Shatara Architecture

What Shatara Architecture does

Shatara Architecture, Inc. is a privately held, San Francisco-based architectural design firm founded in 1989 by Suheil Shatara and incorporated in California in 2002. The firm provides full-service architectural design across four core categories: residential (single-family custom homes, multi-family residences, condominiums, and historic restoration), food & restaurant (restaurants, cafes, and gourmet retail), commercial (offices, warehouses, retail, and tenant improvements), and select humanitarian/experimental projects. Its core technology is human design expertise backed by intimate knowledge of Bay Area building codes and permitting processes; the firm makes no claims of proprietary technology, software, or platform assets.

The business model is project-based professional services, with fees determined by individual project scope and quoted per engagement. The firm operates as a principal-led sales-led practice, with the founder personally driving client acquisition through portfolio presentation, direct engagement, and reputation-based referrals. The customer base is overwhelmingly small and mid-sized businesses and individual property owners — including restaurants such as 54 Mint, Aliment, BiRite Market, Mijana, and Oola, plus retailers like Carrots Boutique and Cocoon Spa. Geographic reach spans the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and the Middle East, with majority of design work concentrated in Bay Area urban settings. The firm has completed over 500 projects since 1989 and currently operates with 1–10 employees from its single San Francisco office at 890 7th St. No external funding, institutional investors, subsidiaries, or strategic partnerships are disclosed, and the firm is founder-owned and operated.

Name

Shatara Architecture

Legal name

Shatara Architecture Inc.

Website

https://shataraarch.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Shatara Architecture is a San Francisco-based, principal-led architectural design firm founded in 1989, serving residential, restaurant, commercial, and humanitarian clients across the Bay Area, Los Angeles, and the Middle East.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Design Services

NAICS

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

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB), Historic Preservation & Conservation Planning (BPAHAKAH)

Keywords

• Architectural design services
• Residential architecture
• Commercial architecture
• Hospitality design
• Historic preservation

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

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. Architectural Design Services: Project-based professional fees for architectural design services including concept development, design, permitting, and project oversight for residential, commercial, restaurant, and institutional projects.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Shatara Architecture Inc. is a full-service architectural design firm providing concept development, design, permitting, and project oversight for residential, commercial, hospitality, and humanitarian projects. Founded in 1989 and based in San Francisco, the firm has completed over 500 projects across the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and the Middle East, with expertise spanning custom homes, condominiums, mixed-use buildings, restaurants, cafes, retail boutiques, tenant improvements, warehouses, institutional facilities, and historic preservation/restoration.

Product overview

Shatara Architecture is a single, unified full-service architectural design firm offering comprehensive services across multiple project types. The firm provides architectural design and project execution rather than discrete software products or modules. Services span residential projects (single family custom homes, condominiums, multi-family residences), commercial work (tenant improvements, offices, warehouses, retail), hospitality (restaurants, cafes, youth hostels), and specialized areas including historical preservation and experimental humanitarian projects. The portfolio is organized into four main categories: Residential, Food & Restaurant, Commercial, and Collaboratives, with individual projects documented across each category including named properties such as Teresita, 23rd Street, 27th Street, 66 Rondel Place, 54 Mint, Aliment, Carrots Boutique, and DXP.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Residential Architectural Design Full architectural design, permitting, and project oversight for custom single-family homes, multi-family residences, condominiums (new construction and conversions), mixed-use residential/commercial buildings, custom residential interiors, and restoration of historically significant buildings; primarily serving homeowners, property developers, and investors in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles.
• Food & Restaurant Interior Design Specialized interior design for restaurants, cafes, gourmet delis, supermarkets, and food retail establishments, producing functional and elegant dining and retail environments that enhance customer experience; serving SMB restaurant and cafe operators primarily in the Bay Area.
• Commercial Architectural Design Architectural design services for commercial properties, offices, warehouses, retail boutiques, tenant improvements, commercial interiors, industrial facilities, and hospitality/youth hostels; serving commercial property owners, business operators, and tenants in the Bay Area and Los Angeles.
• Historic Restoration and Preservation Design Practical, code-aware architectural design for restoration and renovation of historically significant buildings, supporting preservation of cultural and architectural heritage for property owners, institutions, and cultural clients.
• Humanitarian and Experimental Project Design Conceptual and technical architectural design for humanitarian projects such as emergency shelters and experimental ecosystems, introducing technical solutions for energy, light, and air alongside natural elements.

Named customers12 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

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• AvroKO: Hospitality-focused architecture and design firm with deep restaurant and hotel interiors expertise. Comparable design philosophy and restaurant/hospitality client base, though primarily New York-based.
• Ken Fulk Inc. San Francisco-based design studio specializing in hospitality, restaurants, and high-end residential interiors. Comparable in client overlap (SF restaurateurs and homeowners) and brand-led, principal-driven business model.
• Handel Architects: San Francisco-headquartered architecture firm with multi-family, mixed-use, and hospitality expertise. Comparable urban-residential and condo conversion capability, but at a meaningfully larger scale.
• Aidlin Darling Design: San Francisco boutique architecture firm focused on residential, commercial, and cultural projects with a comparable small-team model and design-led reputation in the Bay Area.
• Cass Calder Smith Architecture + Interiors: San Francisco-based architecture and interiors practice with a strong portfolio in restaurants, hospitality, and residential work. Most directly comparable peer given the shared Bay Area geography, boutique scale, and depth of restaurant/hospitality commissions.
• Jensen Architects: San Francisco architecture firm with a portfolio spanning residential, commercial, and institutional projects. Comparable in size, Bay Area focus, and project-type breadth.
• Mark Cavagnero Associates: San Francisco architecture firm with experience across cultural, institutional, residential, and commercial work. Comparable Bay Area focus and project-type diversity, though somewhat larger.

Broad incumbents

• Gensler: Global architecture and design firm with a strong Bay Area presence across commercial, hospitality, and residential work. Competes with Shatara for commercial and hospitality commissions but at vastly greater scale and capacity.
• Bohlin Cywinski Jackson: Larger, multi-office architecture practice with Bay Area presence working across civic, cultural, commercial, and high-end residential sectors. Competes for similar institutional and residential clients but at much greater scale.

Regional players

• Olson Kundig: Craft-oriented, principal-driven architecture firm of comparable boutique scale and design reputation, focused on residential and hospitality. Comparable in size and craft ethos but based in the Pacific Northwest rather than California.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Shatara Architecture