We're excited to share that the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts was selected as a Finalist for the 2026 AIA San Francisco Design Awards. This recognition is a testament to our commitment to civic and historic architecture.

“Residents at Menlo Park's Lume Apartment complex in California no longer have to worry about parking garage fender benders involving distracted drivers. 

That's because the entire parking process is automated without a human being behind the wheel. The latest additions are robotic arms that plug a charging cable into electric vehicles to ensure motorists have fully charged batteries for their next commute, according to San Francisco's Heller Manus Architects, the firm that designed the complex. “

— Yahoo Auto News

181 Fremont St. has become a sought-after location for tech companies, according to a recent San Francisco Chronicle article.

The article underscores a compelling shift in San Francisco’s downtown office landscape. While some legacy office buildings face increasing vacancy, 181 Fremont continues to emerge as a vibrant hub for innovation and growth.

Heller Manus Architects is proud to share the Grand Reopening of the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts, marking a major milestone for Oakland’s cultural scene after two decades of closure. We were honored to work closely with the City of Oakland and Orton Development to bring this important cultural landmark back to life for the community.

We're proud to announce that The Martin has been named Mixed-Use Community of the Year at the prestigious PCBC 2025 Gold Nugget Awards.

An independent group of AEC experts reviewed 145 projects from across California, Nevada and Hawaii and selected 30 Best Projects and 36 Awards of Merit. The Northern California subregion includes northern Nevada and Hawaii while the Southern California subregion includes southern Nevada.

Projects were evaluated on the ability of the project team to overcome challenges, their contribution to the industry and community, safety and construction and design quality. 

Lume Menlo Park opened in late 2024.  Located in north Menlo Park and adjacent to the San Francisco Bay, the project consists of twin residential buildings with 220 units each creating 440 multi-family units with 15% below market rate units and 490 above grade parking spaces. Located adjacent to major technology offices, this project fulfills the housing demand for employees wanting to live near their workplace.

The Martin, Sunnyvale received the Silicon Valley Business Journal Structures Award for the Best Market-Rate Residential Project in 2024. 

We are pleased to announce that Heller Manus Architects, in partnership with Shenzhen General Institute of Architectural Design and Research Co., Ltd., and Hangzhou City Planning Design Research Institute, has been shortlisted for the Jinyi Lake Source of Science and Technology Innovation Conceptual Design International Competition alongside esteemed international firms and well-known university design institutes such as Zaha Hadid Architects, Hangzhou Zhonglian Zhujing Architectural Design Co., Ltd., and Tsinghua University Architectural Design and Research Institute, among others. 

Heller Manus Architects recently received the 2023 Top Urban Planning and Design Services Company award by Real Estate Business Review Magazine. This achievement underscores our commitment to redefining the landscape of urban planning and design.

Read the article and discover the innovative vision and groundbreaking work that have earned Heller Manus Architects this esteemed recognition.

Office-to-Housing Conversion News

Our Principal, Stephen Buchholz, recently sat down with Kevin Truong from The San Francisco Standard, as well as Jay Mancini and Roderick Roche from G&M Realty Ventures, to discuss office conversion opportunities in San Francisco.

While the diverse cities, beautiful landscapes, and generally warm weather make California a desirable place for many, the state historically carries a higher risk of experiencing a natural disaster than nearly anywhere else in the United States, according to FEMA data. Check out this article in ARCHITECT Magazine on why San Francisco’s 181 Fremont is widely considered to be one of the most earthquake-resistant buildings in the world.

"The visual flash of silvery metal is all the more satisfying because it is rooted in structural needs: The thick diagonal strokes form the exoskeleton that holds the building’s weight, locks it into the ground and gives added seismic protection. The break two-thirds of the way upward serves a purpose, too: It helps reduce aerodynamic tension on the shaft while providing an ultra-luxe aerie for the residents above (office space is below)," said John King.

The Silicon Valley Business Journal honors the best in real estate projects each year with the Structures Awards. For 2021, the 909 Kifer / Fortinet Headquarters won the Structures Awards in the Office/R&D Build Project category.

Heller Manus joint team recently won the First Prize in the International Competition for the Strategic Planning and Conceptual Urban Design of Wuxi Xiyan Lake Ecological Science and Technology City in China. This project is sponsored by the People’s Government of Luoshe Town, Huishan District, Wuxi City. 

Congratulations to the design team!

The PBS NOVA series had a program on High-Rise Life Safety that highlighted our 181 Fremont project.  The program premiered both nationally and locally on KQED on January 5, 2022.

On August 13, Join Principal Qian (Kevin) Yi for AIA San Francisco's International Architect Talk 2: Effective International Competition Strategies in Asia and Case Study. Learn More and Register Here: https://aiasf.org/event/international-architect-talk-2-effective-international-competition-strategies-in-asia-and-case-study/

909 Kifer, Fortinet's new four-story, 172,740 SF corporate headquarters in Sunnyvale, is on track to receive its final certificate of occupancy in October 2021..

181 Fremont, a mixed-use tower and the tallest residential building on the West Coast has achieved LEED Platinum Certification. 

181 Fremont is named the best building of the decade by SF Chronicle. 

John King (2019) 'The decade’s best buildings in a changing SF: 12 structures and spaces that redefine San Francisco — and the lessons that they teach.'