For the better part of 50 years, Trip Bennett has been fully immersed in architecture, mostly in the La Jolla area. But at the beginning of this year, Bennett retired from his longtime practice to serve as a consultant in an emeritus role.
Despite nearly a half-century in the field, he fell into the profession almost by accident.
Professional history
Bennett enrolled at Texas Tech University in the early 1970s, hoping to be deferred from the draft for the Vietnam War as a college student. However, “I had no idea what I wanted to do,” he said.
“They asked what my major was and I told them I didn’t know,” Bennett said. “They handed me a catalog and I opened it to a random page and it was architecture, so I put that down. My mom said ‘You picked what?’ But now I can’t imagine doing anything else. I fell into it and fell in love with it.”
After graduating in 1975, Bennett worked for Texas-based architectural firms for more than a decade. In that time, he worked in what he calls an “assembly line” style of architecture, meaning plans would be handed to him, he would design toilets and the plans to someone else to design other features such as staircases.
“After a year I knew I didn’t want to do that forever,” he said.
Bennett and his wife and newborn son moved to New Mexico, where Bennett worked for John McHugh Architect, who designed the Santa Fe Opera House.
There, Bennett said, “I learned about what it means to really love architecture. I learned so much.”
After some time back in Texas, he moved to San Diego on the advice of fellow architects. In 1989, Bennett started working as a general contractor with Dewhurst and Associates in La Jolla, serving in its first in-house design department.
After 15 years there, Bennett established Bennett & Smith Architects, his own practice in La Jolla with fellow architect Alison Smith. As part of that process, he opened a company to make cabinets for the houses they were deg.
“At one time, we had 15 people on the architecture side and 15 people on the cabinet side,” Bennett said. “It was a little too much, so Alison took the cabinet company and I took the architecture company.”
The architecture practice’s name was changed to Bennett & Associates in 2004.
“A lot of what I would do is traditional, with some contemporary,” he said. “I try really hard not to have a signature. I’d feel like I would have failed the client if they could drive down the street and say ‘That’s a Trip Bennett house.’ I want it to reflect them and their needs, rather than us.”
Personal connections
Bennett also got involved with local service and volunteer organizations such as the La Jolla Historical Society, La Jolla Sunrise Rotary Club and others.
“I was on the Historical Society board and was the interim director for eight months, and I helped bring the Concours d’Elegance car show to the La Jolla Historical Society,” Bennett said. “I chaired it the first two years and it consumed me.
“I also helped with the Fire Station 13 renovation with the Sunrise Rotary Club. We raised $750,000 to completely renovate and expand the station in 18 months. I was amazed that all these people came to help. It regained my appreciation for La Jolla and the community. When people ask me about my favorite project, it’s hard to not say that one.”
“La Jolla has been very good to me and I want to give back,” he added. “I love this place and I think there are exciting things on the horizon.”
Looking to his own horizon, Bennett partnered with area architect AJ Remen in 2020 and the practice was renamed Arista Architects.
Community character
During his time in La Jolla, Bennett said, he has observed trends in the architecture but also a level of consistency. But much of the community’s evolving character is due to regulations at higher levels and rising property costs, he added.
“La Jolla is completely built out, so if you are not doing a heavy remodel, you are tearing down a house and building a new one,” he said. “Architecture hasn’t changed that much here. You still see Spanish Colonial buildings being built. But the scale has gotten bigger over the years because the price people pay for the lot has gone up. You can’t pay $3 million for the dirt and build a 1,500-square-foot house.”
One thing that has stayed the same, if not gotten more extreme, is the amount of “bureaucratic layers to get things approved,” he said. Also, there are more punitive regulations.
“We’re seeing a lot more contemporary styles and a lot of boxes with no articulation because people want to get the most out of the space and limitations they have,” Bennett said. “I think too much energy is spent trying to regulate doing the right thing. Instead, why not give them an incentive to keep things smaller?”
He also wishes there were more incentives to preserve existing buildings.
With several Bennett projects listed on the National of Historic Places, he said “the way they approach it here is so backward to me. It comes across as penalty-based rather than incentive-based. [San Diego reviewers] want you to finish the project and see if it is worthy of listing. On the National , you give them the plans and they tell you whether it would be worthy of designation. … There is such a great inventory of buildings in La Jolla, but no incentive to keep them.”
Looking ahead
Bennett said he doesn’t have a “bucket list” now that he’s retired but added that he’s looking forward to spending more time with his wife, Alice, and getting back into artistic endeavors.
“I plan to advise or counsel where I can in the next few years, but I used to paint watercolors or draw and I miss it, so I might go back to that,” he said. “I have no aspirations of doing architecture but will help if needed. Mainly, my wife and I will be married 50 years this summer and I want to spend time with her. I spent a lot of time on my craft and volunteer work. Now it’s time for me to quiet myself and spend time with her.”
Reflecting on his career, Bennett said “I didn’t break new ground, but I always listened to the clients and the neighbors. Neighbors weren’t always happy, but they knew what was being planned.
“I’ve been really fortunate to have worked on amazing homes with amazing people, which I will miss.” ♦
