to respond! thanks for your comment :)

[@Eons90]

Watching from Palm Desert, CA. Your videos are always pleasure!!!

[@scarabeo500gt]

Center of the valley!

[@SuperJobbel]

Oh great! Not far from the actual location of the house. Great that you liked the video.

[@SenexCanadensis]

As always, great video about a fascinating house. Thanks Jop.

[@SuperJobbel]

You're welcome! great that you liked the video! Till the next episode.

[@oliverlondon5246]

This is the coolest house. I absolutely love it 🥰

[@garygibson133]

Thank you so much for producing these videos, I look forward to seeing each and every one of them! Your narration and hi lighting architectural features is absolutely wonderful.

[@SuperJobbel]

Thank you very much, your comment stimulates me to make more videos. Great that you like watching them. (apologies for my late reaction, but there were so many reactions that I only had time to respond 7 days later)

[@zoppotromp1958]

Thanks again for the great insights into this house. I believe a desert modernism series might be interesting as well.

[@SuperJobbel]

You're welcome! more desert modernist houses will come up soon.

[@MarioRossi-dc3nh]

I love John Lautner's architectures! The curves, the pendance, all ❤️

[@SuperJobbel]

Who not? Everybody must love his architecture! He's my personal favorite..

[@shardanette1]

Another great video. Would love to sit in this house for a day and see the light change off of those hills.

[@SuperJobbel]

Yes, Albert Frey searched for months to find the right location from where he could the sun from everywhere and all parts of the Valley. It's like sitting in a theatre and watching the landscape as a cinema.

[@clayton97330]

Just fabulous ... I'd love to spend time in this amazing home

[@SuperJobbel]

I would love to spend time there as well!

[@grimetone]

bespoke homes has so much more life to them. some day ill build the home of my dreams.

[@SuperJobbel]

Thank you! Yes I want to build a similar home for myself someday.

[@zak_7354]

Simple and beautiful; perfect in my eyes!

[@johnreynolds5407]

Marvelous presentation. I also particularly like the way the large rock seemingly acts as an anchor for the entire structure.

[@SuperJobbel]

Thanks for your comment. Great that you liked the video! Yes the rock is the central part of the construction. I love this house.

[@madamemarmot]

Jop, thank you for the video about this fabulous, beautiful, and innovative house. The space saving design is neat and effective, without sacrificing esthetics and style. As you said, it is small, but very gracious. The pool is especially nice. And the integrated boulder is awesome, but I'm not sure I would want to wake up next to it. Anyway, the house is a gem. In addition to John Lautner's designs, it reminds me of Neutra's Kaufmann Desert House, but in miniature.

[@SuperJobbel]

Yes this house is closer related to Neutra than to Lautner. I already made a video of the Kaufmann desert house. Did You see it? Great that you liked this video. I'm busy with a new video of the Eames House/ Case Study house nr.8

[@madamemarmot]

@@SuperJobbel That's very exciting that you are making a video about the Eames House, Case Study House 8. I would love to see it. Yes, I saw your video of the Kaufmann Desert House. It introduced me to Neutra's work. It is truly an awesome design. It is the clean minimalism of both the Kaufmann Desert House and Albert Frey's Second House that I particularly like.

[@maxfmfdm]

It holds up really well today. Mainly because it does so many things well. It holds up to modern houses that emphasize windows and openings. Yet it was built so long ago and it runs laps around them in other ways. I mean this is a real gem. I think for someone looking for a small house this would be the absolute top of the market beating everything new.

[@SuperJobbel]

Yes even after 50 years, it holds up well today. One the best small houses of all time.

[@johnmilovich2195]

How many times I almost ended-up in the backyard of this house when I was coming down from one of my hikes!

[@SuperJobbel]

Thanks to this video, you've now been inside! :)

[@reitsmaassociates]

Really enjoyed that Jop ! Cheers from Brisbane

[@SuperJobbel]

Thank you. Cheers from Amsterdam. Internet connects people from all over the world!

