The most conspicuous effect of this new architecture boom is the prolif-eration of lofts and home offices in areas like SoMa and the Mission dis-trict. Their presence has drastically altered the urban fabric in some parts of the city for the first time in decades. This explosion of innovative, and even radical, architecture in San Francisco is mostly the work of small,young firms whose flexibility and independence allow them to develop big ideas into real projects that larger firms would perhaps shy away from.