Work

“A building or a work of art should never be thought of as something on a pedestal: something precious. If it is not a part of the process of life, it is only a curiosity.”

— James Hubbell

Painter, Sculptor, Architectural Designer, Poet

James Hubbell spent 60 years designing and making buildings, artifacts and fine artworks that reflect a deep passion for the ocean and for earth’s gifts. From Ilan-Lael, his self-made home, studios and foundation in Julian near San Diego, Hubbell has created private and public works, including schools in concert with the community in Tijuana, an organic chapel at The Sea Ranch and parks that span the cultures of the Pacific Rim. 

Hubbell’s vision is the antithesis of rational and industrial. “Most important is my infatuation with nature,” he says. “There is also my love of the primitive and naive, gothic architecture, the arts and craft movement, Frank Lloyd Wright, Gaudi, and the pleasure of working with the material of stone, wood, cement, clay, metal, glass, and mosaics.”

Truth And Beauty Will Save The World

“In Memory of Dostoevsky,” bronze, copper and glass, by James Hubbell. Photo by Laurel Costa

The role of art to give voice to truth and beauty are powerful forces. Hubbell often quoted Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky who wrote, ‘Truth and beauty will save the world.’ The Russian author understood that truth and beauty are tools of hope that push back on fear. Hubbell, too, believes in this connection as he once wrote that, “Beauty will always bring the good and the true”.

The Firebird Window – 1981 & 2021

Findhorn Foundation, Moray, Scotland

“Firebird” stained glass and wood window, by James Hubbell with woodworker Dan Thoner and stained-glass artist Cindy Mushet-Shriver. Photo by Laura Costa

James Hubbell became enamored of The Firebird myth, an important Slavic and Russian folktale, after reading the book Land of the Firebird: The Beauty of Old Russia by Suzanne Massie. He built his first Firebird Window in 1981.

In 1998 he was invited to mount an art show in Moscow at the Shusev Central Museum of Architecture. On the way to Russia, Hubbell and his Firebird window laid over on the wild, windswept coast of western Scotland at the Ecovillage Findhorn. Findhorn loved the window and it remained on display in their Resource Center for 24 years. The building and window were destroyed by fire in January of 2021, and Findhorn approached Hubbell about making the same window. Luckily, the studio craftsmen found the original pattern and were able to rebuild the window and frame. The new window is what is displayed here.

The Sea Ranch Chapel

Sea Ranch, CA

Interior of The Sea Ranch chapel. Photo by Craig Tooley

James Hubbell’s creative voice reached a defining moment in The Sea Ranch Chapel, a non-denominational prayer and meditation space located at The Sea Ranch, the famed rustic Modernist community 300 miles north of San Francisco. Hubbell was commissioned to build the structure by Robert and Betty Buffam, a San Diego couple who owned a home at The Sea Ranch. Hubbell found inspiration for the Chapel’s design in sketches and drawings made by Kirk Ditzler, the son of friends of the Buffams, who had recently died. His delicate drawings of seashells and wings and feathers became the seed of the artist’s design.

Hubbell designed every aspect of the Chapel, its approach and entrance, its iconic roof, its doors and windows, and the furnishings inside.

The resulting structure is a study of contradictions. It’s a heavy form, yet at the same time seems feather light. It contains both darkness and light, intimacy and grandeur, and a richness of materials though it’s made of humble stone and wood and glass. Like the whole world in a grain of sand, you can see all of Hubbell’s ideas in this one small building.

The Doors of Abu Dhabi

United Arab Emirates

Detail of one of eighteen opulent and luxurious interior doors created for a palace in Abu Dhabi. Photo by Otto Rigan

In 1980, James Hubbell was contacted by New York-based architect Victor Bisharat, who saw Hubbell’s architectural work at The Triton Restaurant in San Diego. Bisharat was working on a commission to design a palace for a wealthy sheik in the United Arab Emirates. The architect desired 18 opulent and luxurious interior doors for the palace. In Hubbell, he recognized a builder of great imagination, and a craftsman ready and able to meet this unique challenge. The architect said to Hubbell ‘you’ve got to understand that when we are served coffee, no matter how sweet it is, we pour more honey in it. Make your designs that sweet.’

The client would remain a mystery to the artist, so Hubbell immersed himself in the lyrical imagery of Arab poetry as a source of inspiration for his designs. Fabricated from fine wood, precious metals, stone inlay, carving, and stained glass, the Hubbell Studio artists crafted the doors in six months. They feature hand glass beveling, hand-blown door knows, gold leafing and bronze sheeting. These rich doors were photographed and published in a book The Doors of Abu Dhabi. It is the only record of this once-in-a-lifetime commission. The doors were packed in crates and transported to Abu Dhabi…never to be seen again by the artist.