[@timmmahhhh]

As always, you put together amazing videos that clearly explain the details of a house. I absolutely love the organic architecture movement and how Frey addressed those here. I wish I got to see this video a few months ago as I was in Los Angeles in June, and the next time I go out I will definitely make a visit to Palm springs to visit the museum and this house. Though looking at the map I see it's a good distance east of LA. I guess I won't be taking mass transit there, ha! I did get to see Frank Lloyd Wright's Hollyhock and I was surprised how small it was compared to most of his houses in the Chicago area. While this doesn't match Wright's style, I think Frank would appreciate this house and its treatment of the environment and its integration of the natural elements. Having the house plan work with the terrain and integrating the boulder are incredible details! I love the detail of making the curtain color match the native flowers. It's unfortunate that wasn't copied in the edition, but this is something I think could be easily changed. And finally, I loved the blocks he used to create the carport and retaining wall. It looks more like a stone than a concrete block, though it could be some sort of composite. Perhaps it is a concrete ground smooth to express the aggregates. It is beautiful, whatever it is. And I absolutely love the placement of the pool, the decks around it are a little tight yet designing the pool to serve as an integral part of the environmental system is very clever. Thanks as always for the great video!

[@SuperJobbel]

Thank you for your lengthy comment and my apologies that I responded only after a few week but I had so many comment this time, that it took it almost a week to respond to all of them: so sorry for my late reaction..... Great that you liked the video. Yes this house is very different than the organic architecture by Wright and Lautner because it's clearly an example of the international style, yet I think they really could appreciate it! Because of the integration of the landscape. I love everything about the house, but the blocks of the carport &curtains are especially amazing. Unfortunate that the video wasn't published when you had the chance to visit the house! Maybe next time when you are in Palm Springs! Always great to read all positive comments and till the next video!!

[@ItsMistaDawg]

I've watched all your videos and rewatch my favorites constantly. Just came from your Chemosphere video and wow your enunciation has improved dramatically over 3 years! I recently got to tour FLW's Allen House in my school's town! Always looking forward to your videos :) Have you toured any John Lautner homes in person?

[@SuperJobbel]

Thank you very much for your lovely comment! Your reaction stimulates me to make more videos. Yes, I try to improve the quality of the videos every time. Improving drawings, images and also my english pronounciation. Great that you say it has improved over time, thanks. (I learned to speak English only after I turned 20, I'm now 38) To anwer you question: I visited the Sheats Goldstein House and the Wolff House myself. I saw the Harpel House and Chemostphere only from the outside. Also visited CaseStudy 22 and Fallingwater. I'm currently busy with making a video of the Eames House, which i also visited. This video will be uploaded next week. Honestly I never researched the Allen House but I shall check it out! Cheers :)

[@tonebenderx]

I get a mobile home / Airstream vibe from this place.

[@SuperJobbel]

Yeah, I know what you mean, because it's so small and compact. Especially the kitchen and bathroom look like a mobile home, that said: it's the most beautiful mobile home in the world!

[@Brian-os9qj]

Very interesting, nice presentation

[@SuperJobbel]

Thanks for your comment. Great that you liked the video! :)

[@ahonaotokodesu7719]

Thank you for another awesome output. and a stunning house at that. But one small thing that makes me worried about this house is there seems no insulation on the roof, which I fear makes a scorching hell of a house in summer, even considering the natural ventilation designed.

[@SuperJobbel]

There is only one layer of vinyl ceiling under the aluminium roof. So yes I think it can be very hot when the sun is burning. However, nowadays there's good airco in the house.

[@ghostbeetle2950]

I was just about to compose a comment about the similarities with Lautner's designs... and then - in the immortal words of Meatloaf - "you took the words right out of my mouth!" Actually, let me take that even further: "I was just about to say I love you [and your videos], looove you!" ;) Thanks, Jop!

[@SuperJobbel]

hahaha What a coinscedence!! I took the words out of your mouth! Never knew a meatloaf song would show up in the comments. Thank you for your funny reaction! :)

[@Ssg-xi3vi]

Would love to see you do a video on the levy residence in Malibu. Love your channel btw

[@SuperJobbel]

Thank you! Great to read that you like my channel. I'm busy with making a video about the Levy house but its very difficult because only a handful of photos about the Levy House do exist. The owner doesn't allow any pictures to be taken and doesn't allow any visitors: so information about the house is very limited. I hope I will succeed in making a complete video about the house some day. .

