Batter Kay Associates

Janice Kay was born in Del Mar, Michael in New Haven, Connecticut. Together they attended the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Upon arriving in San Diego they spoke to Fred Liebhardt and Roy Drew about potential jobs. Instead of joining either firm they started their own office, in the middle of a recession, in 1975.

A house for themselves on Balboa in Del Mar was their first project. Luckily the young upstarts were able to secure jobs from those that learned of their design ethos through the house. And for economy, the Batter Kay office was on the 1st floor of their home.

In the beginning, Batter Kay did not break certain rules as they held to a Corbusian discipline. And to this day, the couple believe that every Batter Kay house, having designed over 200 projects since 1975, reflects its site and its clients.

Recognizing Josep Lluis Sert’s imprint, with whom they studied with at Harvard, one’s eye may also be drawn to references to Charles Gwathmey and Architects Collaborative work in the early 1970s. Certainly their work is connected to Le Corbusier, and not via 6-degrees of separation as Sert managed Corbusier’s only project built on U.S. soil the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts (ca. 1963) at Harvard University.

While many of the students that attended Harvard built their careers in New York and Boston, Michael and Janice moved to San Diego with the idea they could actually build residential projects (in contrast to commercial projects being largely the available projects in older, more dense northeastern urban settings) as southern California continued to grow and develop.

While they continue to maintain that their projects should be painted white, some of their earlier homes were clad in stained/sealed wood. Their switch to stucco favored a more ‘plastic’ material that could help make real some of their ideas.

Among their principles of design are creating ‘art you live in and feel good about being in’, ‘making all spaces work both inside and out’, and in regards to best siting a home ‘make the house bend toward the view.’

According to the office principals, their reliance on designing homes in white allows the resident and visitor to see the homes as sculpture. The stark color and forms create strong contrasts between indoor and outdoor spaces.

