Architect

At Syncopated Architecture, we believe that making a building is much like creating music. As the leaders of the project, we see ourselves as the conductors of the symphony. In music there are all different types of instruments to coordinate and bring into tune together. It’s our job to orchestrate all those pieces and pull them together until they sing. When we design, we push and pull the building until we feel all the harmonies and melodies come into perfect pitch. It’s like listening to the Symphony tune up before the concert. At first the dissonance is the most powerful sound and slowly it slips into harmony together. In a way, finding the rhythm of a building is our way of making beautiful music.

Syncopated Architecture was founded in 2009 by architect, Serina Calhoun. Her strong background in public school work and multi-family housing projects instilled the importance of producing high-quality, detailed plans for every project. We pride ourselves on our “out-of-the-box” style and our problem-solving skills.

We leverage our extensive knowledge of the code and all its exceptions to gain the maximum value for our clients. San Francisco has a very complex set of codes, but within all that complexity lies opportunities that we bring to every project we work on.

​Our passion is creating housing in any form we can, although our firm has extensive experience in a variety of project types from single-family projects to commercial tenant improvements, restaurants, adaptive reuse projects, and new construction. We’re best known for our expertise in Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) projects; having created over 300 new units in San Francisco with this program. Serina has spoken extensively about this project typology at both local and national levels. Through that work, she has also become a fierce housing advocate, working closely with local legislators to streamline permitting and impact new legislation that affects the built environment.