John Himes, an accomplished architect with a wide range of residential design experience, is the newest addition to the Plaskoff Design Group. Previously, Himes headed his own architectural design firm in the Los Angeles area for the last 16 years.

He’s known for designing high end, single family residential work as well as the odd multi-family project and high rise apartment type space. Himes has designed houses ranging from 600 square feet to over 18,000 square feet and has worked with clients from all walks of life, including many from the entertainment industry, people in government and members of foreign royal families.

Himes has long been interested in how architecture affects the way we live and how unaware most people are of that fact. His designs incorporate the creative use of space and materials to enhance his clients’ home life and to connect them with the outdoors.

Born in Chicago, Himes grew up in Southern California in the San Fernando Valley. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the Rhode Island School of Design. Himes is married with two children and is currently in the process of moving into a Joseph Eichler house he recently purchased in Granada Hills. When not designing, Himes enjoys spending time with his family, as well as mountain biking, and doing his own construction work.

Q: Tell us about your background and how you became involved in architecture?
Himes: I won’t give you the typical, “I always wanted to be an Architect”, line. The truth is, I did not. Or, at least, I didn’t know I wanted to be one. I had always been interested in art and design and had some natural ability. In grade school, I found that it was usually the art teachers who inspired and encouraged me most. It was only natural that I worked hardest in those classes. It wasn’t until I got to college that I was fortunate enough to find professors who unlocked in me an interest in history and mathematics.

While in school, I worked as an illustrator in the aerospace industry. I began to believe that I was, perhaps, meant to be an engineer. However, I quickly realized how creatively limiting government contract work could be. I was being trained on a new computer design and drawing program, CADCAM, for a project that never seemed to materialize. We were encouraged to design and/or draw anything we liked so long as we became familiar with the program. Most of my drawings were designs for new homes and “reconstructions” of buildings from my Greek and Roman Art and Architecture courses.

After a bit of soul searching, I realized that the Architectural profession held all of those things I found to be both interesting and enjoyable. I took a job as an intern in a small architectural office and applied to the Rhode Island School of Design where I earned my BFA and BARCH degrees.

I opened my own office in 1989, which turned out to be the worst possible time to jump into the building industry in California. I survived on small jobs for the first year, most of them involving after-the-fact permitting of illegal construction. Those first years, though, allowed me to develop a solid referral base and prepare for the flood of work that followed the Northridge earthquake and the subsequent hot Southern California real estate boom.

I met Matt Plaskoff in 1993 and was immediately impressed by the way he managed his business and by his sincere desire to do good work. He understood, as I did, the importance of maintaining strong relationships with his clients and that the hint of a negative design or building experience spreads much faster than a good experience.

Q: Can you describe the Plaskoff Design Group and how you became involved with it?
Himes: A couple of years ago, Matt and I began to discuss the possibility of forming an “in house” Architectural and Interior Design division for Plaskoff Construction. The goal would be to allow us all better control over our projects while freeing us to concentrate our energies on those aspects of the design and build process we do best.

PDG is like a design firm within a construction company. We’re not a completely separate entity, but we kind of operate like we are. The idea is to have all of our projects be design-build projects under one company. The process benefits the client by establishing realistic construction budgets early and, by preparing detailed estimates at points throughout the design process to ensure that the project doesn’t spin out of control. We are able to make necessary changes to the plans long before the completion of the construction documents and before the client has spent a lot of money on plans for a project they may not be able to afford to build. We are all in this business because we love to build and it benefits none of us if the projects can’t be moved from paper to reality.

PDG has been in-house since April of this year, but we’ve been doing design-build work with Matt for the last four years. And I’ve done work on-and-off with Matt for the last 12 years. We currently have three people in the Group and are expanding with another production person being added by the beginning of the year.

Q: As computer technology is now used extensively in the design fields, can you tell us what software, hardware and techniques you use?
Himes: Believe it or not, an awful lot of our design work is still done by hand. I’ve never been able to get past the feeling or belief that the computer, as a design tool, limits creativity. That having been said, however, there is no better production tool than the computer. Construction drawings and artistic renderings can be produced with far greater clarity, accuracy, and realism. We are currently using AutoCAD for our production drawings and Form Z for our computer modeling and rendering.

Q: Of your professional and personal work, could you tell us which piece of work you are most proud of and why?
Himes: To limit the answer to a single piece of work is nearly impossible. I can honestly say that I am equally proud of the projects that have involved a single room – or even a space within a room – as I am of my largest projects. Likewise, I am equally proud of the restoration projects as I am of the projects that have completely transformed a building or site. In each project there is real emotional and creative investment and, though each is different, I am proud of them all.

If pushed, though, I would probably have to say my own home that I designed for my family. There is a whole new level of investment when you undertake a project so personal.

