Practice

Established in 1997, we are a San Francisco-based architecture and interior design practice dedicated to creating places that connect people. We are known for our diverse portfolio of award-winning work for community, education, healthcare, infrastructure, and workplace clients.

Creating places that connect people is at the heart of our work.

Years in
Business

MBE

Minority-owned
Business

Design
Awards

Our Pillars

We build for our communities and our planet.

We prioritize sustainability in everything we do. As designers, we understand our responsibility to preserve cultures, empower communities, safeguard natural resources, and consider the environmental and social impacts of every decision.

View through a timber-framed structure under construction, showing exposed wood beams and columns forming a covered walkway. Sunlight casts long shadows across the unfinished floor, with campus buildings and trees visible beyond.

Our process is our super power.

Our inclusive process means we co-create guiding principles, bring stakeholders together, and ensure key voices are heard. By putting listening, inclusion, and exceptional partnership at the core of our practice, we’re able to work responsively with our clients to tailor distinctive solutions.

We dig deep to solve problems.

We tackle challenges through a robust process of research, engagement, analysis, and design. Leveraging insights from our broad experience, we develop smart solutions that enable clients to move forward confidently.

Our work is both beautiful and practical.

We balance our clients’ aspirations with their resources and constraints. Through compassionate listening, clear communication and persistent exploration, we tailor distinctive solutions that are expressions of each project’s identity and purpose.

Design Principles

Enduring

We seek solutions that stand the test of time, creating places our clients will love today and into the future.

Tailored

Through our process of partnership and discovery, we celebrate the unique qualities of our projects and clients.

Responsible

We steward project resources with functional designs that support our clients, community, and planet.

Two men stand and write notes on a large wood-paneled wall used as a collaborative board, in a bright office space with exposed structure and natural light.

Sensory

We integrate our architecture and interiors practice, crafting warm, elevated environments.

Joyful

We seek design solutions that empower, surprise, and delight our clients and community.

Services

Architecture
Interior Design
Historic Preservation & Adaptive Reuse
Master Planning & Programming
Sustainable & Resilient Design
Permitting & Regulatory Strategy
Stakeholder Engagement
Construction Administration
Visualization & Communication Tools
Alternative Delivery & Design-Build Collaboration

Culture

Our people-centered practice is built on mutual trust, respect, and inclusion.

Group portrait of TEF Design staff standing together on a city sidewalk outside the firm’s office.

JUST Label 3.0 for TEF Design, an architecture firm headquartered in San Francisco with 50 employees. The graphic summarizes the firm’s social justice and equity performance across diversity, inclusion, compensation, health, benefits, and stewardship using four-box rating scales, and includes an expiration date of February 1, 2028.

A vertically oriented JUST Label 3.0 graphic from the International Living Future Institute. The label has a pale gray background with rounded corners, dark gray text, blue rating squares, and a faint botanical line drawing extending through the lower-right portion.

At the top is the large wordmark “Just.” Beneath it, the organization information reads:

Organization Name: TEF Design
Organization Type: Architecture
Headquarters: San Francisco, CA
Location(s) Covered: San Francisco, CA
Number of Employees: 50

The next section is titled “Social Justice & Equity Indicators.” Each indicator is rated on a four-box scale. Blue boxes represent the rating achieved, while outlined white boxes represent the remaining levels.

Diversity

Racial & Ethnic Diversity: 2 of 4 boxes filled
Gender Diversity: 4 of 4 boxes filled
Recruitment: 2 of 4 boxes filled

Inclusion

Belonging: 4 of 4 boxes filled
Accessibility: 3 of 4 boxes filled
Engagement: 4 of 4 boxes filled
Workforce Empowerment: 0 of 4 boxes filled

Compensation

Living Wage: 2 of 4 boxes filled
Pay Scale Equity: 4 of 4 boxes filled
Racial & Ethnic Pay Equity: 3 of 4 boxes filled
Gender Pay Equity: 2 of 4 boxes filled

Health

Physical Health + Safety: 1 of 4 boxes filled
Well-Being: 1 of 4 boxes filled

Benefits

Health Care: 3 of 4 boxes filled
Retirement: 1 of 4 boxes filled
Family/Medical Leave: 2 of 4 boxes filled
Professional Development: 3 of 4 boxes filled

Stewardship

Community Connections: 1 of 4 boxes filled
Volunteering: 1 of 4 boxes filled
Charitable Giving: 3 of 4 boxes filled
Procurement: 0 of 4 boxes filled

At the bottom, the graphic reads:

The JUST Label 3.0
TEF-002
EXP. 02/01/2028

A QR code appears in the lower-right corner with the word “Just.” incorporated into its center. Along the bottom edge is the name International Living Future Institute.

