Jim Jennings was born in 1940 in Santa Barbara, California but grew up in and around Los Angeles. There he was exposed to L.A.’s modernist architecture and witnessed the post-war construction of the surrounding L.A. suburbs. Following his father’s death when he was seven, his family moved to the orange groves in Redlands, CA. Living and later working on farms instilled in him an appreciation for the land that would later come to define his work as an architect.

Jennings enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley in engineering. However, he soon realized he was more interested in what was being taught in architecture classes and switched programs, graduating in 1966 with a Bachelor of Architecture. Jim became a registered architect in California in 1971 and founded Jim Jennings Architecture in 1975. In 1980, he partnered with William Stout to form Jennings + Stout, but parted ways in 1986 and the firm became Jim Jennings Arkhitekture. The recipient of numerous awards, Jennings has taught, lectured, and had his work exhibited at venues across the United States. He became a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 2016 and continues to practice in San Francisco.

Sources:

Jim Jennings CV, Jim Jennings Collection, Environmental Design Archives, University of California, Berkeley.

“Arch Lecture Series: Jim Jennings & Stanley Saitowitz.” UC Berkeley Environmental Design: Events + Media, 2015. Accessed 23 Jun 2016. http://ced.berkeley.edu/events-media/events/arch-lecture-series-jim-jennings-stanley-saitowitz

Viladas, Pilar. “Introduction.” Jim Jennings Architecture: Ten Projects, Ten Years. William Stout Publishers: San Francisco, CA, 1998.