“Our ultimate objective is to translate our client’s vision into an aesthetically successful venture,” says Jack Lionel Warner. “People often think that the architect’s focus is on his commission fees, which couldn’t be any further from the truth,” adds the architect and chairman of The Warner Group Architects. While the Montecito, California-based firm has remained small, Warner, along with architect and CEO Thiep Cung and interior designer and senior associate Jessica Bridges, recently launched Warner Group International, a division devoted to master planning for resorts, such as the 20,000-acre development the firm is currently working on in Panama.

“We’re doing everything from A to Z—the full master plan, from landscaping to custom homes to shopping to yacht clubs,” says Warner, who cites Irving Gill and Luis Barragán as two of his strongest influences. Warner is most excited about two current projects. One is a private residence in Kuwait City for a member of the royal family. “We’ve never done anything in Kuwait before,” he notes. “It’s actually been a bit of a challenging place to work in, because it gets up to 130 degrees during the day.” It’s something he won’t have to worry about on the second project: a home he’s building for himself in the famous Sea Ranch development south of Mendocino, on the California coast. “It’s where I’ve always wanted to live.”

The Warner Group

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