Taal Safdie, AIA

Taal Safdie is a Founding Partner of Safdie Rabines Architects, an award-winning full-service architecture, interiors, and urban design firm accomplished in all facets of programming, design, and construction.  

Taal established Safdie Rabines Architects with her husband and partner Ricardo Rabines in 1993. Starting with an emphasis on custom single-family homes, the firm’s work has grown to encompass civic, commercial, institutional, and infrastructure projects. Their expansive portfolio of residential typologies has evolved to include, affordable housing, student housing, mixed-use communities, and large-scale master plans.

Some of the firm’s notable projects include the Scripps Institute of Oceanography’s “Seaside Forum” oceanfront conference center at the gateway to the lower UC San Diego campus; the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook with commanding views over downtown Los Angeles; UC San Diego’s North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood, a fully-integrated, 7-structure community for student life and academic learning; the UCLA Court of Sciences Student Center at the heart of its Science Quad; and the Imperial Criminal Courthouse in El Centro, CA. The firm continues to expand across the U.S., including the mixed-use Crystal Flats development for the Walton Family Foundation in Bentonville, Arkansas; Evora, a live-work community in Southwestern Las Vegas; and a wide range of infrastructure projects both at home and abroad. 

Taal graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Vassar College before completing the Master of Architecture program at the University of Pennsylvania’s Weitzman School of Design, where she and Ricardo met. Today, their firm has grown to include a staff of 50+ architects, designers, interior designers, and support staff. Taal and Ricardo’s involvement in the design of every project continues to set the tone for the creative direction of the firm’s body of work.