Q: Do you and your family still live in the house you designed?
Himes: Actually, we just sold it. We hadn’t really planned on moving. But we came across a Joseph Eichler house in Granada Hills that went on the market. Eichler was a developer in the 40s, 50s and 60s who did modern homes. His houses don’t go on the market often or stay on the market very long. It was just something that came up that was too interesting to pass up. So we purchased the house.

We’re in the process of renovating the bathrooms and the kitchen. It’s kind of a restoration project, but we’re updating it as well. We don’t want to stray too far from the original. The area is slated for historic preservation. The house was built in 1962. It’s early modern and almost all glass. Our neighbor’s gets used in commercials all the time. We’ve already got production companies looking at ours. They’re kind of unique homes.

Q: How can architecture enhance our home life?
Himes: We’re so used to living in boxes. There are more creative ways that architectural spaces can be arranged that facilitate easier interaction with each other or with the outdoors. There are ways, for instance, in which we can open rooms to each other so that we’re not just creating multiple private spaces, but spaces which are more conducive to interaction with household members. There are ways we can picture frame views of the outside, or open the house up to the outside so that we get a connection to the outdoors.

Q: Are there any materials you particularly like to work with?
Himes: Glass. And while that may sound strange here in “earthquake country”, we are in a part of the world that allows near year-round enjoyment of the outdoors. Which means we’ve got a real opportunity to use the outside in designing a home. Glass allows us to maintain that connection to the outside. Unfortunately, many people are just building property line to property line, because they see more value in square footage than they do in a more thoughtful use of space.

I find it exciting that there are now so many really interesting choices in material. I think that’s one of the fun things about contemporary architecture at the moment.

Q: What aspect of your work do you find to be the most rewarding part of what you do?
Himes: Having the opportunity to, at least on occasion, produce results that far exceed the expectations of my client. I’ve always preferred doing residential projects. You’ve got a different client every time. Commercial work tends to be fairly generic. I’ve always enjoyed the client interaction.

Q: Who has influenced your style the most and who are your favorite architects?
Himes: My experience has been that no two clients are alike. What appeals to one may be distasteful to another. Having said that, I would say that in my day to day work architects like Wallace Neff, George Washington Smith, and Paul Williams have influenced me most. They had the ability to produce designs, based on the best historic precedents, in any style, and they had the rare ability to translate those styles comfortably for modern day use.

In California, most people prefer the Mediterranean style. I’m not opposed to doing any particular style, so long as it’s done properly. So much of it out here depends on the client. There are very few who give you carte blanche to do what you want.

Q: What drives you or motivates you as an architect? Is there an overall mission or vision behind what you do?
Himes: What drives me is the NEED to be creative. What motivates me is the challenge that each new project presents. No two projects are ever alike and it makes it easy to get up for work each day.

Q: How do you see the industry evolving over the next 5 years?
Himes: As buildable land becomes more scarce and real estate prices continue to soar, I can only see the market for new single family dwellings declining. I do, however, see the market for major residential renovation work growing stronger. The continued increase in local population will also drive a strong market for multi-family residential projects.

It’s only been recently that all of a sudden the real estate sector is selling architect designed homes. Particularly when you get an architect of some note, like a Richard Neutra, where all of a sudden there’s a real appreciation for it. Maybe it’s the younger well-to-do’s that are realizing that there exists sort of brand name packaging on this stuff and that the repetitive sameness of tract housing isn’t as interesting anymore. So I think that’s encouraging as far as architecture goes. There’s at least an opening market to real design.

Q: Is the need and desire for licensed architects on the rise or on the decline? What segments (residential, commercial, government, education) of development/building are seeing an increase or decrease?
Himes: I think the “perceived” need for licensed architects, in residential construction, is on the decline. Readily available computer design programs have turned the average homeowner into a “designer”. The reality, however, is that the need and desire for licensed architects is on the rise. Most people realize that the investment of time and money and the knowledge needed of local and state Building Codes that any construction project requires is too much to be left to chance.

Q: Have you ever made a pilgrimage to visit a specific building or structure?
Himes: The Parthenon in Athens, Greece. It’s a building of perfectly refined proportions.

Q: What is your favorite building in Los Angeles?
Himes: Unfortunately, Los Angeles has, until recently, placed little value on its architectural treasures. My favorite building was the Von Sternberg house (1935) by Richard Neutra. It was an expression of pure, unabashed modernist optimism.

Q: Define the qualities of a good client?
Himes: One who communicates their needs and desires openly and who understands that they have hired an Architect because the Architect has the expertise that they themselves lack.

Q: Define the qualities of a good architect?
Himes: One who has the ability to listen to and accurately translate the needs and desires of a client and one who also understands that creativity can either be challenged or inspired by the very real limitations placed on a project by the client, the budget, and the Building Department.

Q: What do you want to do when you grow up?
Himes: I want to learn to fly.