Architect-buyer of 'Wave House' details how he will restore unique mid-century property to original splendor

Sale of a historic mid-century modern architectural jewel with a one-of-a-kind roller coaster roof in Palm Desert will soon enter escrow and the potential new owner has been busy studying its history while developing restoration plans.

“We’re every bit as excited and committed as we were” at auction, said Gilber Stayner, a Los Angeles-based architect. Stayner and his son – his architectural partner – outbid four others with his $360,000 offer when the “Wave House” was auctioned in February, during Modernism Week.

“Our goal is to have it look like, or very, very close to, what it did when Miles C. Bates drove up to it for the first time,” Stayner said.

Because the property was owned by the city’s former Redevelopment Agency, the sale price required approval by the California Department of Finance.

The city received a letter from the state on May 15 that allows the sale to go forward, said Cora Gaugush, capital improvements project technician for the city.

Details of the purchase agreement are currently being worked out, and it should be in escrow soon, Stayner said Thursday.

The house, at 73-697 Santa Rosa Way, was designed and built by mid-century modern architect Walter S. White for Bates, an artist, in the mid-1950s.

Its one-of-a-kind, patented roof is made of wooden dowels with bi-concave intermediate elements and curves with the mountains behind the house, earning it the nickname “Wave House.”

“It was designed to appear as though the roof was levitating over the house,” Stayner said.

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AUCTION:Father-son architects outbid others on historic Palm Desert home; vow to save the 'Wave'

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But long before it was purchased by the city, the 800-square-foot, one-bedroom house underwent some renovations, including room additions which obstruct the view of the roof from the street and a triplex behind the house.

The additions will all be coming down, Stayner said.

Stayner has spent the past several months studying the history of the house and looking at archived blueprints and floorplans.

“We have been putting a lot of time into the design,” Gilbert Stayner said. “We want the community and the city to be pleased with the results.”

The outside will be easier to restore to its original look than the interior, he said, where the freestanding fireplace has been replaced with a ceiling fan, the kitchen extended and windows and glass walls removed and filled in.

Two bedrooms are among the additions.

“We are going to make it as true as possible” to the original design, Stayner said. “Ideally, everyone will be happy when we’re done.”

The house sits on less than an acre, which will be desert landscaped, he said.

Considered an architectural genius and one who was ahead of his time, White built the house with an underground heating and cooling system which he developed.

“He was way ahead of his time with regard to sustainability,” Stayner said. “This tiny little building deserves to be saved.”

Through an effort led by the Historical Society of Palm Desert members Merilee Colton and Kim Housken, the house has been placed on local and national historic registers.

“I’m very grateful to the community and the city – we have had a lot of support since the auction,” said Stayner, whose son Christian Stayner is a partner in Stayner Architects and involved in the restoration of the Bates house.