About the Firm

DERN Architecture + Development provides architectural design and owner-representative construction management for urban infill and mixed-use development, with a strong focus on residential-driven projects across California. Within mixed-use environments, we design the complementary commercial, workplace, retail, and restaurant uses that activate the urban setting and support long-term value.

Our clients work directly with principal-in-charge Michael Dern and designer Rachel Herron in a collaborative process from the first conversation through construction. Our team stays closely involved throughout, ensuring continuity, clarity, and accountability at every stage.

We bring an architect-led delivery approach to every project - early feasibility and due diligence, entitlement strategy, constructability review, and disciplined coordination through design and construction. During construction, we serve as owner-representative construction managers, coordinating the project team and managing scope, schedule, and quality. This hands-on leadership reduces risk, protects design intent, and improves predictability from approvals through closeout.

Our work ethic is simple: Listen, Innovate, and Deliver.

We start by understanding what success looks like for you, then develop smart options that balance design, budget, and jurisdiction approvals. From there, we lead the process through documentation and construction with clear decisions, tight coordination, and accountable follow-through.

Every site presents its own challenges and opportunities. We carefully balance programmatic needs, economic realities, and aesthetic goals. The result is architecture that is functional, sustainable, and distinctive - grounded in its urban context and designed for the people who live and work there.

Michael Dern, AIA NCARB

Principal

Bachelors of Architecture along with a minor in Construction Management Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, 1997

Denmark International Study (DIS) Program 1996

2018 President of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Silicon Valley

2017-2018 Director for AIA California

1999-2004 Director for AIA Central Valley

Affiliations

American Institute of Architects (AIA) since 1999

Urban Land Institute (ULI)

San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR)

Alpha Rho Chi (APX) Architecture Fraternity