[@BillWoodillustrator]

I wonder if Albert ever hit his head on the boulder getting out of bed in the mornings? my mischievous mind likes to think so.😊 I grew up in a house very much like this home in country South Australia- only minus the pool and the boulder. Still gave it today and rent it out. It’s very well sought after as it’s so different.

[@SuperJobbel]

Hahaha! Hitting his head on a boulder, is guess it didn't happen because there is some space between the bed and the boulder. Great that you grew up in a house like this. Australia is a good country for transparent houses like this, I can imagine this house being located in the Australian desert/outback. In the Netherlands it would be much to cold and wet for this kind of home.

[@jayski9410]

You can tell this was a very personal design for Frey himself. Had other people been involved you can bet he'd be hearing things like it's too small, it needs at least 3 bedrooms, it needs more entertaining space. Or it's just not marketable. It's nice to ignore the mainstream once and a while in order to just satisfy yourself.

[@SuperJobbel]

Yes this is Frey's most personal design. he had complete creative freedom. like a painter making a painting. Creating unique architecture.

[@robs5688]

Beautiful video, as always. I wouldn't like the many sliding doors because that house sits in the middle of rattlesnake country. I would've preferred large sliding windows, but the bottom four feet need to remain solidly closed. Go to sleep with sliding doors open and you will wake up with a rattlesnake under the bed(sheets), sooner rather than later.

[@SuperJobbel]

Yes some other viewers also commented about Rattlesnakes.... I dont know if rattlesnakes come so close to human areas... many houses in Palm Springs have those sliding windows. So I dont if it's a problem there. Great to read that you liked the video though!

[@radioandroid-bx5un]

Dude, Frey HAD air conditioning even in Frey House I...

[@SuperJobbel]

I didn't say there was no air conditioning in the house, I said that passive ventilation and cross ventilation were common techniques in house before air conditioning was invented. In the Frey houses he both used air conditioning combination with passive and cross ventilation. I do admit that it sounds like I'm saying that the house has no AC, but that is not what I intended..

[@erik_1402]

❤

[@carycary3822]

Air conditioning existed in 1964, so its absence in his house suggests Frey was at peace with the local climate, including the intense summer heat, accepting rather than fighting it, letting the cross-ventilation just blunt it. Sleeping with the sliders open, as he might have, also suggests that he was at peace with the local fauna. Lizards, snakes, coyotes, etcetera. Apparently somewhat of a naturist and a yoga practitioner, he, it seems, was very laid back. And vigorous. He lived a long life.

[@robs5688]

How does one become "at peace" with a rattlesnake under the bed, or suddenly slithering around your ankles when you're eating dinner? Anyone who thinks I'm exaggerating this has never lived in the desert southwest.

[@carycary3822]

@@robs5688 Very true. Somehow he eluded all the possible threats we imagine and went on to live a long and, hopefully, contented life there. 🥂

[@SuperJobbel]

Okay haha! Yes I never lived in the desert, so I didn't realised that rattlesnakes could be a problem. I dont know how many rattlesnakes there are in Palm Springs and if they come close to residential areas.... But interesting point..

[@SuperJobbel]

Albert Frey became 95 years old and lived in the house from 1964 till 1998. So I dont think he had many problems with living there....

[@georgespalding7640]

I still don't understand Mr. Frey building this house in this place with stairs like this when he was already in his 60s when the house was built. he must've had strong legs and good knees to go up and down those stairs frequently.

[@SuperJobbel]

Yes he even went up the stairs went he was 93 he must have been superfit.

[@fernknowsbeststudios7964]

Does that mountain rock inside the house radiate a lot of heat indoors during the summer time?😮

[@SuperJobbel]

No, I think it cools the house more because it provides a lot of shadow.

[@RyanJohnsonD]

Another excellent video! @3:50 do you know if the concrete at the back of the foundation has eroded due to moisture against the earth? Please take it one step further and do a 3D video on how to build one: weld, set foundation, materials. etc.

[@SuperJobbel]

No the back of the foundation has not eroded due to moisture against earth because the ground is so dry: just sand and rocks. In more humid grounds this house would be more difficult to realise. Great that you liked the video. I will always try to answer every question and respond to comments, but this time there were so many comments that I only could respond to your reaction after 6 days! So my apologies for my late reaction....

