SAN FRANCISCO TECH COMPANY SAN FRANCISCO When this client came to Studio BBA, they were new and growing — growing fast. Working with the co-founder, we established how their digital presence transcends into physical space and identity. The project grew into a 3-story redesign including new finishes to compliment a host of program: lounges, outdoor terraces, a gym, all-hands and dining area to accommodate catering for the entire office. Through our emergent process, we learned that focused and private work was pivotal to the company’s office culture and created the “Observable Universe” art piece to inspire a “Thinking Garden” as a place for introspection, study, discovery, and delight. The interior landscape program for the office became an obvious manifestation of the Thinking Garden, supported by an abstract and sophisticated nature-inspired palette. Starting during the Covid pandemic, the only thing that was certain was that the company was growing. Lead times quickly began to drive schedule, and the design team had to be nimble in making selections as available products quickly changed. This need to meet schedule fostered a trusting relationship where the Client approved look-and-feel of the various aspects of the office space, and Studio BBA was able to select alternates as needed. We standardized on a phone booth, providing fluidity for staff jumping from room to room, and to ease future purchasing needs. To support confidentiality and the meditative quietness of the open office, the floor plan boasts a nearly 3-to-1 ratio of people to conference rooms and call rooms. Back to Projects page Client Confidential Tech BBA Team Bonnie Bridges Vishnu Balusat Samantha Buckley Size 18,000 SF Contractor GCI General Contractors Collaborators Project Manager: Raise Plantings: AddLife Procurement: MGWest Photography Studio BBA Back to top

SAN ANSELMO HOUSE SAN ANSELMO Our clients (a landscape designer and a video producer) came to us because they love Flora Grubb Gardens. Although it is not a house, they were inspired by the way the architecture and gardens flow together and create a variety of creative and comfortable places within a well ordered and structurally expressed building. The challenge they gave us: transform a tiny, vintage 1940’s ranch house in San Anselmo into a long-term family home that takes advantage of the south facing 2-acre lot with amazing views of Mount Tamalpais. With a young family on a street full of kids, we popped up the entry to create the new double-height volume that welcomes neighbors and helps anchor the house on the steep downslope lot. Inside, we combined small spaces to create an expansive great room with exposed douglas fir beams, hand-hewn wood floors, and a multi-slide pocket door. The airy space opens onto to a cedar deck and enjoys generous southern light and views of oak-studded Marin hills. From the main level skylit hall, a new stair leads to the new lower level (formerly a crawl space) with direct access to the garden. The gardens, patios, and deck flow together as one outdoor living space via paths and stairways. Simple, local materials on the interior include new and reclaimed douglas fir and aged white oak, complemented by board-form concrete retaining walls and darkened steel. Special wood details throughout lend warmth and unique personality throughout, conceived through an enjoyable, collaborative process with the clients, consultants, and contractor. As the house is located within a Wildland Urban Interface area, only non-combustible materials were used on the exterior, and the trees on the site were carefully protected from construction activity. Sustainable systems were integrated inside and out, including radiant heating, a passive cool sink, permeable pavers, bio-swales, bioretention areas, and a green roof. BBA Team Bonnie Bridges Stephanie Griffith Size 2,800 SF; 2 acre lot Contractor Christensen Construction Timberline Builders Collaborators Pope Engineering | Civil Engineer Double D Engineering | Structural Engineer Holly Selvig Landscape Architecture Neila Hutt Interior Design Garden Design by Annabelle Reber (Client) Photography Cesar Rubio Photography Back to Projects page Back to top

