Architect Donald C. Hensman grew up on Hollywood and is widely recognized for his role as a partner in the Los Angeles firm Buff, Straub and Hensman (1956-1961) especially as it relates to the firm's masterwork – Case Study House #20 (AKA Saul Bass House, Altadena, 1958).
Donald Hensman was born on October 19, 1924 and grew up in Hollywood. He served in the U.S. Navy between 1942-46 as a parachute rigger in the South Pacific, and entered the USC architecture program by way of the GI Bill. Following graduation from USC, in 1952, he formalized a partnership (that reportedly began while a student attending USC circa 1948) with Conrad Buff as Buff & Hensman and Associates designing tract and model homes for a number of regional developers.
In 1952, Hensman returned to teach architecture at his alma mater (which he did through 1963) and earned the title of assistant professor within USC's design curriculum. At the same time, Conrad Buff, too, joined the USC teaching ranks – with both Buff and Hensman serving students while they were working professionals.
By 1956, the firm expanded with the addition of Calvin Straub. Straub would depart the practice to teach architecture at Arizona State University in 1961. The firm continued the partnership as Buff, Hensman and Associates.
Hensman contributed to Sunset Magazine’s "Entryways and Front Gardens" (1961), Esther McCoy’s Modern California Houses (1962), Beautiful Homes and Gardens (1964) and A Guide to Architecture in Southern California (1965).
Norton, John W. House (ca. 1956)
Location not known, San Diego
*Designed by Conrad Buff III and Don Hensman; and published in Sunset Magazine (November, 1956)
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