Roman Holiday
An architect's Ojai home is inspired by the Eternal City
Written by L.D. Porter | Photographs by Tim Street-Porter | Produced by Frederick Janka
A medieval proverb proclaims “all roads lead to Rome,” but for architect Frederick Fisher, Rome led to Ojai, where his contemporary home reflects the transformative experience of a year spent in the Eternal City with his wife, Jennie Prebor, and their two sons, Henry and Eugene.
It was not your average family trip to Europe. In 2008, Fisher received the prestigious Rome Prize awarded annually by the American Academy, an august cultural institution established in 1894 by such prominent Americans as John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and William K. Vanderbilt. Presented to 30 artists and scholars in various fields, including architecture, design, and literature, the prize also features a lengthy stay at the Academy’s iconic hilltop compound.
“It changed our life, for life,” says Fisher of the sojourn. Upon returning to their Los Angeles home, the couple hosted a fundraiser for the academy’s Rome Sustainable Food Project, which focuses on feeding academy residents in an environmentally sustainable way. The event was held in Ojai, and Prebor was immediately hooked on the community: “I thought, I could live here. That was it,” she says. Fisher was already a convert, having designed a house in Ojai years earlier for artist Elyn Zimmerman.
The couple found a deserted nine-acre hilltop plot in downtown Ojai, derelict but packed with promise, including spectacular mountain and valley views. An extensive cleanup uncovered a series of stone terraces and an olive grove, in addition to the remains of an old cistern.
The land could have been subdivided and developed, but Prebor and Fisher were determined to keep it intact. “This is such a rare type of property that it’s a legacy,” explains Fisher. “You’re taking care of a legacy. It’s a treasure.” Adds Prebor, “It’s about preserving the site and having the site not just for our family but for the community, too, to have community events.” In fact, the couple sponsored several fundraisers on their grounds years before their house was built. Both Prebor and Fisher are arts supporters; many of Fisher’s projects include artist collaborations, and Prebor is an art world veteran. Together they’ve supported Ojai’s Carolyn Glasoe Bailey Foundation; as Frederick Janka, its executive director notes, “Jennie and Fred were early adopters of the foundation from the start. They’re real patrons of the arts and artists.”
The existing topography dictated the home’s design. “It’s a beautiful hilltop site, and there’s something unique about that as an architectural problem,” Fisher says. “You think of Tuscan hill towns and those little villas sitting on top of the hill like a box. Basically, that’s what this is; it’s the box on the hill.” The architect used a prefabricated structural insulated panel system to construct the three-story structure. Clad in rusted corrugated metal, the material harks back to the couple’s origins. (Prebor is a Pennsylvania native; Fisher hails from Ohio.) “Jennie and I are Rust Belt people,” Fisher says, “and the look of the timeless, rusted barn to me was a natural for this site. It’s ageless, and it requires no maintenance.”
From the start, the kitchen’s design was of paramount concern. According to Fisher, “The design of any house starts with the kitchen, because I know that the kitchen is going to be the center of life no matter what.” Prebor’s professional experience in the catering world added an additional requirement—the ability to entertain large groups. They needed, she jokes, “a house for the four of us that can entertain a hundred.” The result is an airy, double-volume space with a fire-engine red central island and custom cabinetry by artist Roy McMakin, who also created the kitchen’s bright yellow Dutch door with classic diamond-pane windows. “It’s like the midwestern suburban house kitchen,” says Fisher. “It’s a take on a vernacular that I’m very comfortable with.” Pre-COVID, the house was a welcome break from Los Angeles, where Fisher’s architecture office is based, but in the wake of stay-at-home
orders, the entire family has embraced Ojai full-time. Prebor owns a chic downtown boutique—Blanchesylvia, inspired by a shop in Rome—that features dresses, vintage finds, and beads. Fisher replicates his life in Italy through daily rituals: Mornings are consumed by espresso and the newspaper; midday he’s in the library surrounded by books and work; and the day ends with a glass of wine in the living room, gazing at the sunset mountain view, Ojai’s famous “Pink Moment.” •