[@RyanJohnsonD]

@@SuperJobbel Thanks for answering. It would be great if you made complimentary video for all the DIY home owners buying land in Joshua Tree, etc, so we could build it ourselves with modern materials, welders, boulder cutters, etc

[@tigerphid9677]

Nice house, but those stairs would be pretty daunting for an older person.

[@SuperJobbel]

Yes, that's true, but believe this or not: Albert Frey lived in this house till he was 93 years old. Even at that old age, he climbed the stairs on a daily base!

[@billwrinkle9662]

So I'm curious: Are you moving beyond Lautner on this channel? This house was okay, but had very little (nothing?) to do with Lautner. Obviously, you can't feature Lautner houses forever, and going with devotees of Corbusier is an obvious next step. But I am just curious about what you have planned going forward. (If you're taking suggestions, the Case Study Houses would be a logical next step.)

[@SuperJobbel]

Hey Bill, I'm done with almost all videos about John Lautner houses, but still there some brand new videos to come. (the Segel house is coming). And also I want to remake some of the older John Lautner videos because the quality was not good enough. So my Lautner saga is still not completed yet....... After that I want to make a serie of videos about the most important Frank Lloyd Wright houses. Simulatanously I want to make a serie of videos about ''Internation Style'' architects like Neutra and the Case Study Houses. This video falls in that later category. I previously made two videos about CSH designs: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pqSUqJSoqcmafa8 kzbin.info/www/bejne/gZnQamafib93mpI I also made a few videos about Wright and Neutra. So stay tuned! and till the next video!

[@mk1gti]

@@SuperJobbel Can't wait to see more, these are always a bright point of my day to see another one of your videos!

[@user-px4qo2of1r]

Greay work, Jop!

[@SuperJobbel]

Thank you!

[@scarabeo500gt]

Nice until another Earthquake shakes along. I would be nerves there...

[@SuperJobbel]

Okay I didn't knew there were earthquakes there.... As far as I know the house was never damaged by any earthquake..

[@scarabeo500gt]

@@SuperJobbel Oh yes, Been trough a lot of Quakes here with some being very scary!

[@illbeback2YT]

Ja, mooi. Amerikaanse droom. Het klimaat laat eenvoudig bouwen toe. Geen ingewikkelde bouwfysische knelpunten om op te lossen. Ik ben ook liefhebber van de Ranchhouses van Clif May. Maar die ken je vast al...

[@SuperJobbel]

Ja Cliff May kende ik al wel, maar ik had me nog niet heel erg in zijn huizen verdiept. Ik ga nog iets beter zijn huizen bestuderen. Het klopt inderdaad dat je in warme landen veel eenvoudiger een huis kan bouwen, veel geschikter voor uitdagende architectuur. Hier een Nederland zou een als dit veel moeilijker zijn, ook veel meer veiligheids regels. Ik ben wel benieuwd hoe een vergelijkbaar huis eruit zou zien als het in Nederland zou staan.

[@youtubecarspottersguide1]

very cool shows one does not need a 5000sf desert home, now if the prices of palm springs was more affordable me id pay $550k for a house in PS not $1,5000,000 but PS has the best mcm

[@SuperJobbel]

Palm Springs indeed has the best modernist designs. This house proofs a great house doesn't have to be big.

[@gregkarkowsky967]

Why is smaller living not popular? You don't need much more than this.

[@SuperJobbel]

True

[@jamesdellaneve9005]

I am surprised by the wall to wall carpeting. I wonder if that was original.

[@SuperJobbel]

Yes, everything about the house is still original.

[@vlachyna]

Problem je, ze u nás si nemůžeš postavit, co chceš…. Stát ti to nepovolí… potřebuješ splňovat stupidní parametry…. Tohle by ti u nás nikdy nikdo nepovolil….

[@timmmahhhh]

That's probably true here on this site now as well. I'm looking at that roof and it appears that it is strictly a single piece of corrugated metal without any insulation. There's no way he would be able to get away with that today in California or anywhere else in the US. Such an issue can be overcome with the right detailing though. One common detail I see in European houses you can't do in US houses are stairs taller than 30 in or 77 cm. without guard rails

[@SuperJobbel]

Yes both in Europe and the US there are building restrictions, but the restrictions are different.