THUMBTACK LIBRARY SAN FRANCISCO The Thumbtack Library showcases the relationship of trust fostered between the client and Studio BBA. As a 5x repeat client, we were so excited to collaborate and experiment with Thumbtack as we all tackled the future of workplace in the middle of a pandemic. During the pandemic, Thumbtack made the decision to become an all-virtual company. Instead of traditional offices, they created a plan for four “libraries” across the globe for socializing, gathering and connection. With this directive, we’ve created something entirely new. Libraries are strategically located as a resource to employees globally to allow for connections, community and socializing in-real-life. This partnership resulted in a truly iterative process upheld by the strong ethos of Thumbtack’s Head of People and a committed and supportive Landlord team. Thumbtack is evolving and transforming, and their new space reflects that, meeting them in their commitment to equity. The library is not a one solution fits all. By creating a spectrum of places, the library offers neighborhoods from noisy and extroverted, to quiet and pensive. Spaces support independent laptop work, but also phone booths for private calls, or high-back feet-up lounge chairs for soaking in the view while thinking. Other experiments in the office include providing phone booths large enough to act as offices for acoustic privacy for executives and staff discussing confidential information. Size: Contractor: Collaborator: 20,000 SF MCS ACIES | MEP Magnusson Klemencic Associates | Structural Pear Workplace Solutions | Furniture The Plant People | Plants Tinkering Monkey | Signage + Branding Photography: Victor Goods Client Website: Thumbtack Design Team: Vishnu Balunsat Bonnie Bridges Back to Projects page Back to top

PLAYSTUDIOS SAN FRANCISCO PlayStudios made the decision to move from the Peninsula to downtown, reducing their square footage but doubling-down on a location that put them alongside premier VC firms, and being in an urban center that partners wanted to visit. After the lease was signed, Studio BBA was brought in to refresh the space into something nearly unrecognizable. Walking into this space, fronting fabulous South Park in San Francisco, it would have been perfect as-is if you were seeking an industrial steam-punk office. That vibe did not align with the brand and identity standards of online gaming company PlayStudios—where they emerged as a light and bright brand in hospitality forward Las Vegas. The program and use of each space was inspired by an activity based workplace—the hybrid office allows heads-down focus work to happen at home, and brings the office to an activated social role in their workplace culture. This shift was to help create a magnet rather than mandate to return to office. To make the most of the leased area, Studio BBA helped to convert the very low storage loft into a cozy gaming lounge with low to the floor individual seats arced around the console system, and a nearby round table for board games. We were told a sweet story after the project completed, that a group of the staff get together on Saturdays to use the game table. Pride of place has attracted not just their staff, but friends, family and extended networks. Emphasizing play, Tinkering Monkey and the PlayStudios team brought our vision to life, creating an interactive art installation that makes you pause to play with an analog View-Master toy to view PlayStudios’ original art created by their illustrators. The art installation is just one layer of the detail attended to the accessories. Furniture selections with complimenting pillows, to planters and their plants, lamps, rugs, and a toiletry program to add a level of care to the restroom. Juxtaposing the minimal and bright design of the space, Studio BBA designed a plant program to extend the park on their doorstep in through the folding glass door façade, layering life into the office. Size: Contractor: Collaborator: 2695 SF GCI RDI | Furniture Tinkering Monkey | Art + Signage Photography: Jasper Sanidad Client Website: PlayStudios Design Team: Vishnu Balunsat Bonnie Bridges Back to Projects page Back to top

AUBURN HOUSE AUBURN Set on 100 acres in the Sierra Foothills, the Auburn House embodies the simple, casual and hardy spirit of a modern farmhouse. Through its orientation, sustainable systems and material palette, the home embodies the pastoral and inspiring landscape of lakes, blue oaks, manzanitas and grasses. Anchored into the natural slope of the terrain through a board-form concrete retaining wall, the house is quietly positioned between the idyllic stream-fed lake below and rocky granite outcropping above. The concrete wall’s earthen thermal mass cools the interior, crucial to mitigating the dry, hot summers. On the north side of the house two dormers pop up to allow for picture views toward the rocky terrain. These, along with the operable skylights throughout the house, supply passive cooling and ventilation and diffused natural light. The compact, 2,700 SF house has two wings: the public wing that includes living/dining/kitchen, wine cellar, pantry and powder room, and the private wing that consists of the master suite, media room and guest bedroom. This wing is slightly canted to capture views of a large cluster of native blue oaks. A large, linear patio connects the two wings with outdoor lounge areas, garden beds, cedar trellis and a deep overhang on the south side offering shade for relaxation and family gatherings. A 75-foot lap pool parallels the patio and reflects the native oak landscape. Meandering paths crisscross the site and invite tranquil walking meditation. BBA Team Stephanie Griffith Bonnie Bridges Size 2,700 SF Contractor Saturn Construction Collaborators Photography Studio BBA Bruce Damonte Back to Projects page Back to top