References: Outside Architecture by Susan Zevon

Partial List of Projects

101 Coast Blvd, La Jolla

340 Serpentine Remodel
340 Serpentine, Del Mar

Albrow House

Allesandro House
Rancho Santa Fe

Ashcraft Residence
La Jolla

Assaraff House (Villa Lago II)
Rancho Santa Fe

Bailey House
Escondido

Balboa Pool House
Del Mar

Ball, Douglas House
Sun Valley

Batter Kay Residence
2195 San Dieguito Drive, Del Mar

Batter Kay Residence (1975)
1930 Balboa Avenue, Del Mar

BeachHaus Condominiums
Solana Beach

Beachtown Condominiums
Del Mar

Becker House
San Diego

Belda House
Laguna Niguel

Belda House
Santa Barbara

Belda House
Scottsdale

Bergey House
Laguna Niguel

Berridge House
Del Mar

Berry house
Del Mar

Berwald House
Rancho Santa Fe

Blake-Smith Office Building
Del Mar

Bluebird House I
La Jolla

Bluebird House II
La Jolla

Boca Del Mar House I
Del Mar

Boca Del Mar House II
Del Mar

Boca Del Mar House III
Del Mar

Boca Del Mar House IV
Del Mar

Boca Del Mar House V
Del Mar

Boca Del Mar House VII
Del Mar

Bonita House
Bonita

Brenneman House
Solana Beach

Brooke Site Analysis
Del Mar

Cardiff Mix Use Office Building
Cardiff

Casa De Norte House
Rancho Santa Fe

Cazadero Houes
Rancho Santa Fe

Christiansen House
Del Mar

Christiansen Remodel
Del Mar

Circle House
Solana Beach

Communale House (1979)
2712 La Costa Avenue

Denver I (Project)
Leucadia

Denver II House
Leucadia

Desha Duplex
Cardiff

Desha Triplex
Cardiff

Dorne Remodel I
Del Mar

Dorne Remodel II
Del Mar

Drewry Remodel (Project)
Hermosa Beach

El Amigo House
Del Mar

Eleventh Street Duplex
Del Mar

Felino House
San Diego

Fifteenth Street House
Del Mar

Fifteenth Street Office Remodel
Del Mar

Fremont House
La Jolla

Garg House
Del Mar

Gemini House I
Del Mar

Gemini House II
Del Mar

Gilbert Garage Conversion
Del Mar

Gilbert Guest House
Del Mar

Glenmont House
333 Glenmont Drive, Solana Beach

Goldman House
Bonita

Grant Remodel
Del Mar

Greenwald House
Del Mar

Grimaldi House
Del Mar

GroundHouse (Project)
Del Mar

GroundHouse II
Del Mar

Haggerty Remodel (Project)
Del Mar

Haimsohn House (Project)
Del Mar

Hargraves House
Vista

Haro House
Encinitas

Hazard House
Bonita

Hertel House
Del Mar

Highland Office
Solana Beach

Hillhaus Condominiums
La Costa

Hoska House
Del Mar

Huiskamp House
Del Mar

Hydock House
La Costa

Jacobs, Paul Residence
La Jolla

Jacobs, Paul Residence Remodel
La Jolla

Jakes Remodel
Del Mar

Jakes House II
San Diego

JND House
Del Mar

Johnston Ranch
Rancho Santa Fe

Kail House
Del Mar

Kaufman House
Rancho Bernardo

Kay, Andrew Residence

Kaypro Corporation Research Office
Solana Beach

Kaypro School
Solana Beach

Kaypro Shipping
Solana Beach

Kaypro Storage
Solana Beach

Kelley Laguna House
Laguna Beach

Kelley Napa House
Napa Valley

Kellogg Park Recreation Facility
La Jolla

Kellogg Remodel
La Jolla

Kent Remodel
La Costa

Koepke House
Milwaukee, WI

Kuttel House Remodel
La Jolla

La Jolla Country Day School Masterplan
La Jolla

La Jolla Country Day Nursery School
La Jolla

La Jolla Country Day School Classrooms
La Jolla

Landers Remodel (Project)
Rancho Santa Fe

Latina House
Del Mar

Levitsky House
Solana Beach

Lighthaus Condominiums
La Jolla

Long House (Project)
La Jolla

Mahdavi Remodel
La Jolla

Mango House I
Del Mar

Mango House II
Del Mar

Marechal House
Rancho Santa Fe

Mark House
Cardiff

McBride House
Mission Beach

McIntosh House
Hermosa Beach

Miller House Remodel (Project)
Del Mar

Modafferi House
Vista

Morrison House
La Jolla

Morton House
Imperial Beach

Mozart Creek Condos
Cardiff

Mozart I Condominiums
Cardiff

Mozart Triplex
Cardiff

Nelson House (Project)
Canoga Park

Nifontoff House
San Diego

Non Linear Systems Office Building
Solana Beach

Norman House
El Toro

Oceanfront Condominiums
Del Mar

Oceanfront Condominiums
Imperial Beach

Oceanpark
Del Mar

Oceanview Condominiums II
Del Mar

Ottenstein Condominium
Solana Beach
Oxford Twin Homes
Cardiff

Pancer/Durrell House
Mission Beach

Parrent House I
Del Mar

Parrent Remodel
Del Mar

Pavlock House
Del Mar

Pinney House I
Del Mar

Pinney House II
Del Mar

Polo Hill 15 house Subdivision

Pomeroy House (Project)
San Juan Capistrano

Porello Remodel
Del Mar

Pousti Remodel
La Jolla

Private Residence (1978)
1928 Balboa Avenue, Del Mar

Private Residence (2008)
2134 Cordero Road, Del Mar

Private Residence
617 Serpentine, Del Mar

Rancho Del Lago House, Lot 4
Rancho Santa Fe

Rancho Santa Fe Plaza
Rancho Santa Fe

Raskind House
La Jolla

Raskind Office (Project)
La Jolla

Richards House (Porject)
La Costa

Ridgehouse
Park City, UT

Riverview I Office Building
Del Mar

Riverview II Office Building
Del Mar

Rosenberg House
New Haven, CT

Rosenstein House I (Project)
Leucadia

Rosenstein House II
Del Mar

Rosenstein House Remodel
Del Mar

Rosenthal House
La Jolla

RSF Annex Office Building (Project)
Rancho Santa Fe

Sager House
San Diego

Sarnat House
Rancho Santa Fe

SCE Community of the Future
Los Angeles

Schaeffer Remodel
Solana Beach

SCRF Office Building (Project)
La Jolla

Seaview House
Del Mar

Second Street Studio
Santa Monica

Serpentine Solar House
Del Mar

Serra House
San Diego

Simms Remodel
Solana Beach

Skihouse Project
Park City, UT

Spain House (Project)
Solana Beach

SRS-Sara Rosenbluth Studio
San Diego

Stratford North/South
Del Mar

Stratford West
Del Mar

Stratford Woods Condominiums (1980)
18 Residences on Stratford Court, Del Mar

Sultantant of Oman House (Project)
Del Mar

Sun Road House (Project)
La Jolla

Tack Home
Leucadia

Taubman House
Rancho Santa Fe

Temple Hill 5 House Subdivision
Laguna Beach

Tomlin House
Del Mar

Top O’ The Cove Restaurant
La Jolla

Tuck House I
Del Mar

Tuck House II
Del Mar

Valdez House
La Jolla

Verratti/Boca 7 House
Del Mar

Via De La Valle Office Building
Del Mar

Via De La Valle Office Remodel
Del Mar

Vigil House
Del Mar

Villa Lago House
Rancho Santa Fe

Virginia Way House
La Jolla

Wagner House
Del Mar

Waite House
Point Loma

Wakefield, Ron Residence (2002)
1656 Plum Street, Point Loma

Warren House I
Del Mar

Warren House II
Del Mar

Warren House III
Del Mar

Warren House IV
Del Mar

Webber House
Del Mar

Weinress Remodel (Project)
Del Mar

Welzig/Davis House
Del Mar

Wood House
Del Mar

Wood Garage Addition
Del Mar

YMCA
San Diego

Young House (Project)
Escondido

Zable Garden House
Del Mar

Zousmer Residence
Rancho Santa Fe