Jim Jennings designs leave no room for the extraneous.
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Home&Garden San Francisco Chronicle and SFGate.com | Sunday, February 24, 2013 | Section N By Leilani Marie Labong PALM SPRINGS — Stop No. 1 on Home Tour One of the annual design blowout known as Palm Springs Modernism Week just so happened to be Desert One, a dwelling so unassuming that it actu- ally makes quite a bold statement in the city’s fa- mous architectural landscape. While most of the midcentury structures in the desert are character- ized by vast expanses of glass that embrace the natu- ral surroundings, this 21st century construction by San Francisco architect Jim Jennings takes a more exclusionary approach: Its distinguishing feature is a solid concrete-block wall that sur- rounds all sides of the home; an unmistakable expression of privacy and solitude. “Most midcentury architecture is about ex- tending into the environment, but this house, which is inspired by the style’s strong horizontal Joe Fletcher San Francisco architect Jim Jennings’ Desert One getaway in Palm Springs has no driveway, no house number, no front door, no structured landscaping. In line with a philosophy Jennings designs — no room for the extraneous Jennings continues on N6 This is the third in an occasional series on urban farmers working to preserve their cultural foodways by growing heritage crops in the Bay Area. For previous installments, go to http://bit.ly/QCQKM9. The Verde Elementary School Partnership Garden is a re- claimed treasure in urban North Richmond, a flourishing me- lange of row crops and orna- mentals, fruit trees and butterfly plants. On our first visit 14 years ago, we saw Southeast Asians and Central Americans swap- ping chili peppers and beans. A Mien woman used the school kitchen to make sweet corn pan- cakes to share. Since then, changes in demo- graphics and funding have re- shaped the garden; it’s still pro- ducing and teaching under the care of Bienvenida Mesa, who works for the Richmond non- profit, Urban Tilth. Alongside her projects there’s a plot or two to spare, and Saeng and Kert Dohngdara, a Lao couple in their 70s keep up the tradition of rais- ing Southeast Asian crops in the exotic soil of West Contra Costa County. Laos is a complicated little country, and not all Laotians are ethnic Lao. The Lao are or were a Paul Chinn / The Chronicle Saeng Dohngdara harvests crops in December from her plot in the Verde Elementary School Partnership Garden in Richmond. Laotian flavors spice up school garden THE DIRT By Joe Eaton and Ron Sullivan Dirt continues on N4
Transcript
Home&GardenSan Francisco Chronicle and SFGate.com | Sunday, February 24, 2013 | Section N
By Leilani Marie Labong
PALM SPRINGS — Stop No. 1 on Home Tour Oneof the annual design blowout known as PalmSprings Modernism Week just so happened to beDesert One, a dwelling so unassuming that it actu-ally makes quite a bold statement in the city’s fa-mous architectural landscape. While most of themidcentury structures in the desert are character-ized by vast expanses of glass that embrace the natu-
ral surroundings, this 21st century constructionby San Francisco architect Jim Jennings takes amore exclusionary approach: Its distinguishingfeature is a solid concrete-block wall that sur-rounds all sides of the home; an unmistakableexpression of privacy and solitude.
“Most midcentury architecture is about ex-tending into the environment, but this house,which is inspired by the style’s strong horizontal
Joe Fletcher
San Francisco architect Jim Jennings’ Desert One getaway in Palm Springs has no driveway, no house number, no front door, no structured landscaping.
In line with a philosophyJenningsdesigns
— no roomfor the
extraneousJennings continues on N6
This is the third in an occasionalseries on urban farmers working topreserve their cultural foodways bygrowing heritage crops in the BayArea. For previous installments, goto http://bit.ly/QCQKM9.
The Verde Elementary SchoolPartnership Garden is a re-claimed treasure in urban NorthRichmond, a flourishing me-lange of row crops and orna-mentals, fruit trees and butterflyplants. On our first visit 14 yearsago, we saw Southeast Asians
and Central Americans swap-ping chili peppers and beans. AMien woman used the schoolkitchen to make sweet corn pan-cakes to share.
Since then, changes in demo-graphics and funding have re-shaped the garden; it’s still pro-ducing and teaching under thecare of Bienvenida Mesa, whoworks for the Richmond non-profit, Urban Tilth. Alongsideher projects there’s a plot or twoto spare, and Saeng and KertDohngdara, a Lao couple in their
70s keep up the tradition of rais-ing Southeast Asian crops in theexotic soil of West Contra CostaCounty.
Laos is a complicated littlecountry, and not all Laotians areethnic Lao. The Lao are or were a
Paul Chinn / The Chronicle
Saeng Dohngdara harvestscrops in December from herplot in the Verde ElementarySchool Partnership Garden inRichmond.
Laotian flavors spice up school gardenTHE DIRT By Joe Eaton and Ron Sullivan
Dirt continues on N4
N6 | Sunday, February 24, 2013 | San Francisco Chronicle and SFGate.com
Vinyl, fiberglass, wood and aluminum installed at competitive prices Family Owned & Operated For Over 40 Years
1322 Marsten Rd. Burlingame 94010
lines, is more about creat-ing a world within,” saysJennings, who uses thehome, located in PalmSprings’ North End, as anescape from the SanFrancisco chill. “I call itmy little fortress with anopen heart.”