Diverse PERSPECTIVES

As a minority-owned firm, we believe diverse perspectives strengthen both our culture and our outcomes. Curiosity and open dialogue are central to how we operate, creating an environment where many viewpoints are welcomed and everyone is encouraged to contribute. Our staff reflects the growing diversity of our field, bringing a wide range of lived experiences, backgrounds, and languages that deepen cultural understanding and inform our work.

JUST Certified

We are proud to be certified as a JUST organization by the International Living Future Institute (ILFI). The JUST framework supports our commitment to equity and transparency, offering a clear lens for evaluating and strengthening our practices around compensation, advancement, and employee engagement.

Regular site walks and project tours give our team opportunities to learn from each other, see design decisions in action, and stay connected to TEF's body of work.

Regular TEF sketch walks invite our team to slow down, look closely, and draw inspiration from the city around us.

Annual celebrations like the Ancestor Feast give our team time to gather, share food, and celebrate the diverse perspectives that shape our studio culture.

Collaborative Partnerships

Our collaborative mindset extends beyond our studio and is central to how we build enduring partnerships. Clients, designers, and consultants return to work with TEF because we are engaged, dependable collaborators who listen carefully, communicate clearly, and contribute meaningfully to shared goals. These long-standing relationships reflect our commitment to teamwork and to supporting successful outcomes across every project.

COMMUNITY

TEF has a long history of advancing equity, inclusion, and community service, with these values deeply embedded in our practice and culture. Community engagement is an integral part of our work and essential to creating positive, lasting impact. Through a compassionate approach informed by diverse perspectives, we deepen our understanding of cultural context and lived experience, shaping work that responds more thoughtfully to the communities we serve.

A group of nine people standing in a row indoors in front of a step-and-repeat backdrop with repeating logos. They are facing the camera, dressed in business and casual clothing, with a light-colored floor and wall behind them. — Boys & Girls Club of San Francisco Youth of the Year Event

Careers

Our staff of 50+ brings a shared commitment to thoughtful design and strong relationships. We cultivate a studio culture that supports balance, growth, and a sense of belonging. Through mentorship, community engagement beyond the office, and opportunities shaped by individual interests and strengths, we support long-term, growth.

While we do not currently have any open positions, we are always interested in connecting with talented architects and designers. If you’d like to introduce yourself, please share your resume and portfolio at [email protected]

History

Founded in San Francisco in 1997 by Doug Tom, Amy Eliot, and Bobbie Fisch, three architects historically underrepresented in the profession, TEF began as a small, ambitious practice with a clear commitment to community-serving work. That commitment was evident from the firm’s first project, the Crissy Field Center in the Presidio, an environmental education center that set an early foundation for TEF’s work with civic, educational, and mission-driven clients. Over three decades, TEF has grown steadily, building a practice shaped by design excellence, cultivation of long-term partnerships, and a deep respect for place. As we have evolved, we have remained true to our origins, approaching each project with care and a responsibility to serve people and our communities.

“Hey, wouldn’t it be great to start a firm?”

Three people standing indoors near a railing and large windows. They are facing the camera and smiling, dressed in dark-colored clothing, with natural light coming through the windows behind them.

A light-colored building with a red tile roof located near water, viewed from across a pedestrian bridge. Trees and hills rise behind the building, and water flows beneath the bridge in the foreground.

Doug Tom, Amy Eliot, and Bobbie Fisch began TEF with a commitment to inclusive, community-serving design—one that has remained central from our first project at the Crissy Field Environmental Education Center to our work today.