Albert Frey (architect) - Legacy

Legacy

After some consideration, a shopping center at the corner of Sunrise Way and Ramon Road in Palm Springs that bore a Frey-designed façade was demolished and replaced with an entirely new center that incorporates architectural touches in Frey's style. Newly designed structures along Palm Canyon Drive are now being fitted with Frey-styled accents, including butterfly rooflines, glass walls, rock facings and exposed ceilings.

Frey's buildings contributed significantly to establishing Palm Springs as a progressive desert mecca for innovative modern architecture during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. He produced designs for the spectrum of architectural commissions, from bespoke custom homes to institutional and public buildings, most of which are still in use today. According to Frey, he preferred houses as a form of expression.

In comparison to his contemporary and fellow European transplant, Richard Neutra, Frey's designs are more integrated into the surrounding landscape and draw from the local surroundings for color and metaphor. In contrast to Neutra, Frey's designs are more commercial and less philosophically dogmatic, and hence more accessible. By embracing the American idiom while incorporating the modernist philosophy influenced by Le Corbusier, Frey produced a new regional vernacular.

A Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars was dedicated to Frey in 2010.