Therein lies the para-dox that defines DesertOne. Inside the peri-meter, east and westoutdoor courtyards occu-py most of the area;they’re sun-soaked con-crete spaces that aremostly unencumbered,with the exception of afiberglass table here, acustom built-in grillthere, and a lap pool,which is practically arequirement of survivalin these parts. In the faceof such minimalism, theSan Jacinto Mountains tothe west seem even moremajestic, considering thatthe fortress wall alsoblocks out any distrac-tions at lower elevations.“The emptiness intensi-fies your connection withthese massive moun-tains,” says Jennings,who can sometimes de-tect a few tiny specks —Palm Springs’ famousaerial trams — movingslowly through one of thealpine canyons.
In this way, Desert Onelives up to its midcenturyinspirations, using itsdesign to emphasizenature, albeit unconven-tionally. Even from thestreet, Desert One’s lowsilhouette blends beauti-fully into the raw desert.There are almost no iden-tifying markers on the
property — no driveway,no house numbers, nofront door, no structuredlandscaping. On onehand, the sagebrush andsand camouflage thestructure, and on theother hand, they create adiversion with theirsheer untamed beauty.Without the aid of a GPSdevice — or a trusty tourguide — it is quite pos-sible to bypass the house,even with your eyespeeled. “The desert andthe house share a similarallure,” says JacquesCaussin, chairman ofModernism Week. “Theirstyle comes from theirstarkness.”
The home itself mea-sures in at a mere 750square feet, about half ofwhat the neighborhood’sordinances require, pre-sumably to prevent thelikes of shanty-sizeddwellings from poppingup and decreasing prop-erty values. “I had toapply for a variance,”explains Jennings, whoappeased the powers thatbe with a measurement ofnearly 3,000 square feetwithin the four big walls,a scope that includes thecourtyard spaces. (Argu-ably, the home’s petitedimensions could beconstrued as anotherunorthodox tactic tomaximize outdoor splen-dor.)
The living room andone and only bedroom
are on opposite sides ofthe house. Both spacesare enclosed by pocketingglass doors; when open,the footprint of the home
is seamlessly extendedinto the courtyards;when shut, heating andcooling transpires, de-pending on the season(round holes in the roof’ssteel support beams areat once forced-air ventsand awesome geometricdesign features; they arepractically the only softcurves in a house linedwith crisp edges). Onceupon a blueprint, Jen-nings had the brave no-tion of cooling the houseusing water, presentinghis eccentric idea at ameeting with the builder.
“It was like I was JayLeno. He thought it wasthe biggest joke he’d everheard,” recalls Jennings.“When it’s 115 degreesoutside, you need an airconditioner. Simple asthat.” Because such anextreme summertimeclimate could require24/7 cooling, the architectinstalled an array of pho-tovoltaic panels, whichhelps offset the energydrain by nearly 30 per-cent.
The galley kitchendoubles as a connectorbetween the living roomand bedroom. At just 10feet long, counter space isat a premium, so install-ing full-size applianceswas not an option; in-stead, Jennings opted forSub-Zero refrigeratorand freezer drawers. Thecountertop and back-splash are fashionedfrom stainless steel, acool counterpoint to the
oak slats in the ceilingabove.
This small patch ofwood is the only trulyearthy material in thehouse, which speaks toJennings’ unapologeticuse of industrial finishes— glass, concrete andaluminum. While hardlya cozy mix, the palettemanages to be graceful inits simplicity. The samecan be argued for thestructure of the home:There’s a concrete floor, a
steel cantilevered roofand a big concrete wall.The three basic architec-tural components havebeen thoughtfully ar-ranged to create a whollyunique, inside-out ex-pression of modernism.“All I was trying to dowas create my own littleworld,” says Jennings.
Leilani Marie Labong is aSan Francisco freelancewriter. E-mail: [email protected]
Joe Fletcher photos
Desert One’s concrete block wall encloses nearly 3,000 square feet — but the living space within is a mere 750 square feet, with east and west courtyards.
In line with a philosophy of designJennings from page N1
HOME
Desert One’s theme is minimalist throughout. “Theemptiness intensifies your connection” with themassive San Jacinto mountain range, Jennings says.
SCULPTURALBold, uncomplicated lines come naturally to Jennings.He used a cantilevered glass cube to house the officesat UCSF’s Cardiovascular Research Building in MissionBay, pictured above. He anchored a Telegraph Hill housewith a monumental concrete cylinder that extendsthrough the center of the structure and beyond theroofline. The Pischoff Building, an industrial warehousein Oakland, boasts a “serrated” roof with clerestorywindows for “teeth.”
HARMONIOUSUniting the natural environment with the architecture isa big part of Jennings’ modus operandi. Amazing court-yards prevail in his work, from Desert One’s matchingquads to a SoMa house with a private outdoor oasis,pictured above. More abstractly, the horizontal silhouetteof an oceanfront Lanikai house on Oahu emphasizes thetowering palm trees and echoes the watery horizon.
INDUSTRIALConcrete, steel and glass are Jennings’ materials ofchoice. In Geyserville (Sonoma County), parallel con-crete walls extend far beyond the footprint of the Vis-iting Artists House, pictured above, and into the land-scape. The Barclay Simpson studio in Oakland is es-sentially a steel frame filled with glass blocks and setatop a concrete foundation. Galvanized steel clads thewalls of a Los Altos Hills house, a dwelling with an ex-posed steel structural system.
