The New Modernists: 5 Bay Area Architecture Firms Reviving Mid-Century Modern Design
- MCG Official ✓ Fact Checked by For The Writers
- May 3
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 22
Mid-century modernism has long had a foothold in the Bay Area—not just as an aesthetic, but as a philosophy of living. With its clean lines, human-scaled proportions, and seamless indoor-outdoor connections, the style flourished in postwar California, where architects like Joseph Eichler, Joseph Esherick, and William Wurster responded to the region’s light, climate, and culture with architecture that felt both innovative and deeply personal. These homes weren’t just designed—they were choreographed to enhance the rhythm of daily life.
Today, that legacy is not only being preserved but thoughtfully reimagined. In an era where design trends shift quickly and new technologies reshape the way we build, a growing number of contemporary architects are returning to the timeless principles that made mid-century modernism so enduring: simplicity, clarity, functionality, and a profound respect for context. These values remain especially relevant in the Bay Area, where architectural heritage intersects with the pressures of urban growth, sustainability, and evolving lifestyle needs.
The following five San Francisco Architecture firms are leading the charge. Through renovations, reinterpretations, and entirely new builds, they’re carrying forward the spirit of mid-century design while infusing it with modern materials, environmental sensitivity, and a renewed focus on how we truly want to live now.
Edmonds + Lee Architects
Minimalist Materiality, Clean Geometry, and Revived Icons
At Edmonds + Lee Architects, mid-century values are seamlessly woven into a contemporary aesthetic. Known for their elegant restraint and emphasis on flow, light, and tactile materials, the firm often works on high-profile renovations of classic Bay Area homes, including sensitive updates to both Eichler and Esherick residences. Their work embodies the quiet confidence of mid-century design, with a focus on interior-exterior continuity, thoughtful circulation, and calm, contemplative spaces built to last.
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Turnbull Griffin Haesloop Architects
Bay Region Modernism, Evolved
Turnbull Griffin Haesloop continues the lineage of Bay Region Modernism—an approach grounded in site sensitivity, craftsmanship, and regional materials. Their projects often draw on the warm, textural modernism that defined the work of their predecessors, blending wood, glass, and natural light to create homes that are environmentally responsive and deeply connected to place. The result is architecture that feels timeless, contemporary in function, but mid-century in spirit.
Bohlin Cywinski Jackson (San Francisco Office)
National Reach, Local Modernist Roots
Although Bohlin Cywinski Jackson operates nationally, its San Francisco office has been instrumental in translating mid-century values into modern expressions of West Coast living. Their designs emphasize horizontality, transparency, and landscape integration—hallmarks of mid-century thinking. Whether designing residences, commercial buildings, or academic spaces, their projects reflect a clear lineage from the modernist tradition: clarity of structure, simplicity of form, and a deep reverence for context.
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Baran Studio Architecture
Urban Modernism Meets the Indoor-Outdoor Ethos
Baran Studio’s work reflects a contemporary take on mid-century modernism, often blending it with urban infill strategies and flexible layouts that cater to city living. The firm frequently draws from modernist principles such as clean lines, exposed materials, and strong connections between indoor and outdoor spaces. Their projects aren’t nostalgic—they’re forward-looking—but they carry the DNA of mid-century ideals, reinterpreted for denser, faster-paced lifestyles.
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BAR Architects
Preservation as Innovation
Few firms in the Bay Area have done more to preserve and reimagine mid-century homes than BAR Architects. With a portfolio that includes the sensitive renovation of Joseph Esherick’s 1958 Belvedere residence, BAR bridges the past and present with architectural precision. Their work maintains the original integrity of iconic homes while introducing modern comforts, sustainable materials, and lifestyle-driven updates. Their approach honors the ethos of mid-century design not just through aesthetics, but through respect for proportion, flow, and enduring utility.
Mid-century modernism endures not merely for its recognizable aesthetic—exposed beams, flat planes, expansive glass—but for the deeply held values that underpin its design philosophy. At its core, it champions clarity over ornamentation, functionality over formality, and a harmonious relationship between human habitation and the natural world. These are not solely stylistic preferences, but rather, architectural principles rooted in postwar optimism and democratic ideals—an ethos that valued light, openness, and accessibility in both space and spirit.
The Bay Area architects featured here aren’t replicating mid-century design—they’re in active conversation with it. Whether through the preservation of original Eichlers, the reinterpretation of post-and-beam construction using modern materials, or the integration of sustainable technologies into classic layouts, these firms are reimagining what modernism means today. Their work reflects a commitment to spatial honesty, environmental awareness, and emotional resonance.
In honoring the past while shaping the future, these architects demonstrate that great design is not static—it adapts, evolves, and, most importantly, listens. And in that evolution, mid-century modernism continues to guide how we build, live, and connect, not only in the Bay Area, but in design-conscious communities around the world.
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