builder filesfile 30 of 57Robert Swatt’s practice since 1975boyenga team at compass
Swatt | Miers homes
Robert Swatt opened his architecture practice in 1975 and later joined George Miers to form Swatt | Miers Architects in Emeryville. Swatt calls the firm’s style “warm modern,” and its documented local houses stand in Atherton, Los Altos Hills, Saratoga and Hillsborough. The firm has since split, and Swatt + Partners carries on the house work. Here’s what the records confirm and what the homes sell for.
- architects
- Swatt | Miers Architects, Emeryville
- founders
- Robert Swatt, FAIA, and George Miers, AIA
- Swatt’s practice
- since 1975
- style
- “warm modern,” per the firm
- books
- Livable Modern (2004); Swatt | Miers: 30 Projects (2017)
- successor
- Swatt + Partners (homes)
- listings say
- “designed by Swatt Miers”
- sales on record · live…
- median $/sq ft, last 2 yrs…
- for sale now · live…
- built custom homes, per its successor firm125+
where they are
Where its houses are
From the firm’s project and award pages and the San Francisco Chronicle; listing-only credits are marked.
| work | city | years | homes | notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ara Residence | Atherton | 2012 | 1 | A house turned about 30 degrees off its flag lot’s grid, with trapezoid garden rooms; AIA San Mateo County Honor Award, 2016, per the firm. |
| Owyang House | Atherton | 2022 | 1 | About 6,000 sq ft over two stories and a basement, replacing a mid-century house, with a long steel entry canopy, per the firm. |
| Mora House | Los Altos Hills | 2016 | 1 | A spec house with 24-foot ceilings, walls of glass, an infinity-edge pool and solar panels, per the San Francisco Chronicle (2017). |
| Blue Oaks Residence | Los Altos Hills | 2017 | 1 | A 3,664 sq ft house on four levels stepping down a slope between three heritage oaks, with concrete cores and cedar walls, per the firm. |
| Saratoga Residence | Saratoga | 2021 | 1 | A one-story H-shaped house among oaks and redwoods, in white plaster, terrazzo and Western red cedar, per the firm. |
| Rani Residence | Hillsborough | — | 1 renovation | A renovation that won a 2021 Gold Nugget Merit Award, per the firm. |
| Palo Alto and Atherton listings | Palo Alto, Atherton | 2000s–2010s (listings) | — | Listings credit the firm with a 2002 Palo Alto house featured in its books and with large Atherton homes built by Lencioni Construction; we couldn’t confirm them all from records. |
The firm rarely publishes street addresses, so most listing credits stay leads.
how to spot one
How to spot a Swatt | Miers house
From the firm’s project pages and press.
- warm modern
Warm modern
Swatt describes a blend of mid-century Los Angeles and Palm Springs modernism with the Third Bay Area Tradition of Sea Ranch, per a 2023 firm release.
- site
Knitted to the land
Houses step with their slopes and work around heritage oaks, as at Blue Oaks in Los Altos Hills, per the firm.
- glass
Walls of glass
Floor-to-ceiling glass, pocketing sliders and clerestories open the main rooms to terraces and pools.
- materials
Cedar, plaster and steel
Western red cedar siding and ceilings, smooth plaster, concrete and steel canopies recur in its project write-ups.
- myth check
Which firm?
After the split, Swatt + Partners kept the house work and Studio Miers | Chou | Poon the civic work, so a newer Studio Miers project isn’t a Swatt design.
the sales ledger
Every recorded Swatt | Miers sale
Each dot is a sale whose listing names Swatt | Miers or Robert Swatt, in Atherton, Hillsborough, Los Altos Hills and Palo Alto. Hover a dot for the address, date and price.
- sales on record…
- median price…
- median $ per sq ft…
- latest sale…
one recorded salemedian for the yearprice per sq ft = sale price ÷ listed living area
| sold | address | price | $/sq ft | bd / ba | sq ft |
|---|
Some listings credit the firm with a renovation or with approved plans for a lot, so treat each credit as a lead to confirm. Sales come from the MLS records available to us and include every sold listing whose description names the builder, so a few homes may be labeled by the listing agent rather than confirmed from tract records. Sold data is shown with the listing brokerage. Price per square foot uses the living area in the listing. Ask us for a full comparable-sales report on any address.
on the market
For sale now
Active listings whose description names Swatt | Miers or Robert Swatt.
Checking active listings…
owning one today
Owning one today
- Flat roofs and big glassLow-slope roofs, roof terraces, large sliders and clerestories need regular checks of membranes, drains and seals.
- Hillside sitesSeveral houses step down slopes. Read the geologic and drainage reports, and expect site development review in Los Altos Hills and design review in Atherton and Hillsborough before changes.
- Heritage treesHouses built around protected oaks come with tree rules; check before landscaping or adding on.
