Practice
This is an architecture studio. We design space. Since 2009, this full-service architectural design firm located in San Francisco, California, has worked to create inspired spaces for our clients. With a focus on embracing the functional considerations of a project, while responding to specific site conditions, we allow each individual work to take on a life of its own. The technical skill and experience embedded within the office serves to support the client’s goals and aspirations. We are aiming to compose quiet, magical spaces.
Ethos
Architecture exists in the physical world. It is a grounding element in our lives. This creates a tremendous opportunity for our studio; to design spaces that bring calm and quiet to the private lives of our clients. To create connection to the landscape, whether to a shaded urban garden, or to a vast, expansive horizon. To harness natural daylight in a purposeful way, thereby supporting physical and mental wellbeing.
In this time of digital evolution, we see the growing importance of connection to the physical world. Our role as an architecture firm is to be mindful of our clients’ strong engagement with the digital world, and to provide a counterbalance back to the physical touch of materiality, sounds of the surrounding landscape, and warmth of the sun within the home. We are seeking a greater primal connection to the world around us, as a means to decompress. The home and its surrounding landscape can become a refuge.
Approach
We work in a collaborative manner with clients while providing clear recommendations based on decades of experience. We begin with a roadmap that provides an overall view of the process, so the client can understand the necessary steps and sequencing to bring a project to fruition. Early in that process is a thorough analysis of the existing site conditions, as well as, conversations with the clients to fully understand the functional goals of the project. During our regular cadence of design meetings, we see the role of drawings and models as a means to ask questions and unearth potential solutions. We want the strongest ideas to rise to the surface, whether they are brought by the client, architect, builder, or engineer. This conversational openness is critical to create a specific response to the project’s goals.
Michael Hennessey has been practicing architecture in the Bay Area for 27 years. After being raised in Sonoma County, he spent four formative years in the desert studying architecture at Arizona State University, prior to earning his Masters of Architecture degree at UC Berkeley. Michael supplemented his graduate studies by working at William Stout Architectural Books, gaining exposure to the broader world of architecture and design.
His professional career began at Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects working on large-scale commercial and multi-family projects, followed by running ground-up single-family residential projects. He continued to learn the nuances of residential design for private clients at Aidlin Darling Design, gaining experience in refined detailing and a thorough understanding of spatial composition. After being mentored at these two exemplary firms, he opened a studio that is dedicated to pursuing architecture as an artistic endeavor. Michael is licensed to practice architecture in California and is a longtime member of the American Institute of Architects.
Inspiration is found from his two talented daughters and his visits to Lisboa with his partner Shilla.
Michael Hennessey has been practicing architecture in the Bay Area for 27 years. After being raised in Sonoma County, he spent four formative years in the desert studying architecture at Arizona State University, prior to earning his Masters of Architecture degree at UC Berkeley. Michael supplemented his graduate studies by working at William Stout Architectural Books, gaining exposure to the broader world of architecture and design.
His professional career began at Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects working on large-scale commercial and multi-family projects, followed by running ground-up single-family residential projects. He continued to learn the nuances of residential design for private clients at Aidlin Darling Design, gaining experience in refined detailing and a thorough understanding of spatial composition. After being mentored at these two exemplary firms, he opened a studio that is dedicated to pursuing architecture as an artistic endeavor. Michael is licensed to practice architecture in California and is a longtime member of the American Institute of Architects.
Inspiration is found from his two talented daughters and his visits to Lisboa with his partner Shilla.
Selected Awards
SARA CA Design Awards 2026
Excellence Award in Renovation, Restauration and Adaptive Re-use category
International Design Awards 2024
Gold in Residential – Architecture/Renovation and Restoration category
Builder’s Choice Design Award 2024
Merit Award – Renovations Additions category
International Design Awards 2024
Gold in Residential Architecture / Renovation and Restoration category
Architecture Masterprize 2024
Honorable Mention – Architectural Design, Restoration Renovation category
DNA Paris Design Award 2023
Honorable Mention in Architecture Category – Housing
Selected Press
AN Interior
Michael Hennessey Architecture transforms a 1962 Eichler residence into a vertical perch in San Francisco.
Wallpaper*
San Francisco home rethinks the modernist box
Plain
This California home sheds its tired suburban look for a polished modern makeover
Dezeen
Michael Hennessey Architecture clads renovated California house with black cedar and metal
Wallpaper*
This Mill Valley house’s gentle transformation nods to its leafy context
Phone
Address
1501 Mariposa Street, Suite 308
San Francisco, CA 94107