An Interview with Jeff Jungsten of Jungsten Construction

Adam Willis Photography

Jeff Jungsten started his career in construction right across the street from his current office – as a student at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley, California Jeff worked as an after school laborer at nearby construction sites. He remembers discovering innovative solutions to construction obstacles and finding joy in suggesting shortcuts to his bosses, “efficient solutions born out of teenage boy laziness” Jungsten recounted. Realizing his love for building, and what he would later recognized as an affinity for sustainable, efficient construction processes, he delved deeper into his expertise.

As a student at Chico State, Jungsten was connected to a job by his father (a professional in the Audio Visual industry) at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics opening and closing ceremonies- constructing a display that had to be easily, efficiently, and aesthetically constructed and destructed. “This was my first experience in a ‘no fail environment’, something that I have applied to all jobs since then.” From the Olympics, to renovating classic San Francisco Victorians- Jeff quickly became an expert in the California building scene, and joined up with Caletti Construction in 1994. In 2004 Jeff became a partner and Caletti Jungsten Construction was born, and later, in 2015 John Caletti retired and Jungsten Construction was on their way.

Sonoma Wine Country 1

Today, Jungsten Construction is Marin’s go-to when looking for best practice in sustainable construction. Jeff has cultivated a unique business model- building a collaborative, trusting, and honest environment from the very beginning of each project, bringing together teams based on sites and trusting relationships, as opposed to transactional, competitive jobs that plague the current industry. Jungsten sees himself as both an advocate for the client and architect, facilitating relationships and finding the best, most sustainable outcome for each project site, team, and budget. His philosophy is that the most efficient, and therefore, more sustainable way to approach a project is with the right team from the very beginning- which also provides the highest value of work and quality to clients.

A recent rendering from a Feldman Architecture/Jungsten Construction collaboration

FA first engaged with Jungsten Construction on what is now one of our favorite projects, Sonoma Wine Country 1, in which our teams pushed each other and the final design to the next level. This Fall, FA has two projects in the works with the Jungsten team– which Jeff pulled us into. “One of our clients called me and said they wanted a house that seamlessly fit into their breathtaking site, and I immediately thought of Butterfly House and some of the other work in the Santa Lucia Preserve, and FA was my first call and my only call. Their humility, their design, and their expertise truly made them my first choice, along with their seamless design connecting site and structure.”

Working with Jeff and the Jungsten Construction team is a pleasure because of the commitment to their collaborators and their clients. Jeff works twice as hard to make our job and the client’s lives easier- how can we say no to that?