Our residential work spans from homes in remote wildland areas to sites in dense urban environments. Whether single-family homes or multi-family developments, our approach has been to make spaces that are not only comfortable and practical but also have qualities of surprise and delight.

With a desire to make homes that are strongly connected to context and to the environment, we often question the conventions of traditional domestic architecture. Whether by radically removing barriers between inside and outside, or by making rooms that can be re-purposed, design can encourage creative occupancy and living with intention.

We always strive to make homes with a strong sustainability ethos. In some cases that can simply mean providing healthy indoor air quality for occupants, in others it can mean limiting energy use by thoughtful siting and orientation of the building and careful design of the enclosure. We take a general approach of economy and optimization, aspiring for more utility and delight using fewer resources.

Jensen has been designing office spaces for many years, and we have always aspired to make spaces that are flexible and future-proof. Organizations are in constant change, economies shrink and expand, and massive change is all around us. Workplace design can’t predict all this, but it can aspire learn, grow, and gracefully accommodate change.

What is consistent in our approach to workplace is designing for collaboration, acoustic privacy, material character, integration of appropriate technology, and always including a diversity of space types, the latter being both a good hedge on changing organizational needs and a way to provide a tailored fit for different business functions and social activities.

Hybrid work is likely here to stay, and the very nature of work will evolve, but our specialization and expertise in workplace design allows us to navigate the code, constructability, and team communication and collaboration necessary to build spaces that support business needs now and in the future.

A thriving arts ecosystem and cultural community is core to the health, resiliency, and desirability of a place, and we have been fortunate to work with, and learn from, a broad range of individuals and organizations doing important work enriching our communities.

Our clients have ranged from smaller specialized arts non-profits to larger established museums and cultural organizations. We have had the rewarding opportunity to collaborate directly with artists for specific commissions and with arts professionals in fields ranging from arts education to galleries, museums, and performing arts venues.

We believe that spaces for art practice should be flexible and open to creative occupancy. In some cases, this means letting buildings be neutral canvases for exploration and intervention, but it can just as likely mean creating architecture with strong and unique character that invites participation, intervention, and spatial dialogue.

At Jensen Architects we have diverse and deep experience in spaces for education, learning, and exploration. Our portfolio of projects incudes both K-12 schools and institutions of higher education. What is consistent across all age groups is an approach to creating environments that are both functional and delightful.

We favor spaces that are open to interpretation and creative occupancy and thereby aspire to be future-proof as needs, pedagogy, and organizational culture evolve. Our school projects are not generic or neutral environments. Instead, they are site specific, have a compelling material atmosphere, and are often strongly connected to the outdoors. Above all they acknowledge that increasingly learning is collaborative and interdisciplinary.

Jensen has successfully navigated the entitlement and permit process for school projects by leveraging agency relationship and relevant building code knowledge. We assemble project teams with school experience and a track record of past successful collaboration. And finally, we acknowledge that a passion for construction and good communication with builders is key to a project’s success.

Driven by sustainability mandates, embodied carbon reduction goals, and the desire to unlock new value from existing assets, we guide organizations investing in the transformation of existing buildings in lieu of replacement.

From educational campuses and cultural institutions to civic facilities and historic landmarks, we recognize adaptive reuse as both an environmental imperative and a powerful design opportunity. The reuse and retrofit of older and historic buildings avoids the release of embodied carbon emissions—the carbon emitted by the manufacture, transport and assembly of materials—that would otherwise result from the construction of new buildings.

We approach these projects not just as building renovations but rather as transformations. While rich in spatial character and material history, we are well-versed in the structural, code, and performance challenges of older buildings. Our goal is always to address these needs in elegant and cost-effective ways, while revealing hidden details and adding new layers of vibrant contemporary occupancy.