Designing Smart, Warm Modern Homes + Intelligent Commercial Spaces
Architectural Design in
San Francisco Bay Area | California Wine Country | Silicon Valley | Lake Tahoe | Southern California | Hawaii
High-Performance Modern Architecture
Parco Studio is a residential and specialty commercial architecture firm located in San Francisco. We practice up and down the state of California, from San Diego and Los Angeles, to Sonoma County and Lake Tahoe.
Having spent his formative years in Hawaii, our founder and principal architect, Ben Parco, often works there as well. Ultimately however, we work anywhere that you choose to call home and are more than happy to come to you.
Whether you’re designing and building your dream home or a new corporate headquarters, we bring our experience of creating over 20 million square feet of built, award-winning work around the world to your project.
The common denominator — and our core mission — for every project we take on is always to create architecture that solves your particular needs and gives form to your vision with the utmost creativity, intelligence, integrity, and care.
Work 1-on-1 with celebrated West Coast architect, Ben Parco
Parco Studio offers each client a personalized, white-glove architectural design experience, from blank sheet of paper, to construction, to move-in.
Architectural Project Planning Resources
We’ve developed a number of helpful free resources in order to help you get started and organized for the planning of your next architectural design project.
The Time-Tested
Parco Studio Process™
Our approach to architectural design and planning is process driven. Refined over 30 plus years, we’ve proven time and again that great outcomes are no mistake.
Whether we are designing stunning modern homes or innovative corporate headquarters, the success of each project is the direct result of an intelligent, creative process.
> 20M sq. ft. of Built Work Worldwide
Ben Parco’s design thinking and architectural work have been embraced by some of the world’s most influential and discerning institutions, including:
> 50 Design Awards + Publications
work published in
dwell magazine
Dwell Magazine devoted eight pages of their 2013 annual prefab issue to our zero-net energy, prefab home project, located in the hills of Berkeley, California.
Years later, this home design remains one of Dwell Magazine’s favorites. In 2017, it was featured in the publication’s short list of the 7 Coolest California Prefabs.
championed by
Al Gore + Kleiner Perkins
In 2009, upon recommendation of the venture capital firm, Kleiner Perkins, Ben Parco was asked by former Vice President Al Gore to speak at Gore’s closed-door Climate Solutions Summit in New York.
Ideas from Ben’s white paper on prefabricated building technology and how it can help deliver a more sustainable built environment were later incorporated into Gore’s book, Our Choice.
+ Countless Happy Clients
Of course, we are honored to be recognized with awards and good press.
Ultimately, we find the greatest rewards come from happy clients and knowing that the homes and spaces we design work for them — and for our environment.
“Ben and his team were the architects on the expansion of our home in the Berkeley Hills. He did a fabulous job.
We have been extremely happy with the outcome — the expansion is beautiful, perfectly in tune with the original Esherick house, yet with its own character and subtlety. It also harmoniously integrates with the landscape and the surrounds, and just as importantly delivers on its ambitious sustainable design goals.”
Emma G. | client
homeowner
“Ben Parco and his team are to architecture and design as AMG is to Mercedes Benz.”
Phillip O. | client
real estate developer
“Working with Ben Parco has been life changing. As the real estate and construction liaison to a high net-worth family, it’s my job to vet and hire the best contractors, consultants, and professionals I can find.
The difference between “very good” and “master-level” can be vast. Ben sits squarely in this second category and manages to exceed our expectations on a regular basis.”
Heather C. | client
real estate + construction liaison
“Collectively, we are like a football [soccer] team with folks like Ben Parco working upfront as the striker.”
Cameron Sinclair | colleague
TED prize winner | co-founder, Architecture for Humanity
Design Inspiration + Informed Insight
Designing and building your California dream home?
In the Parco Studio blog, architect Ben Parco shares his knowledge and experience to help you get focused and moving forward with your big idea.
Our video series, Architect’s Home | Design + Build, tracks the progress on our Marin County, California home project. Subscribe to the Parco Studio YouTube channel and follow architect, Ben Parco every step of the way.
Follow us on Instagram and join the conversation…
In this episode of the Business of Architecture podcast, Rion Willard talks with Ben Parco, founder of Parco Studio. Ben shares his journey from working at large firms to starting his own practice and the challenges that came with that leap. He reveals his innovative approach to projects and how he navigated the complexities of development while balancing creativity and business.