From Pacific breakers to winding rivers to snowpack high in the Sierra, from drought-dry summers to El Nino–drenched winters, water is a constant source of delight, consternation, and conversation in California. As we dive into summer, water is on the mind of Jensen’s design team. It’s an essential element in our architecture, as a way to cool down, bring people together, and to connect to the landscape—as with our Turner Residence near Mt. Tam (below).

Transformation is rarely the work of a single designer, it grows from collaboration and a shared willingness to rethink what’s possible. At Jensen Architects, we join with clients, consultants, and builders to shape meaningful, purpose-driven architecture. These relationships are especially critical when adapting existing structures. Whether a concrete laboratory, historic building, or former office tower, a great partner brings agility and clarity to inherently uncertain conditions.

Hello, 2026—we’re excited to pull back the curtain on how we design, collaborate, and inspire. Let’s begin, first and foremost, with the people and ideas that make up our studio. Together, we form an intellectual and creative environment—one that’s connected to place and values the belief that architecture can strengthen civic life.

It’s no secret that cities across the U.S. are desperately in need of housing. Policies and initiatives in San Francisco and Los Angeles incentivize construction of multifamily residential buildings, urban infill townhouses, and ADUs—some 82,000 planned in SF by 2031. As folks across the state and nation face an affordability pinch, it’s clear that these units can’t come soon enough. There is no single way to solve the housing problem. At Jensen Architects we believe great residential design requires both incremental and radical solutions, attention to materials and craft, and a deep connection to place.

It’s wild in the hills above the Ukiah Valley. Ancient oaks shade rugged ridgelines, rattlers hide in tall grasses, and narrow roads snake through steep canyons. This is essential Northern California: equal parts beauty and danger. Climate change has only amplified these tensions; faced with an impossibly sublime vista, we scan for the threatening wisp of smoke. 

To celebrate summer in the city, we asked seven of our recently promoted designers for their fave SF spots. Their collective answers paint a unique portrait of a diverse place that’s both urban and deeply connected to nature. From wild parrots at the top of Vallejo Steps to dim sum at Clement Street Farmers Market, the Jensen Architects team love all the variety that San Francisco has to offer.

What does it take to “build connection”? We search for kinship in our personal lives, but how do we translate these connective tissues into architecture? For Jensen Architects, it begins with listening. We ask the communities, clients, and stakeholders we work with to share their needs and desires, and our vision—for a workplace, a school, or a restroom—grows from those conversations.

To create architecture, to build everything from a private home to a public park, requires a deep understanding of a site: its ground conditions, neighborhood context, and history. At Jensen Architects, we’ve spent thirty years learning how to foster a culture of place in our projects—at every scale. And we’re still learning, so that equity and memory are embodied in our designs and that we make places where people feel they belong.