Shelter Island Gazebo & Trellis

This project is a community driven effort to replace the now demolished Rotary Pavilion once located near the roundabout on Shelter Island Drive. The primary goal of the project is to create a beautiful gathering site for the Shelter Island community and for visitors to this spectacular bay front location. Other goals for the project include development of the surrounding space to accommodate future donations of sculptures, plaques, and benches, engraved tiles, pathways and landscaping elements offered by the community.

Hubbell & Hubbell architecture studio coordinated the project management, architectural working drawings, project permitting, and construction administration for the park and James Hubbell’s gazebo design that echoes the forms of ocean waves and billowing sails.

Awards & Recognition

• 2007 Excellence in Structural Engineering Award, Special Use Structures –
  Structural Engineering Association, San Diego Chapter
• 2007 Art in Concrete Award – American Concrete Institute, San Diego International Chapter

Ocean-Inspired, Artistic Remodel

This custom remodel is located on a bluff top overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The house combines fine craftsmanship with integral art elements including a domed shell over the master bedroom, a mosaic stained-glass shower and an inlaid stone spa.

Previous remodels had split the home into four residential units, and a fireplace had been installed in a prime view location. Rather than tearing down the house and destroying the previous owner’s extensive beach pebble stonework, we refurbished the home and kept the informal feeling of the neighborhood while adding artistic touches to the interior with sculptural metal, wood, tile, and glass. We also assisted the owners in obtaining a Conditional Use Permit for the project.

Our goal was to bring the spirit of the ocean into the house by framing views, adding mosaic and stained glass inspired by the ocean, and using natural materials that relate to the sea.

Publications

Natural Remodeling for the Not-So-Green House. Carol Venolia and Kelly Lerner. New York: Lark Books, 2006. p 55. {Leucadia Beach House}

“Earth, Sea and Stone: Inside a Hubbell-Enhanced Leucadia Home.” Debra Lee Baldwin. San Diego Home / Garden Lifestyles June 2004: 88+.

The intimate bed & breakfast North Shore Cottages are located on the north shore of Orcas Island overlooking the Puget Sound. Hubbell & Hubbell designed the Deer Cove Cottage (now called Heron Cove) to nestle into an old-growth cedar grove with a copper roof and chimney that echo the graceful sweep of the cedar branches. Hubbell & Hubbell blur the distinction between art and architecture by incorporating stained glass, mosaic tile, and hand forged wrought iron railings into the building while their use of native woods and stone in the design integrates the structure with its natural surroundings.

“Heron Cove Cottage is an unabashedly luxurious cottage. It is filled with light, art, music and magic. The round, two-story building, designed (sculpted is rather more appropriate!) by renowned architect-artist James Hubbell, has become a showcase for the talent and skill of many Island builders and artisans. There are stained glass windows, metal sculpture work, ceramic mosaics, and mixed-media artwork (all done by local craftsmen) that function as fireplaces, wall sconces, railings and lights throughout this jewel-box of a cottage.” ~ North Shore Cottages website.

For a virtual tour and booking information, visit the North Shore Cottages website at www.northshore4kiss.com.

The Gateway to Volcan Mountain Wilderness Preserve was built by dedicated members and volunteers. Celebrating the uniqueness of this place, a group of environmentalists, artists, craftsmen and community volunteers designed and constructed the gateway to the Volcan Mountain Wilderness Preserve with contributions from VMPF donations and a grant from the San Diego Community Foundation.

Local artists James Hubbell, Mirko Mrikajek and Bill Porter, along with many other volunteers participated in weekly work parties for over a year to complete this impressive entrance to the Volcan Mountain Wilderness Preserve.–(excerpted from www.volcanmt.org)

“Well, I was asked to make something between a cathedral and Japanese tea house,” Jim Hubbell said of the program for this space that was to be used for healing and renewal, as well as for sheltering guests.

Located on Mount Soledad with views of downtown and Mission Bay, this project goals were accomplished within a 30-foot diameter circle–the space allowed by the City of San Diego for auxiliary buildings in this La Jolla neighborhood. The structure contains a main room, bedroom, sitting room, and a bath. Up top is a balcony with views of the 100 acres of Kate Session Park below.

Nestled between Torrey pines and a mosaic-bottom pool, the owners say they only see pine trees and jacaranda from the balcony, making them feel they “don’t live in the city, although there is a neighbor 20 feet away.”

Three clerestory windows form the ribbed roof: two sliver and one stained glass. Magical patterns of color hit the walls and ceilings from the stained glass windows at night which the clients called their “underwater watercolor.”

“When people enter a building that is so far from the normal paradigm of buildings, it tells them that everything is possible. The move beyond their traditional boundaries…”~Owner

A photograph of this building became the cover of the Ocean Museum of Art’s catalogue for the James Hubbell Retrospective in 1998.

(Description excerpted from Kay Kaiser’s description in Hubbell Homes Tour 2004 booklet.)