The Sansome

For The Sansome office space, we sought to preserve some of the favorite features from our former office such as an open floor plan, good natural light, and communal work tables. The office move offered an opportunity to improve our working environment and create a space that would better communicate our approach and aesthetics to visitors. The new office is located in the Levi’s Plaza area of San Francisco within the former printing headquarters for Sunset which has been made into offices housing small, creative professional services firms.

When acquired, the office suite was divided into several private offices and conference rooms along the window walls with cubicles in the darker interior parts of the office. Our new design removed nearly all the partitions, to open up the space to the north and to the south-facing wall of windows. Refinishing the concrete renewed some of the charm of what was formerly a large print room. Staining the simple board cladding black warmed two spaces—the conference room and the printer-storage area—as well as the custom reception desk. Designers sit at two long work tables reminiscent of the long work table that served all the staff in the former office. Principals and associates are located in one area with small steel partitions for increased privacy.

A favorite space is the conference room, which features sliding glass and steel panels and an oversized conference table where the staff gathers for lunch, seminars, or Friday evening dice games. The materials library features a work table for layout of samples, informal meetings or a larger space for drawing. The kitchen came from IKEA and was ‘dressed up’ with a couple of custom design moves. As many in our office bike to work, tension bike racks line the hallway, bespeaking the importance we place on alternatives to driving to work while displaying a beautiful collection of bikes that changes daily.

LOCATION San Francisco, California 

PROJECT TEAM

General Contractor: Tom Kessenich
Steel Fabrication: 522 Industries
Casework:  Aaron Robinson Cabinets & Design
Photography: Jasper Sandidad