The seventh-largest city in the Bay Area, Sunnyvale combines the noise of a highly technological city with the peace of a suburban city perfect for raising families. Sunnyvale is a city that has much to offer with a population of approximately 152,770 people who mostly rent their own homes. As a city serving as the hub for tech companies like Yahoo!, Sunnyvale is home to many young professionals who prefer renting their homes in order to avoid being tied down by the high cost of living, more expensive than California’s national average. In this list of the best multifamily architects in Sunnyvale are professionals who have created multifamily housing builds that are attractive and present a high-class Californian living experience.
These portfolios of luxury projects have been recognized with industry awards and features on high-profile publications like Engineering News-Record (ENR). With such honors from experienced professionals, these architects can be trusted to be some of the best architects to create essential multi-family structures around Sunnyvale.
KTGY
1814 Franklin St. Ste. #400, Oakland, CA 94612
Founded in 1991, KTGY, a full-service national architecture firm, has been known for designing environments and developments that focus on giving residents and visitors great experiences. With impressive designs and modern sustainable practices, KTGY has been featured in a plethora of magazines, including Archinect, Architectural Digest, The Washington Magazine, and multiple issues of Building Design + Construction. Alongside these features, the firm has also been honored with several awards. In 2021, it was awarded several Gold Nugget Awards. It notably won a number of merit awards for the best multifamily housing community of the year. The homes at Harmony are single-family units done in a stunning farmhouse style. The design, which won the BIA Bay Area MAME Award in 2021, offers four different floor plans to suit the unique needs of residents and includes gourmet kitchens, walk-in closets, and spacious fenced backyards.
STUDIOS Architecture
350 California St. 21st Floor, San Francisco, CA 94104
The ability to make practical and inspiring spaces is what made STUDIOS Architecture the international firm it is today. Since its establishment in 1985, STUDIOS Architecture has completed beautiful spaces that extend to various markets including the civic and cultural, education, commercial, hospitality and retail, workplace, and residential sectors. With a hand in these popular and human-centric markets, the firm has been able to create spaces that have gained the attention of The New York Times, CNN, and IN INTERIORS among other publications, and has been given awards like the 2019 NAIOP DC Awards of Excellence for best renovations/historic restoration. The firm earned other awards on the basis of high attention to detail. The UCLA Land Fair Apartments is a space that embodies the firm’s abilities. A homage to Los Angeles’ classic courtyard-housing concept, it has an open and welcoming atmosphere from the street and communal student spaces inside.
David Baker Architects
2135 San Pablo Ave., Oakland, CA 94612
A progressive architecture firm founded in 1982, David Baker Architects is well-versed in the personal, political, and commercial effects of new architecture in diverse urban environments. Over the decades, it has been featured in numerous publications including The Registry, Iron City Ink, and UrbanLand among many other magazines. Its influence and recognition have extended into its work and have resulted in beautiful and functional projects like the Pacific Cannery Lofts in West Oakland. An adaptive re-use project, it made use of a historic cannery and transformed it into a diverse collection of studios, flats, and loft townhouses around three open-air courts. This project alone was able to win awards like Multi-Housing News’ MHN Excellence Award for best new development/adaptive reuse and the American Society of Landscape Architects’ National Honor Award for Residential Design.
M.Designs Architects
4131 El Camino Real Suite #200, Palo Alto, CA 94306
M.Designs Architects can be trusted to craft some of the most iconic and pleasing structures an internationally recognized firm is capable of creating. From home and office remodels to new homes, Eichler homes, townhomes, villas, estates, and mid-sized commercial projects, this firm has 47 years’ worth of experience to support its abilities. During these years, it has won several noteworthy awards. These include the World Architecture & Design Awards 2019 first Award for residential private home, the META remodeling awards Platinum Awards for a residential addition, and several other META Awards for 2019.
SGPA Architecture and Planning
200 Pine St. Ste. #500, San Francisco, CA 94104
The ability to transform daily spaces into memorable and peaceful areas is what SGPA Architecture and Planning keeps as a foundation. With the firm’s roots grasping the architecture industry since 1969, this company collaborated with a wide array of clients across the Western U.S. and has completed projects for almost every market there is. This influence has been privy to eyes from publications like Engineering News-Record (ENR) California, ArchiECHO, and Los Angeles Times. So far, its abilities are most present in its work on the multi-residential project, Embark Apartments in Oakland. An affordable rental community for veterans and their families, it is six stories tall and contains a total of 62 units. Though it’s a small site, the green-designed building also has a community room with a kitchen, a rooftop garden, and large windows along with human-scaled design elements on the ground floor. With projects like these, the firm has been honored with more recognition like the 2016 and 2017 Healthy Places Award and the DBIA’s National Award of Merit among several other awards.
GKW Architects, Inc.
710 E McGlincy Lane Ste. #109, Campbell, CA 95008
From initial development to design development, construction documents, and construction administration, Gkw Architects, Inc. is an 11-year-old firm grounded on solving problems through exceptional solutions. Over the years, Gkw Architects, Inc. has completed both residential and commercial projects that have garnered attention from Mercury News, Sacramento Business Journal, and East Bay Times. One great example of the firm’s capabilities is the Roof Garden Villas in Hayward. A luxury residential community, it consists of eight units that prioritize sustainability, health, and nature. As an open space, this residential space has open space rooftops, natural energy generators from solar panels, landscaped gardens, and beautiful city views.
Ankrom Moisan
1014 Howard St., San Francisco, CA 94103
Established in 1983, Ankrom Moisan has done architecture, interior design, urban planning, and brand identity for nine industry sectors. With offices that extend from Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco, Ankrom Moisan has completed approximately 22,200 completed projects across 563 cities and four countries. Among the plethora of projects it has created, its most notable one is The George in San Francisco. A 21-story high rise, it has a mix of 302 units and amenities that appeal to social consciousness and center on technology. When it comes to housing design, the firm combines environmentally and culturally relevant solutions that result in homes that present comfort, security, versatility, and connectedness
Habitec Architecture and Planning
2290 North 1st St. Suite #304, San Jose, CA 95131
Founded in the early 1970s, Habitec Architecture and Planning has become a multi-disciplined firm that revolves around architecture. Over the decades, the firm has completed work for international tech companies like Google, Tesla Motors, PayPal, eBay, and SAP. Taking note of the various other projects, the firm has built approximately 30 million square feet of buildings and 10 million square feet of interior space design and development. So far, its portfolio includes the new construction of a large corporate office to smaller projects like tenant improvements for small boutiques.
