Sunshine and fantastic weather come to the residents of Irvine, California every day. This big beautiful city also has a lot to offer; family-friendly activities and a wide array of entertainment options for all to enjoy. Ranked as one of the best cities to live in Orange County, it’s also home to a rapidly growing job market and loads of opportunities for everybody.
The city attracts many young professionals and families looking to start a new life in the area. If you’re planning on building your new multifamily project in the city, we’ve gathered a list of the best multifamily architects in Irvine, California. This list was generated after our editorial team considered the architects’ experience, their design process, the quality and complexity of their projects, and the recognition they have earned in the field.
Danielian Associates Architecture and Planning
60 Corporate Park, Irvine, CA 92606
Danielian Associates Architecture and Planning believes that its business is only as successful as the great collaborative client relationships it forms. With each project, the firm places an emphasis on developing strong, interactive, and dynamic partnerships through open communication, accountability, and teamwork.
Backed by 53 years of experience, the firm takes great care to conduct thorough research on the local demographics, market challenges, opportunities, and future buyer profiles to make sure that all the bases are covered before the project even breaks ground. For its proven process and fantastic results, its projects have been recognized with awards like the 2017 Best Architectural Design of a Single Family Detached Home under 2,000 SF from the SoCal Awards, the 2017 Gold Nugget Grand Award — along with 5 Merit Awards — from the Gold Nugget Awards, as well as 2017’s Best in American Living Awards.
Above is the firm’s work on Nineteen01. This townhome and apartment project has a modern, yet timeless style in its 250 apartment units and 14 3-story townhome units. The design team worked with the existing parking structure and incorporated it into the new building as per the client’s request in order to save on costs and schedule time. The firm’s creative design solution ended up saving the client nearly 7 million dollars and resulting in a fine multifamily housing complex, packed with great amenities like secured bicycle storage, a pet spa, a 5,000-square-foot clubhouse, a private gym, a community kitchen, and a rooftop recreation deck. There’s even a 2,500-square-foot retail space on the ground level, which is perfect since it’s located within a bustling redevelopment on First Street in Santa Ana.
KTGY
17911 Von Karman Avenue, Suite 200, Irvine, CA 92614
KTGY is a full-service architecture, branding, interiors and planning firm with 30 years of experience in the business. Its architects, designers and planners remain consistent in their commitment to innovation, artistry and attention to detail, blending big picture, modern sustainable practices and high design standards toward enhancing communities and neighborhoods to create memorable destinations of enduring value.
The firm’s excellent work has been recognized with several awards, including the 2021 SoCal MAME Award for Best Design of a Multifamily Community – For Sale for Expo Walk. Featured is KTGY’s work on Alton + Von Karman in Irvine. This multifamily development addresses the varied housing needs of the area by creating a community with a mix of residential uses, including 93 for-sale townhomes and 264 for-rent apartments. Creating their own unique space, the five-story apartments located on the corner of Alton Parkway and Von Karman Avenue are wrapped around a six-story parking structure and two open courtyards. Featuring studio through three-bedroom units, specialty bicycle parking, pool and spa, and a courtyard barbecue area, the apartments are a mix of market-rate and low-income/workforce housing. Separated from the apartments by two tree-lined streets, the 1,097-1,829 square foot three-story townhomes feature two-, three-, and four-bedroom floor plans. Created as part of the Irvine Business Complex re-zoning program, this site brings much-needed housing, open space and trail connections to Irvine.
BSB Design
18600 MacArthur Boulevard, Suite 220, Irvine CA 92612
56 years in the business has provided BSB Design a solid foundation in creating regionally sensitive designs and providing product support services from its offices nationwide. The firm offers land planning, landscape architecture, and cost consulting services, on top of light commercial, institutional, retirement, hospitality, and mixed-use design services.
Its edge in architecture can be found in its great work on residential projects, some of which have been recognized with several awards. The most recent include the 2021 Gold Award for the Best Single Family Detached Model under 2,000-square-feet category, the Gold Award in the Best Single Family Attached Over 1700-square-feet category, and the Silver Award in the Best Single Family Detached Model Over 4,000-square-feet category, all from The Nationals, NAHB’s largest and most prestigious awards competition.
