You need to have a strong sense of adventure to
get projects approved and built in Southern
California with all of the governing agencies’
seemingly nonsensical bureaucratic red-tape. It
also requires a limitless imagination designing
projects that actually thrive under these harsh
governmental and environmental constraints.
After leaving a meeting with City of Malibu
Planning Department personnel, Zan Marquis, the
owner of the Point Dume Village shopping center,
told his property manager; “The person who is the
most laid-back in meetings with the City of Malibu
is the one who prevails - and Steve is always the
most laid-back....”
get projects approved and built in Southern
California with all of the governing agencies’
seemingly nonsensical bureaucratic red-tape. It
also requires a limitless imagination designing
projects that actually thrive under these harsh
governmental and environmental constraints.
After leaving a meeting with City of Malibu
Planning Department personnel, Zan Marquis, the
owner of the Point Dume Village shopping center,
told his property manager; “The person who is the
most laid-back in meetings with the City of Malibu
is the one who prevails - and Steve is always the
most laid-back....”
“Is being laid-back really a marketable commodity?” Steve Yett asks, laughing. “Because if so, we
should put some mention of it on the website....”
Probably not. But here it is any way.
With his patent brand of laid-back intensity, it has been said that Steve Yett is an amalgam of Howard
Roark and Jeffrey Lebowski.
His general approach to architecture is to try to be as flexible as possible while keeping his eye on the
endgame result that the project has to be built. He views design as a collaboration between himself, the
client, the site itself, the governing codes and enforcement agencies, the other required engineering and
design disciplines, as well as the contractor.
“When I was still in school I went to a lecture by San Diego architect Rob Wellington Quigley. His
general attitude was not to let anything phase him…. I remember there was some project where they
found an indian burial site and he showed how he sculpturally ran the building around the location. And
almost every project he started off telling the audience a quirky request that the client made, where they
would ask him ‘….Is that alright?…” And he had this attitude of not only the request being alright, but it
became a major component of what made the project interesting.”
Steve Yett would later bring that attitude into his own work ethic.
should put some mention of it on the website....”
Probably not. But here it is any way.
With his patent brand of laid-back intensity, it has been said that Steve Yett is an amalgam of Howard
Roark and Jeffrey Lebowski.
His general approach to architecture is to try to be as flexible as possible while keeping his eye on the
endgame result that the project has to be built. He views design as a collaboration between himself, the
client, the site itself, the governing codes and enforcement agencies, the other required engineering and
design disciplines, as well as the contractor.
“When I was still in school I went to a lecture by San Diego architect Rob Wellington Quigley. His
general attitude was not to let anything phase him…. I remember there was some project where they
found an indian burial site and he showed how he sculpturally ran the building around the location. And
almost every project he started off telling the audience a quirky request that the client made, where they
would ask him ‘….Is that alright?…” And he had this attitude of not only the request being alright, but it
became a major component of what made the project interesting.”
Steve Yett would later bring that attitude into his own work ethic.
Every one of Steve Yett’s projects follow the same sequence. He studies the following determinants
before he even comes up with even the most embryonic of design concepts:
Determine the client’s programmatic requirements.
Plot the allowable building envelope on the site.
Perform initial site analysis.
He starts the design process once these tasks are completed.
“Obviously, the client’s programmatic requirements come first. But at the same time, if the client wants a
three-story, 40’ high, 17,000 square foot house and zoning regulations only allow for a one story, 18’
high, 8,000 square foot house, the client just has to know that the project just isn’t going to be approved
with those programmatic requirements. Now, don’t get me wrong….. If a desired client program is
borderline, I’m willing to give it a try to see if the regulatory agency will buy off on the desired result- but
the client needs to be aware of the associated risks.”
before he even comes up with even the most embryonic of design concepts:
Determine the client’s programmatic requirements.
Plot the allowable building envelope on the site.
Perform initial site analysis.
He starts the design process once these tasks are completed.
“Obviously, the client’s programmatic requirements come first. But at the same time, if the client wants a
three-story, 40’ high, 17,000 square foot house and zoning regulations only allow for a one story, 18’
high, 8,000 square foot house, the client just has to know that the project just isn’t going to be approved
with those programmatic requirements. Now, don’t get me wrong….. If a desired client program is
borderline, I’m willing to give it a try to see if the regulatory agency will buy off on the desired result- but
the client needs to be aware of the associated risks.”
