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Kendrick Bangs Kellogg, an architect who created unique buildings inspired by nature, died in San Diego on February 16 at the age of 89.
Although his work has never been widely recognized, it has been published internationally and he is respected by architects and architecture enthusiasts. Kellogg left an architectural legacy that includes several buildings in San Diego and Southern California that are unique works of art.
The majority of Kellogg’s buildings are residential, ranging from modest additions and remodels to spectacular custom homes realized with unlimited budgets. His designs also include several Chart House restaurants and a wedding chapel in Hoshino, Japan.
Wearing his signature cargo shorts and jacket—with plenty of pockets for tools, notes, pencils—Kellogg is a hands-on architect who can manually drive a bulldozer, swing a hammer, lift a beam or Mortar stone.
Considered an “organic” architect, Kellogg’s peers in San Diego included Sim Bruce Richards, James Hubbell and Wallace Cunningham (Wallace Cunningham). Kellogg was 23 and working for Richards when he designed his first project: the 1950s Babcock House in Mission Beach, whose sharp, triangular shape recalled Frank Frank Lloyd Wright’s early work was inspired by him.
But his own signature approach soon emerged and continued to evolve throughout his career. One of his designs is quintessential: Doolittle Manor, located in the vast desert of Joshua Tree. A beautiful masterpiece of concrete, stone, wood, copper and glass, Alicia Keys sang the song at the private unveiling of a new luxury cognac last New Year’s Eve.
Built between 1988 and 2014, the estate reflects Kellogg’s painstaking creative process. Surrounded by a dozen boulders that remain in their natural positions, from above it looks like a bizarre crustacean crawling across the barren landscape, like something out of Dune.
A 550-foot-long stone path winds up the slope to the entrance and serves as the floor directly through the building. The interior is composed of gently flowing spaces that provide comfort in the harsh desert landscape. Inside, natural light filters in through the gaps between the shell-like sections of the roof, creating patches of blue sky.
Located on a hillside east of Torrey Pines Road near La Jolla Shores, the Yen (aka Lotus) Villa in La Jolla is a Kellogg Special Art an early example. It blooms like a giant exotic flower, its petals supported by curved laminated wood beams.
A few years ago, Kellogg told me that in addition to architecture, he proudly considered himself an activist. He sent numerous letters to the media and elected officials on behalf of better architecture and planning. At the time, many of San Diego’s neighborhoods were (and still are) dominated by shoebox “dingbat” apartments and their goofy successors from the 1950s and 1960s. Kellogg lobbied for less restrictive urban design codes and more architectural freedom.
Decades later, San Diego still has a large population of ornamented bats, but the hope is that they will become an endangered species. Unfortunately, Kellogg’s brilliant designs rarely appear in urban neighborhoods—he built a mixed-use building in Pacific Beach that no longer houses a burger joint, but it’s not one of his best buildings by any means . Most neighborhoods in our city still crave a glass of Kellogg’s Spirit.
Kellogg grew up in Mission Beach and Lakeside Township. He recalled long summer days running around Mission Beach in a bathing suit, “the free spirit that lived in the Southwest playground.”
His father, a doctor, and his mother, a nurse and artist, introduced the family to the Theosophical Society in Point Loma. Their eventual architect played French horn in the Grossmont High School marching band and participated in the 1953 Rose Parade. His interests also include Arabian horses and model trains.
Kellogg met Wright at his Taliesin West studio in Arizona in the 1950s and considered an apprenticeship there, but he was determined to find his own aesthetic. He also attended San Diego State University, the University of Southern California, and the University of California, Berkeley, where he majored in mathematics and engineering. He later worked on his own projects as an engineer, draftsman, contractor and carpenter.
Kellogg had long wanted to open an architecture school in Palomar Hills. Although this dream has not yet come true, he generously shared his thoughts.
“When I came to San Diego to build my first house, I looked for original voices from the past and present. There was only one. His name was Kendrick Bangs Kellogg.” Cunningham recalled that he later designed several spectacular homes of his own (including a home in La Jolla that Keys and Swizz Beatz purchased for $28.8 million in 2019).
Cunningham was part of the Minge International Museum’s 2014-2015 “Three on the Edge” exhibition, which also included Kellogg and Hubbell. If you’re really curious about organic architecture, an out-of-print catalog is available on Amazon for $2,470.
“I was a little hesitant to approach him, such a great talent with so little time to share,” Cunningham said. “But he invited me to his laboratory in Palomar Hill, where he worked hands-on on experimental structures, assisted by a group of young artists and craftsmen. He was inspiring, kind and inclusive, and everyone was impressed by his immense abilities. In awe.”
Sources say Kellogg’s models, drawings, papers and photographs will be sent to the Museum of Art, Design and Architecture at the University of California, Santa Barbara, but arrangements have not yet been finalized. The materials include unbuilt designs for a stadium in San Diego and a skyscraper in Manhattan. The museum also houses the collections of Charles and Ray Eames, Bernard Maybeck, Richard Neutra, RM Schindler, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Irving of San Diego Archives of Gill and Richard Requa.
Kellogg is survived by his wife, Franeva Kellogg; His three children from a previous marriage: Shanna Kellogg, Klay Kellogg and Bryn Kellogg Hamson (and her husband Ben Hamson) and their mother Marilyn Kellogg; and five grandchildren.
Dirk Sutro has written extensively about Southern California architecture and design. His column appears monthly in the San Diego Times.
CityScape, supported by the San Diego Architecture Foundation, promotes outstanding architecture, landscape, interior and urban design to enhance the quality of life for all San Diegoans.
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