Safdie Rabines Architects

What Safdie Rabines Architects does

Safdie Rabines Architects (SRA) is a full-service architecture, interiors, and urban design firm established in 1993 by founding partners Taal Safdie and Ricardo Rabines. Headquartered at 925 Fort Stockton Drive in San Diego, California, the firm operates with 11-50 employees and serves four primary client verticals: educational institutions (UC San Diego, UCLA, CSU San Marcos), government and municipal clients (City of San Diego, Imperial County, Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation), real estate developers (multi-family and mixed-use), and private residential clients. Its work spans academic buildings, student housing, civic infrastructure, bridges, single-family residences, and master planning across California and internationally in Doha, Qatar.

SRA's product portfolio is organized into four core service lines: Architecture Services (covering residential, commercial, civic, academic, and mixed-use building design); Interior Design under the SRI sub-brand (Safdie Rabines Interiors, providing space planning, construction documents, and design development); Urban Design and Master Planning (community developments, campus planning, and visioning studies); and Bridge and Infrastructure Design (specialized pedestrian and vehicular bridges). The firm employs 3D parametric design software for complex structural geometry work, as demonstrated on the Lusail City Junction 9 project in Doha. SRA's technology stack centers on context-responsive, sustainable design methodology with multiple LEED-focused projects, supported by dedicated in-house 3D design specialists.

The business operates on a professional services revenue model, billing clients on a project fee basis (typically a percentage of construction cost or fixed fee), with projects won through competitive bidding, design competitions, RFPs, and direct client relationships. Geographic reach is concentrated in California (with particular depth in San Diego County) but extends to Los Angeles, Portland, Las Vegas, and Doha, Qatar. Notable project scale includes the 1.6M SF, $608M North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood at UC San Diego and the Imperial County Criminal Courthouse. The firm has no external investment, no parent company, and operates as an independent California professional corporation owned by its partners.

Name

Safdie Rabines Architects

Legal name

Safdie Rabines Architects

Website

https://safdierabines.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Safdie Rabines Architects is a San Diego-based full-service architecture, interiors, and urban design firm founded in 1993, serving educational institutions, government clients, real estate developers, and private residential customers across California and select international markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Design Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (541310), Architectural Services (54131), Interior Design Services (54141)

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB)

Keywords

• Architecture design services
• Urban master planning
• Interior design services
• Bridge infrastructure design
• Sustainable building design

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Architecture and Design Services: Professional architecture services billed on a project fee basis, typically a percentage of construction cost or fixed fee for services, covering design, project management, and construction administration through project completion.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Safdie Rabines Architects is a full-service architecture, interiors, and urban design firm providing building design, interior design, master planning, and bridge/infrastructure design services. Projects range from single-family residences to large-scale academic, civic, multi-family, and mixed-use developments, delivered through direct client contracts on a project fee basis. The firm operates from San Diego with work concentrated in California and selected projects internationally, including Doha, Qatar.

Product overview

Safdie Rabines Architects is a full-service architecture, interiors, and urban design firm established in 1993, offering a comprehensive portfolio of services including Architecture Services, Interior Design (SRI), Urban Design and Master Planning, and Bridge and Infrastructure Design. The firm operates from San Diego with projects throughout California and beyond, spanning academic, civic, multi-family residential, single-family residential, and infrastructure project categories.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SRA: Shortened abbreviation for Safdie Rabines Architects used on the company's website and social media.

Products and services

• Architecture Services Full-service architecture services including residential, commercial, civic, academic, and mixed-use building design. Projects range from single-family homes to large-scale multi-family developments and institutional buildings, delivered for institutional, government, and private clients.
• Interior Design (SRI - Safdie Rabines Interiors) Interior design services under the SRI (Safdie Rabines Interiors) brand, offering space planning, construction documents, and design development for commercial and residential spaces.
• Urban Design and Master Planning Urban design and master planning services including large-scale community developments, campus planning, and visioning studies for academic institutions and urban districts.
• Bridge and Infrastructure Design Specialized pedestrian and vehicular bridge design, including award-winning bridges for pedestrian crossings, campus connections, and urban infrastructure projects.

Quantifiable outcome

• North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood: 1.6M SF, $608M project - most ambitious in UC San Diego's history
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Foster + PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 September 2025SRA serves as Executive Architect alongside Foster + Partners as Design Architect for the San Diego Museum of Art expansion and renovation in Balboa Park. This collaboration respects historic architecture while introducing modern functionality and seamless landscape integration.
• HKS ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on the North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood at UC San Diego. HKS served as Executive Architect while SRA provided design services as part of the winning design competition team.
• OJB Landscape ArchitecturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLandscape architecture partner for the North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood project at UC San Diego.
• Clark ConstructioncoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConstruction partner for the North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood project at UC San Diego.
• TY Lin InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLongtime bridge collaboration partner on projects including Lusail Pedestrian Bridges and Junction 9 in Doha, Qatar. Provided engineering expertise for complex structural geometries.
• Moffatt NicholcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngineering collaboration on the Gilman Bridge at UC San Diego, a 400-foot concrete archway linking east and west campuses.
• Frieder Seible EngineerscoreTechnology or IntegrationEngineering collaboration on the Scripps Crossing Pedestrian Bridge at UC San Diego, completed in 1993.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• BNIM: Design-led architecture and planning firm with strong sustainability credentials and AIA COTE recognition. Comparable focus on context-responsive, performance-driven design for institutional and civic clients.
• Lake|Flato Architects: Texas-based architecture firm with parallel emphasis on site-responsive, sustainable design across academic, civic, and residential typologies. Comparable size, philosophy, and award profile.
• HKS Architects: National architecture firm that collaborated with SRA on the UC San Diego North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood. Competes for the same institutional and civic commissions, particularly higher education.
• Carrier Johnson + CULTURE: San Diego-based architecture and interior design firm with comparable service offerings across commercial, civic, and residential typologies. Operates in the same regional market with similar mid-size scale.

Broad incumbents

• Perkins&Will: Large global architecture firm with deep higher education and healthcare practices plus strong sustainability credentials. Competes for the same institutional RFPs SRA pursues, especially in California.
• Foster + Partners: Global architecture practice collaborating with SRA on the San Diego Museum of Art expansion. Much larger scale but operates in the same institutional/cultural design space and competes for marquee civic commissions.

Emerging players

• Studio-MLA: Landscape architecture and urban design firm with focus on sustainable, site-responsive environments. Comparable in philosophy to SRA's context-responsive design approach across campus and civic projects.
• OJB Landscape Architecture: Landscape architecture partner on the UC San Diego North Torrey Pines project. Functions as an adjacent design collaborator with comparable project scale and typology.
• Marmol Radziner: California-based architecture and construction firm with strong residential practice in canyon and coastal settings. Comparable to SRA's private residential and site-responsive custom home work.

Regional players

• Platt Anderson Architecture: San Diego architecture firm with overlapping higher education and civic practice. Direct regional competitor for UC San Diego and CSU San Marcos commissions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/safdierabines
• YouTubevimeo.com/safdierabinesarchitects
• Facebookfacebook.com/safdierabinesarchitects
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/safdie-rabines-architects
• Instagraminstagram.com/safdierabines

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Safdie Rabines Architects