Music producer Quincy Jones wanted quiet spaces that calm the soul.
Jerry Allison, who calls himself a romantic and a traditionalist, was the architect Jones chose to design his 20,000-square-foot spirit-soothing Bel-Air home.
The Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo architect doesn’t typically design residences,his firm is a world leader in hospitality design. But when Jones visited the exotic South African Paradise of the Lost City resort, designed by Allison, Jones fell in love with the architectural fantasy that portrays a mythical lost kingdom.
“He was so delighted, he wanted me to do his house for him,” Allison says.
But when Jones was ready, Allison was busy designing the MGM Mansion in Las Vegas and bowed out, recommending another architect. Jones was willing to wait, and so they were off, talking about shapes and spaces, polished brass and stone walls and slick sharp-edged things.
“I’m the world’s greatest architect,” laughs Allison, who is president of WAT & G; international and is based in the firm’s Newport Beach office.
He exudes confidence as he displays his penciled drawing of the Jones residence.
“All my design work is done with pencil and paper,” he says.
Many architects use a computer to do design, but Allison says drawing allows him to be more fanciful.
While design and presentation are creative endeavors, construction documents require mathematical ability. As a young architect, Allison used to draft plenty of construction documents. Older and wiser at 67, he sticks to design.
Now he’s on the talk circuit, teaching other architects and students how to tap into their creative selves. In his presentation he tells architects to develop their own unique styles and not fall into the trap of designing faddish architecture with “flavor of the month” labels like Post-modern and Deconstructive.
Allison also maintains a down-to-earth quality. Dressed in a flannel shirt, he sits at his drawing table in the corner of his modest bay, welcoming the occasion to share his passion.
“I have a softer, more humanistic approach to design,” he says.
While admiring “cutting-edge” architects like Richard Meier, designer of the Getty Center in Los Angeles, he says trendy is not for him.
The Jones project,details of which are hush-hush,has taken just about 10 months to get to the construction phase. Normally it takes about six months to launch a project, Allison says, but due to Jones’ travel schedule, work has been done in fits and spurts.
Designing a residence is unusual for Allison. He designs resorts in exotic places. Some of his projects include Malaysia’s Palace of Golden Horses, Promised Land in Taiwan and Ibusuki Kanko hotel in Kyushu, Japan. Other notable Allison designs are Disney’s Grand Floridian Beach Resort at Walt Disney World in Orlando, and the Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Fla.
The firm also has designed for Las Vegas casino clients like Caesars Palace, the Venetian and the MGM Grand. Allison says Las Vegas architecture is “a little tongue-in-cheek,” although lately, there seems to be a move toward a sense of authenticity. The Bellagio resembles the Como area of Italy and the MGM Grand Mansion is Tuscan in character, he says.
Allison was called in during the concept phase of MGM Grand’s Mansion, a clandestine getaway for the casino’s high-rolling clients. The MGM was close to being the ideal client, he says: “They were very appreciative of quality.”
In addition, the decision makers were very engaged in the project.
In contrast, projects that are difficult usually include a “highly opinionated” client or an uninvolved client. The latter “is like working in the dark,” he says.
The 3,000 room Venetian in Las Vegas is an example of working with a tricky client.
“There were difficulties in the project, but we managed,” he says.
Allison didn’t want to elaborate on the problems, but the Venetian’s owner, Sheldon Adelson, is known for speaking his mind and rattling cages. WAT & G; has been retained to design the casino’s 3,000-room second tower, currently on hold pending Adelson’s ability to raise capital.
Allison joined WAT & G; in 1957, after he graduated from the University of Washington, and was based in the Honolulu office. He came to Newport Beach temporarily in the early ’80s to work on the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel resort in Dana Point.
“I loved Orange County so much, and my kids were going to USC,” so he stayed. Orange County is not as much fun as Hawaii, he says, but there’s more vitality here.
Allison lives in Corona del Mar with his wife, Charlotte. When he’s not designing, he stirs up his creative juices with hobbies like ceramics, woodworking and photography and by playing with his five grandchildren. n