The palace doors joined Hubbell’s view of nature and design with Arab traditions and forms, synthesizing the two to communicate something new, a symbolism that unites both East and West in the same luminous light. It was a crossroads, a turning point in his life and career that revealed his deep desire to connect his art across cultures and find our common humanity.

Shelter Island Gazebo & Trellis

San Diego, CA

Pacific Portal, Shelter Island, San Diego, California. Photo by John Durant

James Hubbell has been designing and building in San Diego County using local materials and a nature-centered approach since the 1950s. In 1995, he joined forces with his son Drew to form Hubbell & Hubbell Architects of San Diego, CA. Drew lead the firm as principal architect—merging art and architecture in sustainable and ecologically and aesthetically mindful ways. James assists with site master planning, schematic design, models, and renderings; he also designs and fabricates unique artistic details for many projects. Together they have worked on dozens of projects. In 2005 they teamed up to create Pacific Portal, an award-winning public art installation located on the San Diego by waterfront. The design was inspired by ocean waves and billowing sails.

Ilan-Lael

Julian, California

The Drafting Studio on the Ilan-Lael Compound near Julian, California. Photo by John Durant

The source of James Hubbell’s artistry and architectural design is based in his residence and studios located in Julian, California. Ilan-Lael, a Hebrew phrase which roughly translates to mean “a tree that belongs to God” is a 10-acre compound of 14 structures built over six decades with its design, construction and embellishments crafted by Hubbell and dozens of studio artists who have worked with him over the years. The compound encompasses living quarters, studio and gallery space, gardens, and a public building for the Ilan-Lael Foundation, the non-profit arts education foundation the Hubbell’s started in 1983. Today the Foundation manages the property and buildings located at Ilan-Lael and carries on the many art and diplomacy programs the Hubbell’s created. Tens of thousands have visited the Hubbells’ home and the Foundation, taking delight in designs that are inspired and surrounded by nature.

“‘I hope I can,’ as a young boy visiting our house once said, ‘build houses that trees aren’t embarrassed to stand next to.'”

— James Hubbell

Ilan-Lael was built first and foremost as a family home — a partnership between James Hubbell and his wife Anne, who shared his dream of living in harmony with nature and building a home with their own hands. Together, they built an art-centric life on 10 acres of chaparral-covered mountaintop they purchased as newlyweds in 1958. Living close to nature, they left oak trees and boulders in place, siting buildings around these natural features. They dug footings by hand with shovels. They only built when they had a need for more space and money in hand to pay for it. They raised four sons here. Learn more

Family, the beauty of nature, and Anne’s loving encouragement have anchored Hubbell’s creativity over the course of their lives together.

Pacific Rim Park

“Entre Corazón y Mar,” Pacific Rim Park in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. Photo by John Durant

Pacific Rim Park is a project of the Ilan-Lael Foundation, which invites partners from cities around the Pacific to co-venture on the design and building of parks. Hubbell views this as a form of cultural diplomacy, bridging cultures and establishing new connections. His vision is to create understanding among the diverse cultures of the Pacific Rim.

“Beauty can be a guide in helping us put together a complex world and be a tool to help us make changes for the better.”

—James Hubbell

The parks are designed and built by architecture students from the participating cities under the tutelage of artists, architects, builders and planners. Participants are charged with building a park within a time frame of just 30 days, and they transcend language and cultural differences through a shared vision to design and build. To date, there are seven parks in countries surrounding the Pacific, with more planned for the future.

Colegio La Esperanza Schools

Jardin de los Niños, kindergarten in Colonia Esperanza, Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. Photo by John Durant

Colegio La Esperanza elementary school in Colonia Esperanza, Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. Photo by John Durant

Tijuana and San Diego exist side by side, along a border that both divides and connects. James Hubbell honored this complex relationship by giving his time and talent to a 30-year design project that bridged the two communities. He was recruited by a social worker named Christine Brady to create a kindergarten and elementary school in an underserved neighborhood in eastern Tijuana. Hubbell, parents, and other volunteers worked together to erect the flowing structures, building a point of pride and hope for the future. The construction of the school served as a catalyst, strengthening a community that had been fraught with conflict. 

“I hope it will help the children to understand that it is a wonderful thing to be alive and to be human and to care.”

— James Hubbell