The Desert Sun Spotlights Architect Maria Song and Affordable Housing at Modernism Week
This rendering demonstrates what single-story buildings will look like at The Monarch Apartment Homes, which will include 54 affordable housing units. The Monarch Apartment Homes is a planned 54-unit affordable housing development at the southeast corner of North Indian Canyon Drive and San Rafael Drive. Photo: Interactive Design Corporation
(Palm Springs, CA) - CHOC is honored to be featured in The Desert Sun, a Gannett company and Coachella Valley’s news leader and newspaper of record. The Monarch Apartment Homes’ architect Maria Song was featured in a front page story in the Monday, February 15th issue, spotlighting her involvement in Modernism Week, in collaboration with the Palm Springs Architectural Alliance.
As per Desert Sun journalist Erin Rode’s headline, “this year’s virtual Modernism Week includes a discussion on affordable housing,” which includes Ms. Song’s Interactive Design Corporation designs for CHOC’s Monarch affordable housing development, as well her work on a new DAP Health (Desert AIDS Project) development.
Speaking with Ms. Rode, Modernism Week Executive Director Lisa Vossler Smith (said) “that mid-century modern architecture was often considered affordable housing, and the need for things like efficient space and reliable materials was as important then as it is now. The underlying principles about affordable housing and its importance in a community are not new issues, and they’re ones that Palm Springs has addressed since it provided affordable options back in the 40s and 50s.”
Palm Springs Architectural Alliance Co-Founder Debra Hovel also made some excellent points, stating that PSAA’s Fast Forward 2 program for Modernism Week (in which Ms. Song and The Monarch are featured) showcases “how affordable housing can fit into existing neighborhoods.”
Related Story: CHOC Monarch Apartment Homes Architect at Modernism Week
“People in Palm Springs and many communities feel like they don’t want affordable housing and moderate-income housing in their neighborhoods, it is a lot of ‘not in my backyard’ issues. We wanted to educate our community on the fact that well-designed moderate-income and affordable housing could be integrated into existing residential and downtown areas,” said Hovel.
Hovel’s PSAA Co-Founder Dick Burkett expressed similar, powerful sentiments, saying “there’s a myth that affordable housing is not going to be good architecture, but something really substandard, something that is not only not interesting but also very institutional looking. We wanted to show that just because it is affordable housing doesn’t mean that it can’t have a high standard of architectural excellence.”
Ms. Song also detailed how she approached designing The Monarch, including using “sloped overhangs, different accent colors on wall surfaces and balconies to break up the building and match the surrounding mid-century modern design.” Ms. Song also noting that “it is ‘wonderful’ that affordable housing was included among the ‘sophisticated style, architecture, and design’ topics of Modernism Week,” but also stressing “that the challenges of designing affordable housing require the same or even more qualifications than designing other types of housing.”
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CHOC remains supremely proud of Maria Song’s commitment to our Palm Springs affordable housing development, as well as her bold advocacy for economically integrated and beautifully-designed affordable housing in every community. We also extend our sincere thanks to The Desert Sun, Modernism Week, The Palm Springs Architectural Alliance, The City of Palm Springs and its residents.
The Fast Forward Part 2 program and other virtual Modernism Week programs are available to purchase and watch online through February 28 at www.modernismweek.com.