Residential Architect in Sunnyvale | Remodels, Additions & Custom Homes Prestin Ravid Architects
Most of Sunnyvale was built in the 1950s and 60s, and most of those homes are reaching the point where the layout no longer works. The rooms are too small, the kitchen is cut off, the family has grown past what the house was designed for. Prestin Ravid Architects works with Sunnyvale homeowners on remodels, second-story additions, and custom homes, then carries the project through design review and city approvals.
Sunnyvale's permit process has more layers than most homeowners expect. Most residential additions require design review before building permits are issued, and each review cycle runs approximately 30 days. Getting the design right before the first submission is what keeps a project moving.
Regulations change and every property is different. This page reflects general conditions in Sunnyvale, not a substitute for a property-specific feasibility review.
Sunnyvale Homeowners We Work With
Most homeowners who contact us own a 1960s or 70s ranch that has outgrown the family, want to stay in the neighborhood, and need to understand what is actually possible before committing to a design direction. Some own Eichlers and want to upgrade carefully. Others have gotten a contractor number that did not make sense and want a clearer picture before spending anything.
Common Project Types
Home Remodels and Renovations
The single-story ranch dominates Sunnyvale neighborhoods: Borregas, Lakewood, Ponderosa, Braly. Closed kitchens, disconnected living areas, bedrooms clustered in configurations that made sense for a different era. A well-structured remodel can fix most of this without adding square footage. Interior remodels that stay within FAR limits avoid design review entirely, which keeps the permit path straightforward.
Vaulted ceilings are often possible in Sunnyvale ranches. A flat or low-pitched roof with conventional framing typically allows ceiling height to be raised within the existing roofline without triggering a new structure permit. A truss roof is more constrained. This is one of the first things assessed in a feasibility review.
Sunnyvale also has one of the largest concentrations of Eichler homes in the Bay Area, particularly in the Fairbrae tract. These require specific architectural and engineering knowledge: the post-and-beam structure, radiant heating embedded in the concrete slab, and flat foam roof all have design and permit implications that show up when the work is not understood before design begins.
Home Additions & Second Story Expansions
Second-story additions are the most efficient way to add square footage in Sunnyvale without giving up yard space, which matters on the 6,000 to 7,500 square foot lots that make up most of the city. Two things shape every second-story project here before design begins: the second-floor ratio (Sunnyvale's design guidelines expect the second floor to stay within approximately 35 percent of the first-floor area in single-story neighborhoods), and privacy. Windows with a direct line of sight into a neighbor's yard or bedroom will draw scrutiny. The city regularly conditions approvals on evergreen screening along rear and side property lines. Designing for both from the start avoids redesigns.
The 35 percent ratio guideline has real design consequences. Because planning staff actively cite it in conditions of approval, a second floor designed to maximize square footage on a standard Sunnyvale lot will often be conditioned down or require a redesign before approval. Building the ratio into the massing from the first schematic is not optional on projects in predominantly single-story neighborhoods.
Whether a second-story addition goes through administrative review or a public hearing depends on whether the project exceeds FAR and gross floor area thresholds. Projects within thresholds go through a 14-day public notice period with no hearing. Projects that exceed them go to the Planning Commission
Eichler Homes
Sunnyvale has one of the largest concentrations of Eichler homes in the Bay Area, particularly in the Fairbrae tract. These require specific architectural and engineering knowledge: the post-and-beam structure, radiant heating embedded in the concrete slab, and flat foam roof all have design and permit implications that show up when the work is not understood before design begins.
Second-story additions on Eichlers are architecturally sensitive and structurally complex. The original flat roofline is the defining feature of the design language. A vertical addition that does not address how the new mass relates to the existing form almost always looks like exactly what it is: something added on. The more productive path in many cases is a rear addition or interior reconfiguration that preserves the Eichler character while meaningfully improving livability.
Custom Homes and Rebuilds
When renovation cannot get a homeowner where they need to go, a teardown and rebuild is often the cleaner path. New two-story homes require design review with a 14-day public notice period. Getting massing, materials, and streetscape compatibility resolved in design before submittal keeps the process from generating conditions that require a redesign.
A documented Sunnyvale rebuild shows what the process produces: a new two-story home at 34.8 percent FAR, well within the ratio guideline, moved through design review without a public hearing. The FAR discipline that kept it under the Planning Commission threshold was built into the design from the start.
What Typically Creates Approval Friction in Sunnyvale
Second-floor massing. The 35 percent ratio guideline is actively cited in conditions of approval. A second floor designed to maximize square footage in a single-story neighborhood will often be conditioned down or require redesign before approval. Building the ratio into the massing from the first schematic is not optional.
Window placement and balconies. Rear and side second-floor windows with direct lines of sight into neighboring yards routinely trigger privacy tree conditions. Balconies draw specific scrutiny from the Planning Commission. Addressing both in the design before submittal is faster than responding to conditions after.
Solar shading. Municipal code prohibits construction that would shade more than 10 percent of an adjacent roof. On compact lots a second story can clip this threshold without being obvious in early design. A solar analysis during feasibility surfaces this before it becomes a condition.
Submittal completeness. Each review cycle is approximately 30 days. A submittal missing required information restarts the clock. Projects that arrive at design review with the first three issues resolved move through in one or two cycles. Projects that do not may require three or more.
The Approval Process in Sunnyvale
Single-story additions within FAR limits go through administrative review with no public notice.
Second-story additions within FAR thresholds require a 14-day public notice period but no hearing unless a neighbor appeals.
Projects exceeding 45 percent FAR or 3,600 square feet of gross floor area go to the Planning Commission for a public hearing.
Building and fire review run concurrently after design review is approved. Each cycle is approximately 30 days.
The 2025 rezoning cleanup resolved nonconforming status on many Sunnyvale lots. Confirm your property's current status before assuming what the FAR limit allows.
When to Start the Feasibility Conversation in Sunnyvale
The most expensive mistakes on Sunnyvale projects happen before design begins. A homeowner who commits to a second-story scope without confirming the FAR limit, the second-floor ratio implications, and the solar shading exposure may find that the design they had in mind does not survive the review process intact. Starting with a feasibility review that establishes these parameters takes two to three weeks and changes what gets designed from the first sketch. For homeowners evaluating whether to remodel, add on, or rebuild, it is the only way to make that decision on real numbers rather than assumptions.
Working on a Project in Sunnyvale?
The Discovery Call is a simple first conversation about your property, your goals, and the path forward for the project before any design work begins.
Areas We Work In
We work throughout the South Bay and Peninsula, including the following cities. Each city links to a relevant project pathway and design and permitting context for that area.
Sunnyvale · Santa Clara · Mountain View · Cupertino · Los Altos · San Jose · Palo Alto · Campbell · Los Gatos