In presenting its 2006 Honor Awards for Architecture, the AIA cited the sole residence selected—a Jim Jennings—designed guesthouse for visiting artists on a Northern California ranch—for its “timelessness and serene power.” Jennings, who operates his practice as a studio where he is involved in each stage of design, is known for an unwavering sensibility; indeed, one critic described him as “the quintessential Bay Area Modernist” for the coolly sensuous rigor of his work and the fact that he has never veered from a puristic standard.

For over three decades the nucleus of Jim Jennings Architecture has been its residential portfolio. A major house on Oahu will be completed this spring, as will a house on the other end of the spatial spectrum: an intimate indoor-outdoor retreat in Palm Springs. Additional structures currently in development range from the Cardiovascular Research Institute for the new Mission Bay campus of the University of California, San Francisco, to a collaboration with the artist James Turrell on a skyspace at the Napa Valley vineyard of prominent San Francisco art collectors. “The architecture we make,” says Jennings, “always begins with the site and with the clues and conditions found there. Each physical circumstance suggests a particular expression of scale, space and material. For me, a great building is one that is both rational and poetic—and projects a quiet strength.”

Jim Jennings

415-551-0827

www.jimjenningsarchitectureom