- Defect claimsCalifornia generally limits construction-defect claims to 10 years after completion, so houses finished before about 2016 are past that window.
the nerd check
Buying or selling one
What we check when you buy
- Confirm the architectWe look for plans, permits or a published project, since a listing credit alone isn’t proof.
- Permits and historyWe check the permit history for additions and conversions before you plan a remodel.
- InspectionsRoof, foundation and systems matched to the home’s age. Our Inspection Decoder covers what to order.
- The right comparablesWe compare against similar homes in the same neighborhood first.
How we market one when you sell
- Document the designA documented Swatt | Miers design is part of the value; we gather the plans and press that prove it.
- Photograph the detailsGlass, cedar, terraces and views, shot to show the design.
- Prep with a planOur Prep Lab budgets repairs and refresh before you list.
- Price from real salesWe price from recent sales of similar homes nearby.
questions
Questions we hear
Who are Swatt | Miers Architects?
An Emeryville architecture firm co-founded by Robert Swatt, FAIA, and George Miers, AIA. Swatt has designed modern houses since opening his first practice in 1975. The firm has since split, and Swatt + Partners continues the residential work, per the firm’s site.
What does a Swatt | Miers house look like?
Swatt calls it “warm modern”: long, low roofs, walls of glass, cedar and plaster, and plans that step with the site and open to terraces and pools.
Where are its houses?
The firm documents houses in Atherton, Los Altos Hills, Saratoga and Hillsborough, and listings credit others in Palo Alto.
Has the firm won awards for local houses?
Per the firm, the Ara Residence in Atherton won an AIA San Mateo County Honor Award in 2016, and Blue Oaks in Los Altos Hills won a Gold Nugget Grand Award in 2020.
sources
Sources
The firm’s project, award and publication pages, a 2023 firm release and the San Francisco Chronicle, checked October 2026.
- Swatt + Partners: single-family projectsAra, Owyang, Blue Oaks and Saratoga (firm)www.swattpartners.com/projects/single-family/
- Swatt + Partners: awardsAward list (firm)www.swattpartners.com/recognition/awards/
- Swatt + Partners: publicationsBooks and press (firm)www.swattpartners.com/recognition/publications/
- Swatt | Miers ArchitectsNotice of the split and the two successor firmswww.swattmiers.com/
- v2com: Swatt | Miers serves up California cool with a warm modern twist (2023)The firm’s description of its style (firm release)www.v2com-newswire.com/en/newsroom/categories/residential-architecture/press-kits/2757-38/swatt-miers-architects-serves-up-california-cool-with-a-warm-modern-twist
- California Civil Code § 94110-year limit for construction-defect claimscalifornia.public.law/codes/civil_code_section_941
builder files
Every builder file, by era
Bars show the years each builder was building here. See all builders or the home styles field guide.
- Fernando Nelson1880–1920s
- Ernest Coxhead1890–1930s
- Willis Polk1890s–1920s
- Frank Delos Wolfe1892–1926
- Henry Gutterson1914–1954
- Gellert (Sunstream)1922–1972
- Birge Clark1922–1970s
- Stoneson1920s–1960s
- Doelger1927–1960s
- McKeon1927–early 1970s
- Gardner Dailey1930s–1960s
- William Wurster1930s–1960s
- Rousseau1931–1933
- Bohannon1936–1955
- Cliff May1950s
- Stern & Price1951–1953
- Mackay Homes1950s
- Goodwin Steinberg1950s–1980s
- Mardell1955–1959
- Hayman Homes1960s–1970s
- Ditz-Crane1962–1984
- Brown & Kauffmann1960s–1981
- Bahl1968–1986
- Ponderosa Homes1970s–1990s
- Shapell1971–2000s
- Anshen & Allen1940s–1960
- Jones & Emmons1951–1970s
- Claude Oakland1950s–1970s
- Owen Signature Homes1970–today
- Swatt | Miers1975–today
- SummerHill Homes1976–today
- Pinn Brothers1976–today
- Citation Homeslate 1970s–2010s
- Robson Homes1989–today
- Pacific Peninsula Group1989–today
- Barry Swenson Builder1990s–2010s
- Classic Communities1990s–2010s
- Warmington1990s–2020s
- Kelly Gordon2000s–2010s
- Feldman Architecture2003–today
- DeNova Homes2000s–today
- City Ventures2011–today
- Trumark Homes2012–today
- Davidon Homes2010s
- The New Home Company2014–2018
- Dividend Homes2010s–today
- KB Home1980s–today
- Brookfield1990s–today
- Pulte Homes2000s–today
- Shea Homes2000s–2010s
- Lennar2000s–today
- Toll Brothers2000s–today
- Taylor Morrison2007–today
- D.R. Horton2010s
- Tri Pointe Homes2012–today
- K. Hovnanian2014–2018
- Meritage Homes2010s
talk to a property nerd
Own a Swatt | Miers house?
We can help document the design and value it against recent sales nearby. Commissions are negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what’s included.