“I once read that Steely Dan’s creative process is different
every time. Some songs they chart every instrument, and
others they let it be developed in a setting around a basic
structure, still others they hum the parts to various session
musicians. I can totally relate to that. I don’t think that I’ve
ever completed the same design process twice. I look to the
client to determine the direction that we are going. I’ve had
clients who could draw pretty well, hand me their own
drawings that I elaborate on, and get them to code and work
structurally. At the other end of the spectrum, I’ve had clients
who pointed me in a general direction and let me go carte
blanche.”
every time. Some songs they chart every instrument, and
others they let it be developed in a setting around a basic
structure, still others they hum the parts to various session
musicians. I can totally relate to that. I don’t think that I’ve
ever completed the same design process twice. I look to the
client to determine the direction that we are going. I’ve had
clients who could draw pretty well, hand me their own
drawings that I elaborate on, and get them to code and work
structurally. At the other end of the spectrum, I’ve had clients
who pointed me in a general direction and let me go carte
blanche.”
Steve Yett realized that he wanted to be an architect after a
near-death skateboard accident in the 6th grade. Bedridden
for five months following the event that left him with a double
skull-fracture, he had plenty of time to reflect on his earlier
chosen career path a surfer/skateboarder.
“The shift to architecture made the most sense to me.” Steve
Yett says definitely tongue-in-cheek. “Matt Kivlin, the inventor
of the short surfboard, went on to become an architect. And
look at John Lautner - most of his projects look like waves.”
Steve Yett went on to graduate from USC with his Bachelor of
Architecture degree. He worked for a number of corporate
firms the years following graduation, but grew tired of their
politics, and more importantly felt like they really weren’t really
doing architecture.
near-death skateboard accident in the 6th grade. Bedridden
for five months following the event that left him with a double
skull-fracture, he had plenty of time to reflect on his earlier
chosen career path a surfer/skateboarder.
“The shift to architecture made the most sense to me.” Steve
Yett says definitely tongue-in-cheek. “Matt Kivlin, the inventor
of the short surfboard, went on to become an architect. And
look at John Lautner - most of his projects look like waves.”
Steve Yett went on to graduate from USC with his Bachelor of
Architecture degree. He worked for a number of corporate
firms the years following graduation, but grew tired of their
politics, and more importantly felt like they really weren’t really
doing architecture.
“On two separate occasions, at two separate firms I had worked at, I was in meetings at the lead
designer’s desk, looking out the window, and realized that the design we were discussing was a straight
verbatim copy of a prominent building that the designer could see from his window.... You’d think that
they would at the very least buy books or magazines and secretly copy them at home to bring into the
office! Maybe it was extreme arrogance, or more likely they just didn’t care any more. It goes without
saying that I learned what I needed to on the technical side from those firms and left.”
Eventually, Steve Yett went to work for Malibu architect, Mike Barsocchini. “Mike was one of the coolest
architects that I ever met. He did his internship under Lloyd Wright. He used to race cars with Steve
McQueen. There was quite an impressive list of alumni that have worked for Mike through the years…
Some very famous architects…. Mike should’ve been famous in his own right - he completed some
pretty impressive structures. But he didn’t really care about glory. He genuinely just liked doing the
projects with minimal accolades. ”
Click to read more about Steve Yett’s time working for Mike Barsocchini.
designer’s desk, looking out the window, and realized that the design we were discussing was a straight
verbatim copy of a prominent building that the designer could see from his window.... You’d think that
they would at the very least buy books or magazines and secretly copy them at home to bring into the
office! Maybe it was extreme arrogance, or more likely they just didn’t care any more. It goes without
saying that I learned what I needed to on the technical side from those firms and left.”
Eventually, Steve Yett went to work for Malibu architect, Mike Barsocchini. “Mike was one of the coolest
architects that I ever met. He did his internship under Lloyd Wright. He used to race cars with Steve
McQueen. There was quite an impressive list of alumni that have worked for Mike through the years…
Some very famous architects…. Mike should’ve been famous in his own right - he completed some
pretty impressive structures. But he didn’t really care about glory. He genuinely just liked doing the
projects with minimal accolades. ”
Click to read more about Steve Yett’s time working for Mike Barsocchini.
“A friend of mine who did volunteer
work invited me to an appreciation
barbeque for Ennis House docents and
volunteers. I thought it would be a good
opportunity to see the house and have a
couple of beers and some barbeque,
next thing you know, I somehow became
the Vice President of the Board of
Directors….”
