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San Francisco directory · Ranked by permits issued

Residential architects in San Francisco

1,204 architects and designers have 2 or more residential permits issued in San Francisco since 2018, counting home remodels, additions, new homes, ADUs and apartments. We rank them by how many the city issued with their name on the record. Pick one project type below to rank that work alone.

Updated October 20, 2026 · Nobody pays to be listed or ranked

Architects ranked
1,204
Residential permits filed since 2018
160,215
Architects who filed in the last 2 years
861

Where is the project?

Pick a neighborhood to see who works there most. Bars count the architects and designers for whom it is a top neighborhood.

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Sheet
A-110
Drawing
Residential architects, San Francisco
Source
SF DBI building permits since 2018
Date
Oct 2026
Scale
2+ issued to be listed

1,204 listed, most residential permits issued first

  1. No. 1
    Home remodels 60% Apartments 18% ADUs 10% Additions 4% Other 8%

    Their permits by project type, drawn as a plan.

    582 issued

    Xie Associates

    Architect · License C32963 · San Francisco

    Residential issued
    582 of 662
    Share of their work
    92%
    Median to issue, all types
    11.5 mo

    628 permits of all types issued since 2018. Mostly home remodels 60% · apartments and multifamily 18% · ADUs 10%. Last filed Oct 2026.

    Most active in

    • Sunset/Parkside
    • Outer Richmond
    • West of Twin Peaks
    • Excelsior
    2018 Permits filed per year 2026

    Open profile

  2. No. 2
    Home remodels 78% Apartments 9% Additions 6% ADUs 5%

    Their permits by project type, drawn as a plan.

    350 issued

    Hing Wah Construction

    Designer · License 662696 · San Francisco

    Residential issued
    350 of 370
    Share of their work
    98%
    Median to issue, all types
    14.6 mo

    356 permits of all types issued since 2018. Mostly home remodels 78% · apartments and multifamily 9% · home additions 6%. Last filed Oct 2026.

    Most active in

    • Sunset/Parkside
    • West of Twin Peaks
    • Outer Richmond
    • Excelsior
    2018 Permits filed per year 2026

    Open profile

  3. No. 3
    Home remodels 86% ADUs 4%

    Their permits by project type, drawn as a plan.

    301 issued

    Hing Wah Design

    Designer · San Francisco

    Residential issued
    301 of 322
    Share of their work
    99%
    Median to issue, all types
    10.7 mo

    303 permits of all types issued since 2018. Mostly home remodels 86% · apartments and multifamily 6% · home additions 4%. Last filed Oct 2026.

    Most active in

    • Sunset/Parkside
    • West of Twin Peaks
    • Outer Richmond
    • Excelsior
    2018 Permits filed per year 2026

