2023 Silver Sponsor Spotlight Studio KDA

Studio KDA is an award-winning multidisciplinary architecture and interior design firm with offices in Berkeley, California. The firm, started by Charles Kahn in 1984, is committed to using architecture to create welcoming buildings that foster community, spur social engagement, and reduce the critical conditions in our society. With practice areas in housing, retail, hospitality and biotech, Studio KDA is diverse in project type but unified in approach – each project is studied through the lens of our client goals, physical and community context, research, innovation, and sustainability.

With 88% of our work from repeat clients and client referrals, we pride ourselves on exceptional client service. For us, every client relationship is unique and every design solution specific to the site, budget, brand vision, customer demographic, and schedule. We believe in the power of collaboration to find the best result and welcome input from clients, staff and the greater community to enrich our ideas.

We are highly adept at working the local municipalities to get projects quickly entitled, permitted and built, and have proven strategies for success working with politically sensitive or restrictive Planning Departments such as Palo Alto, San Francisco, and Berkeley. Founding Principal Charles Kahn is the Chair of Berkeley’s Zoning Adjustments Board and Vice-Chair of the City’s Design Review Commission.

Our Hospitality studio is renowned for the design of dozens of award winning and Michelin-rated restaurants and bars throughout the Bay Area. Recent additions to the Bay Area culinary landscape include Protégé (Palo Alto), Flour & Water Pizzeria (San Francisco), Comal & Comal Next Door (Berkeley), Cholita Linda (S.F. Ferry Building), and Bar Shiru (Oakland).

CREW East Bay member, Ann Slobod, is SKDA’s principal in charge of Business Development and Operations. She is passionate about design and using architecture to help clients create community and connection, as she believes these are the foundation for healthy lives.

Studio KDA is ranked among the S.F. Business Times top firms in Northern California and our work has been published in numerous books and magazines including Green Building & Design, The San Francisco Chronicle, Home Magazine, and Oakland Magazine.