Above is BSB Design’s work on Cody Place, a modern, upscale townhome community found in stylish Palm Springs. The homes in this community stand out in the surrounding area for their 21st-century style, marked by elegant clean lines, undulating façades, and angled walls. It’s a contrast to the mid-century architecture found in much of Palm Springs. Cody Place offers 102 luxury residential units, all of which have gracious outdoor living provisions, including a ground-level courtyard with splash pools, mews views, and some green space. The community also enjoys an amenity building that offers lap and lounge pools, multiple fire pits, and lots of interior/exterior gathering space for the whole community to enjoy.
Robert Hidey Architects
3337 Michelson Drive, Suite 170, Irvine, CA 92612
Robert Hidey Architects is another award-winning architecture firm that is best known for creating timeless designs backed by unrivaled expertise and honed by 31 years in the business. The team keeps a consistent and efficient project management system to provide excellent customer service along with a cost-effective process that ensures that clients reach their goals on time and within budget.
Among the firm’s many accolades are the 2021 Best Community Land Plan, the 2021 Best Community Pivot, the 2021 Masterplan Community of the Year, all from the Gold Nugget Awards. They were also recently recognized with the 221 Best Architectural Design of a Detached Home in the 45 – 55 foot width category from the MAME Arizona Architectural Awards.
Pictured is a great example of Robert Hidey Architects’ handiwork in practice. The stunning Orchard Park in San Jose bears the firm’s signature timeless touch with its traditional façade. This gorgeous, classic-style multi-family project includes 239 spacious, well-made units that range from 1,812 to 4,105 square feet in size.
MVE + Partners, Inc.
1900 Main Street, Suite 800, Irvine, CA 92614
MVE + Partners provides professional architecture, planning, interior, and graphic design services to a wide array of markets. 47 years in the industry has turned the firm into one of the country’s most innovative and respected design and planning firms, thanks to its 100-person team of talented architects, designers, planners, programmers, and technical specialists. The work that its team has put in has led to the firm being recognized with the 2019 AIAOC 25-Year Design Award, the 2019 Gold Nugget Grand Award-Winning Community, and the 2016 ULI Emergent Leadership Awards.
The Plaza Irvine featured above is a high-rise project designed by MVE + Partners. The 202 units of this project enjoy the breathtaking vistas from their floor-to-ceiling windows of the high-rise residential towers found in the prosperous business center of Irvine. The project also includes an elevated amenity deck with two pools, a boutique restaurant, and retail centers that cater to the working professionals of the city.
TCA Architects
18821 Bardeen Ave. Irvine, CA 92612
TCA Architects has nearly three decades of experience providing architectural design services, inspired by cultural narrative and evolutionary design. With every project the firm takes on, it listens to the client to create a forward-thinking design that champions community building. Backed by 28 years of experience, the firm specializes in mixed-use multifamily housing, dynamic retail, and beautiful hospitality environments that have been recognized with awards like multiple 2018 and 2020 PCBC Gold Nugget Grand Awards, and multiple 2020 PCBC Gold Nugget Merit Awards.
A deviation from most of the projects featured here is the Anton Portola, an affordable community that consists of 12 three-story apartment buildings that house 256 spacious units. The Anton Portola is designed around two large open greens at the center of the community which is used as both the main recreational area where the pool is located and a large play area next to a shared laundry facility. All of the homes work around these areas which enhances each unit’s views and helps everybody keep connected within the neighborhood as well.
Foxlin Architects
392 Camino de Estrella, San Clemente, CA 92672
Foxlin Architects creates practical design solutions that combine the sustainable and technological expertise of founders Juintow Lin and Michael Fox. The consistent result is a forward-thinking building. The firm provides clients with practical and realistic designs that take into account the target timelines, the budget, the function of the project, and of course, the aesthetics of the space.
Above you’ll find the Resort View Townhouses, a housing complex found across from a golf course on the Southern California coast. This project consists of 27 units that are a combination of townhouses and flats, all centered around lush landscaped central courtyards with private areas, fire pits, and table tennis. Inside the units, residents can enjoy an abundance of natural lighting thanks to the large windows that also provide views from their private rooftop balconies.