    Open profile

  1. 4
    Shatara Architecture Architect · C24700 · Apartments and multifamily 36% · Home remodels 29% Mission, Bayview Hunters Point, Noe Valley, Potrero Hill
    288 issued of 377
    16.7 mo median, all types
  2. 5
    Ken Chan Designer · Home remodels 88% · Apartments and multifamily 7% Sunset/Parkside, Excelsior, West of Twin Peaks, Oceanview/Merced/Ingleside
    266 issued of 275
    10.8 mo median, all types
  3. 6
    Halyard Construction Inc. Architect · C34024 · Apartments and multifamily 81% · ADUs 18% Pacific Heights, Marina, Hayes Valley, Haight Ashbury
    254 issued of 335
    19.1 mo median, all types
  4. 7
    Architects Sf Architect · C34078 · Home remodels 48% · Apartments and multifamily 25% Bernal Heights, Mission, Marina, Pacific Heights
    238 issued of 306
    15.9 mo median, all types
  5. 8
    Jason M.J.Chan Architect Architect · C25279 · Home remodels 66% · Apartments and multifamily 16% Sunset/Parkside, West of Twin Peaks, Outer Richmond, Inner Richmond
    225 issued of 263
    13.7 mo median, all types
  6. 9
    Tommy Lee Consulting Designer · C29384 · Home remodels 86% · Apartments and multifamily 9% Sunset/Parkside, West of Twin Peaks, Outer Richmond, Oceanview/Merced/Ingleside
    207 issued of 219
    7.9 mo median, all types
  7. 10
    Troy Kashanipour Architect · C27646 · Home remodels 59% · Apartments and multifamily 18% Noe Valley, Mission, Bernal Heights, West of Twin Peaks
    194 issued of 214
    15.0 mo median, all types
  8. 11
    Bin Lei Designer · Home remodels 90% · ADUs 4% Sunset/Parkside, Excelsior, Outer Richmond, Bayview Hunters Point
    194 issued of 210
    35.6 mo median, all types
  9. 12
    Sutro Architects Architect · C30702 · Home remodels 65% · Home additions 14% Pacific Heights, Presidio Heights, Marina, Seacliff
    193 issued of 212
    8.4 mo median, all types
  10. 13
    Topetcher Architectural Architect · C21678 · Home remodels 46% · Apartments and multifamily 27% Haight Ashbury, Mission, Marina, Outer Richmond
    186 issued of 218
    15.2 mo median, all types
  11. 14
    Thousand Architects Architect · C30755 · Apartments and multifamily 48% · ADUs 30% Marina, Pacific Heights, Mission, Hayes Valley
    169 issued of 213
    10.5 mo median, all types
  12. 15
    Hood Thomas Architects Architect · C19445 · Apartments and multifamily 39% · Home remodels 33% Mission, Castro/Upper Market, Pacific Heights, Financial District/South Beach
    165 issued of 191
    13.9 mo median, all types
  13. 16
    Syncopated Architecture Architect · C30744 · Apartments and multifamily 49% · ADUs 26% Mission, Nob Hill, Tenderloin, Inner Sunset
    157 issued of 228
    13.6 mo median, all types
  14. 17
    Knock Arch & Design Architect · C31156 · Home remodels 62% · ADUs 12% Castro/Upper Market, Noe Valley, Potrero Hill, Mission
    154 issued of 188
    12.4 mo median, all types
  15. 18
    Hkit Architects Architect · C24760 · Apartments and multifamily 96% · Hotels, clinics, schools and other commercial 4% Japantown, Marina, Pacific Heights, Western Addition
    142 issued of 145
    10.9 mo median, all types
  16. 19
    Openscope Studio Architect · C33268 · Apartments and multifamily 44% · ADUs 32% Mission, Pacific Heights, Marina, Noe Valley
    141 issued of 178
    10.6 mo median, all types
  17. 20
    Basis Architecture Architect · C21406 · Apartments and multifamily 74% · Home remodels 25% Bayview Hunters Point, Western Addition, Castro/Upper Market
    133 issued of 147
    — too few to time
  18. 21
    Five Design Architect · C36311 · Home remodels 64% · Apartments and multifamily 20% West of Twin Peaks, Noe Valley, Castro/Upper Market, Financial District/South Beach
    122 issued of 131
    9.0 mo median, all types
  19. 22
    Aaron Lim Design Architect · C37034 · Home remodels 64% · ADUs 15% Bayview Hunters Point, Sunset/Parkside, Outer Richmond, West of Twin Peaks
    121 issued of 136
    9.1 mo median, all types
  20. 23
    Schaub | Li | Architects Architect · C32289 · Home remodels 38% · Apartments and multifamily 26% West of Twin Peaks, Glen Park, Sunset/Parkside, Mission
    120 issued of 162
    13.1 mo median, all types
  21. 24
    Martinkovic Milford Architects Architect · C33430 · Home remodels 31% · Offices 16% Financial District/South Beach, Marina, Russian Hill, Noe Valley
    119 issued of 131
    10.2 mo median, all types
  22. 25
    Jorge Carbonell Architecture Architect · C30680 · Home remodels 44% · Apartments and multifamily 34% Noe Valley, Marina, Presidio Heights, Inner Sunset
    114 issued of 136
    8.8 mo median, all types

Ranked by residential building permits issued in San Francisco since 2018 with the firm named on the permit record; firms need 2 or more to be listed. The line under each name shows the firm's two largest project types as a share of its permits. Median time covers all of a firm's plan-review permits of every type, and needs 3 or more issued with dates; the blue dimension line under it is drawn to scale, with the longest times running to the full width. Neighborhoods are where it filed the most permits of any type. A listing is not an endorsement, and nobody pays to be ranked. Some firms appear twice when the city recorded them under two names.

Source and notes

Source: San Francisco Department of Building Inspection building permits and permit contacts on DataSF. We include new-construction, plan-review and over-the-counter alteration permits filed since 2018, sorted into project types from the building's use and the permit description. Owner-builders and other private individuals are left out, and we never publish project addresses. Is your firm listed wrong? Send a correction.

Common questions

Which architects have the most residential permits in San Francisco?

On city permit records since 2018, Xie Associates is named on the most issued residential permits among architects and designers (582 issued of 662 filed), counting home remodels, additions, new homes, ADUs and apartments.

How long does a residential building permit take in San Francisco?

It depends on the project. For residential permits that went through plan review since 2018, the median ran from 6.2 months for apartments and multifamily to 22.7 months for new homes. Of 160,215 residential permits filed, 11,520 went through plan review.

How is this list ranked?

By the number of residential building permits (home remodels, additions, new homes, ADUs and apartments) issued in San Francisco since 2018 where the firm or person is named on the permit record in the city's public contacts data. Nobody pays to be listed or ranked. Sponsored placements, when they exist, are labeled and shown apart from the ranking.