Perhaps that is a slight oversimplification
of the story, but due to multiple
nondisclosure agreements, Steve Yett is
very reluctant to share much of his
involvement with the house.
“It’s really too bad that I can’t talk about
it. It was like playing a role in a Jim
Jarmusch or Coen Brothers film. You
really would think that I was making up
90 percent of the stories I could tell. I’m
pretty sure that the book would be a
bestseller. No article that I’ve ever read
about the house even scratches the
surface about what really happened.”
The long and the short of it is that after
the fateful barbeque, Steve Yett saw the
state of the house and immediately was
roped into helping Gus Brown and his
quixotic army of volunteers trying to
restore this Frank Lloyd Wright gem that
had been so badly damaged due to the
Northridge Earthquake.
Steve left the Board in order to spend
more time with his mother who had been
diagnosed with terminal cancer, shortly
before the Board was restructured with
members of the LA Conservancy and
the Frank Lloyd Wright Building
Conservancy.
work invited me to an appreciation
barbeque for Ennis House docents and
volunteers. I thought it would be a good
opportunity to see the house and have a
couple of beers and some barbeque,
next thing you know, I somehow became
the Vice President of the Board of
Directors….”
Perhaps that is a slight oversimplification
of the story, but due to multiple
nondisclosure agreements, Steve Yett is
very reluctant to share much of his
involvement with the house.
“It’s really too bad that I can’t talk about
it. It was like playing a role in a Jim
Jarmusch or Coen Brothers film. You
really would think that I was making up
90 percent of the stories I could tell. I’m
pretty sure that the book would be a
bestseller. No article that I’ve ever read
about the house even scratches the
surface about what really happened.”
The long and the short of it is that after
the fateful barbeque, Steve Yett saw the
state of the house and immediately was
roped into helping Gus Brown and his
quixotic army of volunteers trying to
restore this Frank Lloyd Wright gem that
had been so badly damaged due to the
Northridge Earthquake.
Steve left the Board in order to spend
more time with his mother who had been
diagnosed with terminal cancer, shortly
before the Board was restructured with
members of the LA Conservancy and
the Frank Lloyd Wright Building
Conservancy.
Click
to hear a
segment
on NPR with
Steve Yett
discussing the
Ennis House.
Steve Yett received his Architecture
License in 1995. Appropriately enough,
the first job that he completed under his
license was the Stewart Surf store at
Topanga Beach that he did for the fee of a
new board.
Since then, he has completed The Malibu
Stage Company Theatre, Malibu Kitchen,
Toy Crazy, two drug stores, two high-end
women’s dress shops, Crosby Doe Realty,
Pritchett-Rapf Realty, the Prudential
Realty Kiosk as well as several other
offices, the remodel of the Point Dume
Village shopping center and even the old
Civic Center Way City of Malibu Building
Department public counter. But the
mainstay of his practice has always been
residential work - both remodels and new
construction.
Further testament to Steve Yett’s abilities
is the number of people in the building
trade who have commissioned him to
design their own houses. Steve Yett has
done new houses and remodels for
several builders and realtors.
License in 1995. Appropriately enough,
the first job that he completed under his
license was the Stewart Surf store at
Topanga Beach that he did for the fee of a
new board.
Since then, he has completed The Malibu
Stage Company Theatre, Malibu Kitchen,
Toy Crazy, two drug stores, two high-end
women’s dress shops, Crosby Doe Realty,
Pritchett-Rapf Realty, the Prudential
Realty Kiosk as well as several other
offices, the remodel of the Point Dume
Village shopping center and even the old
Civic Center Way City of Malibu Building
Department public counter. But the
mainstay of his practice has always been
residential work - both remodels and new
construction.
Further testament to Steve Yett’s abilities
is the number of people in the building
trade who have commissioned him to
design their own houses. Steve Yett has
done new houses and remodels for
several builders and realtors.
Steve Yett is in a unique postion that he is both part of the
last generation of architects to learn to design by hand
drawing, as well a be part of the first pioneers of the CADD
age. As a result, his computer drawings are meticulous -
and many people don’t believe that they have been done on
the computer.
“On more than one occasion strangers at the building
department have come up to me and told me that my
drawings are amongst the best they have ever seen.”
last generation of architects to learn to design by hand
drawing, as well a be part of the first pioneers of the CADD
age. As a result, his computer drawings are meticulous -
and many people don’t believe that they have been done on
the computer.
“On more than one occasion strangers at the building
department have come up to me and told me that my
drawings are amongst the best they have ever seen.”
