Designing Reality
From Page to Life
By Carol Park
The soul of Palm Springs captivated architect James Cioffi when he moved to the desert city in the mid 1950s as a young boy. But it wasn't the city's beauty that inspired him to become an architect.
When Cioffi was about 12 years old, his mother gave him a book to read. The book, Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead, romanticized the trials and tribulations of the life of an architect and inspired Cioffi to become one.
While Cioffi dreamed of becoming an architect, he took the obligatory high school classes and became a draftsman. Then one day he met James McNaughton, an architect, art director with movie studios, a musician, a painter and an all around quintessential designer.
"He was my mentor," Cioffi said. "He had a business in Palm Springs. He was designing big homes for rich and famous people. I was a draftsman and he had some work being done by the person I was working for and one day he asked me what I would do with my life and I said I was doing what I wanted to do as a draftsman. He taught me how little I know and how big the world is and so I went to work with him and he gave me money to go to school because my family didn't have any money. He was the person I tried to emulate at the time. He was probably the most well rounded person I knew; he inspired me.
"Cioffi went to the University of Arizona in Tucson where he got his degree. He came back to Palm Springs in the mid-1970s and set up his architect business in the growing city in 1978. He's been there ever since. Cioffi's work has earned him awards including a Gold Nugget Merit Award in 2001.
"One of the most memorable experiences I've had as an architect is when I got a major project approved at a city council meeting and all five council members stood up and clapped and applauded our project," he reminisced. "We don't get rich being architects; it takes long hours. It took me almost 10 years to become an architect. I wound up with a job making three dollars less than before I went to college. But when people call me and tell me they love their building, it's what does it for me" and makes it so worthwhile, he said.
While Cioffi has had no real challenges being an architect he admits that the obstacle of getting from the drawing board to the construction phase is increasingly complex because of technology, new codes and government oversight. The process can get complicated and arduous, he said. But he solves the problem with communication, clear and well prepared documents and constant communication with the government and activists.
Cioffi designs a myriad of buildings in Palm Springs including city projects, train stations, parking garages, homes, airport structures and shopping centers.
Murano home
His firm recently designed the 57-home "Murano" community developed by Palm Springs-based Enterprise California. Those homes were designed in the Desert Modern style which celebrates the fusion of nature and man and is rooted in the modernist movement of the 1920s and 1930s. Cioffi designed the homes to maximize sunlight.
The busy architect also designed the Las Palmas Heights housing project in Palm Springs and two, $3 million luxury homes for developer Andrew Best.
"Jim really designed the houses to best fit on the lots and take advantage of the views," Best said. "His reputation as a lifelong resident of Palm Springs sets him apart. His work speaks for itself. He really knows how to bring light into homes. It's a challenge not to bring in too much light and Jim understood that. The homes open up with large hillside views, they are spectacularly designed.
"Best said he was impressed with Cioffi's choice of materials for the houses.
"He brought in sand blasted concrete blocks for the exterior in pale yellow and pale green," Best said. "We loved the finishing materials. The colors in the blocks made the homes really special and unique.
"Cioffi stays away from big box, cookie cutter design projects and likes to work with plans that have vision and a desire to create architecture.
"Anyone can build a building," Cioffi said. "But I believe only people with vision can truly design architecture. Anyone can build a warehouse with a big door, but not everybody can build the Disney Hall. Clients with vision and passion, clients that share the passion and even sometimes share the romance of architecture are the clients that ultimately we prefer to be with."
Orderly Design
Cioffi's designs are light, airy and graceful.
"We're not Frank Gehry, but perhaps our most distinguishing feature is that our designs seem to fit their time and place, they belong and fit in the Palm Springs area," Cioffi said.
Cioffi believes design is order and that function, structure and even aesthetics is based on order.
"I believe the best designed buildings, automobiles, products and the stuff we use every day is demonstrative of order," he said. "So when we begin the design process we search for order in the client's program, site, climate and budget. All those things can be put in order to create a design. You can even practice design by arranging the pencils on your desk; put the short ones first and the longest ones next. Nature is order; everything in nature has an order."
Cioffi takes advantage of the natural desert beauty of Palm Springs in his designs. The city's open space, its vistas and gorgeous mountain backdrop create a breathtaking and dramatic scene. But what truly makes Palm Springs so captivating isn't its picturesque beauty but its soul, he said.
"The city is quirky, historic, modern and eclectic. The city has a vibrant downtown that enjoys continued resurgence because of redevelopment. The cities community is active and vocal. They have one common goal in mind; the preservation of this place and that makes us very special. We don't develop as quickly, we tend to evolve through this community process and quirkiness we have. There's just a vibrancy and soul to the city."
Although Cioffi's designs are all different and no one building is the same, he admits that of late he's been creating architectural linkages and cues that tie things together in the city. Fabric structures at the airport, fabric structures at a city parking building and at a local hotel are beginning to connect the city and create an identity cue to the onlooker who will see that things are related to each other in Palm Springs.
"It's the little pieces that link the city together," Cioffi said.
Community Entrepreneur
A past chairman of the Palm Springs Commission, Cioffi is an active member of his community. Currently, he is chairman of the Architectural Advisory Committee, the design review committee for the city of Palm Springs. He's been on the committee since 1980.
"I try to get fired from the job from time-to-time," he joked. "I open my mouth too much."
Custom home
Cioffi and long-time friend, fellow architect and Palm Springs councilmember Chris Mills, are founding board members of the Partners in Education program at Palm Springs High School. Giving back to the community is important to Cioffi who had little money for college himself when he was younger.
"We take students and mentor them at our businesses and offices with job shadowing; it's like giving them a mini internship," Cioffi said. "We develop students to see if they are interested in our profession or others. We've been successful placing those students in jobs at hospitals, hotels, restaurants and newspapers. We can do that because we are local and have local contacts. We've also created a scholarship program with this set up and got money for under privileged students to go on to higher education. We've had hundreds of kids go on to college."
Cioffi not only gives back through the program, he also donates designs to the city. Recently, Cioffi's firm donated plans for the renovation of the Palm Canyon Theatre. Cioffi helped renovate the projection room last year. This year Cioffi plans to donate designs for the renovation of the theatre's restrooms.
Looking Ahead
Cioffi, married with one child, loves to cook and race motorcycles. His son, Anthony, is following in his father's design footsteps. "But he'll be off designing automobiles, not buildings, he's really a talented young man," Cioffi said. "I think he's more talented than me, he sure can draw. I've got his drawings all over the walls in my office."
A respected architect and community member, Cioffi plans to keep on designing and creating architecture for years to come. He believes that his firm will evolve spiritually and technically. He plans to keep his business in Palm Springs.
"I don't see myself retiring or wrapping it up or turning out the light, there's no reason to. As long as I can create things, I will," Cioffi said. "I'm enjoying the dream."
Las Palmas home
February 2008 Issue