360modern is a community of modernists including architects, Modern furniture and art experts, non-profits, state historical organizations, county historical groups, and contractors. Today, we’re beginning our showcase of the people and businesses that make up the Palm Springs Modern community.
We had the wonderful opportunity to have Troy Kudlac of Palm Springs based KUD Properties answer questions for us about KUD Properties’ fabulous Desert Eichler project in Palm Springs.
Briefly introduce KUD Properties.
From our website:
Since 2004, Troy Kudlac has been involved in multiple facets of real estate from brokerage, commercial real estate, investments, renovations, construction, and design work. KUD Properties was the product of this experience and melts residential and commercial real estate sales/leasing with the creative manipulation and building of architecturally significant and mid-century real estate.
Based in Palm Springs, California, the hotbed for all that is mid century, KUD Properties uses its knowledge, creativity, and determination to impress upon its clients that anything is possible with diligence and the right frame of mind. KUD Properties offers a unique perspective for home owners and buyers of Coachella Valley Real Estate. Using it’s extensive experience in the implementation, design and remodeling of significant architecture, the KUD team can provide unparalleled advice and strategy to its clients. From guiding buyers with potential construction costs to advising sellers with on the ground market knowledge.”
Recently, KUD Properties has completed multiple projects from William Krisel, Donald Wexler, William Cody, and E. Stewart Williams; all well noted and celebrated architects from the mid century movement. Each sale or remodel takes on its own experience and process of “re-living” the home from the architect’s point of view. The challenge is how it can be influenced to foster new technology and design while enhancing the original intent. The projects vary from a “period” renovation to a modernization of technology and systems; each its own individual masterpiece. Some homes require a furniture and layout facelift to create a better environment to sell your home. As developer of the exclusive Desert Eichler homes, KUD Properties is bringing original Eichler homes with updated plans for modern day living for the first time in Palm Springs.
How does Mid-Century design influence the homes you build now?
Tremendously! My wife and I fell in love with Mid Century architecture about seven years ago. The real estate market had been decimated and opportunities were plentiful, especially in some of the now sought after neighborhoods in Palm Springs. We’ve taken our knowledge and experiences in these original, classically designed and architecturally significant homes and directed it into our own homes. Specifically, the Desert Eichlers are based off original plans, with modern day upgrades and slight changes to modernize the homes to today’s lifestyle. Our new Joshua Tree Modern project is an offshoot from here, utilizing clean lines and view corridors, bringing the outside in as much as possible in order to experience the outside more than the inside.
How did the idea of the Desert Eichlers come about?
Research, brainstorming and relationships. We saw the hot-recovery market of 2011 and the ability to buy low and sell high as a thing of the past. We quickly knew we wanted to build, but not just any track home builder, but something significant and earth shattering. My wife and I fell in love with the Eichlers in Orange, Granada Hills, and Thousand Oaks. I posed the question to my wife, “Why can’t we build new Eichlers in Palm Springs, Eichler never built there and they sell like crazy in the Bay Area…” Not long after this, Modernism Week was showing the film “People in Glass Houses – The Legacy of Joseph Eichler” by Monique Lombardelli. Monique came on stage after the movie and spoke from her heart the desire to see more Eichlers built and that she was in the process of licensing the plans. She and I started a relationship, talked and talked a lot, and worked out the details. Without her inspiration and leg work to get the rights to the plans this would not have been possible.
Were there any challenges in recreating Joseph Eichler’s plans with today’s building standards?
Yes, plenty, and they still evolve on each house as we try to get better at building them. We try to look through the lens of Joseph himself when we consider all changes as well as building processes. Eichler was big on process and maximizing it to achieve the quickest build time and delivery to customers. We have achieved some successes here but continue to be challenged in certain areas. For example, the roof cannot be built as simply as it was back in the day, California energy code, also know as Title 24 will not allow you to put T&G down and then roof right over it. We had to come up with a low profile solution in order to keep the integrity of the architecture in tact. We have a multi-layer insulation system that achieves higher than code requires which is important in sunny and hot Palm Springs. Keeping the original number of windows in the homes has also been a challenge with Title 24 codes although I’d like to think that our team has done a really good job with this issue.
What are your favorite elements of the Desert Eichler homes?
By far it’s the atrium, I love sitting in the living room, looking to the outside which is actually inside. Shadows are created throughout the homes each day and can’t be compared to any other living environment. The home really does live and breath and change on a daily basis – its a true joy to spend time inside them, they make you feel better. As our first Desert Eichler buyers would say….”Thank you Troy, you brought our happy back…”
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