ASHBURY HEIGHTS HOUSE SAN FRANCISCO A single family residence in San Francisco that is under construction. BBA Team Vishnu Balunsat Samantha Buckley Bonnie Bridges Size 945 SF Contractor Collaborators Photography Back to Projects page Back to top

BERNAL HEIGHTS HOUSE SAN FRANCISCO Form and function exist hand-in-hand in this joy-filled modern home. An intricately detailed dwelling for a tight-knit family of four, the Bernal Heights House boasts inspired finishes, strategic placemaking and conceptually rich accents throughout. An homage to the dad’s family home in Australia, designed by his architect-father, Studio BBA conceived of a “rescue house.” “Memories of the outside world will never have the same tonality as those of home and, by recalling these memories, we add to our store of dreams; we are never real historians , but always near poets , and our emotion is perhaps nothing but an expression of a poetry that was lost.” -Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space An all-too-true San Francisco story applies here; after searching for years for a new home, the family finally settled on one in terrible shape and with few resources left for a renovation. Through a strategic design exercise, Studio BBA assisted the family in a new design approach, circumventing the Planning Department by staying within the building’s envelope and expanding down. Coupled with the necessary foundation upgrade, the new lower level added minimal work for maximum opportunities. The program is split between three floors: a lower floor for parents, a middle floor for the family, and an attic floor for the kids. The levels are tied together and enveloped in wood: a douglas fir slatted ceiling above and a white oak hardwood floor below. The wood detailing visually extends as an outdoor canopy, integrating the outdoor bathing and lounging space adjacent to the master suite. Studio BBA took advantage of every nook to achieve function and beauty. The Welcome Niche at the top of the stairs provides a place for everyday objects, serving platters, and family games. Open wood shelves display Australian heirlooms and family artworks. Efficiently planned kitchens and baths host colorful tile and new daylight via two added skylights and large sliding doors. Added space even allowed for an upright piano in the dining room. Like all BBA projects, sustainability is inherent to the design and integrated into every design detail; this house is solar powered and offers radiant heating on two floors, leaving the attic uncontrolled because the building envelope is tightened and heat naturally rises. Our design work continues with a new garden project and mural in the stairwell. BBA Team Bonnie Bridges Megan McGuinn Size 1,890 SF Contractor Elliot Build Remodel Collaborators Semco Engineering Photography Brian McCloud Photography Back to Projects page Back to top

SEBASTOPOL HOUSE WEST SONOMA Currently under construction, Sebastopol House is a single family home with a pool and pool house. BBA Team Bonnie Bridges Stephanie Griffith Size ​ Contractor Saturn Construction Collaborators Knoll Herman Miller | Furniture Pritchard Peck | Lighting Design Semco Engineering | Structural Daniel Nolan Design/Kalman Varga Design | Landscape Design Photography Back to Projects page Back to top

PAJARO DUNES HOUSE WATSONVILLE We’ve worked closely with this client over a number of years to create and implement a thoughtful, site-specific design vision for rejuvenating this coastal vacation property, where their extended family congregates. Built right on the sand, this 3-story mid-century house was originally designed by Walter Thomas Brooks—with a futurist upside-down pyramid conceived of as a spaceship landing in the dunes. Its unconventional form, simple materials and proximity to the ocean left the structure a victim of erosion, corrosion and water drainage issues. We began with a big picture, phased master plan to address the conservation and preservation issues in tandem with renovations, and a design strategy that always considers the Brooks’ iconic detailing, the era and the beach atmosphere (both physically and conceptually). Durability is also an integral criteria—to weather the elements, as well as active family use and large gatherings. The new material palette references the surrounding landscape with a base of earthy tones and pops of vibrant colors—in lava stone, mahogany, bronze, copper, integral color plaster. We introduced a custom brown-gray color on the exterior to offset the bright beach environment and new landscaping; identified by observing the variety of hues and surfaces on site throughout the year. Inside we developed the design room by room—embracing the charm and history of existing elements, and using the perspective of time to ensure the right blend of lasting solutions. Kitchen cabinet doors were rebuilt in place using a custom distressed stainless steel panel, mahogany rails and new hardware. The custom blackened steel, LED fixture was designed to relate to the ceiling’s existing beam pattern. The interiors scope included custom window treatments, pillows, linens, rug and upholstery. On the lower level we renovated the bathroom with a door to the outside, where the sunken patio with new outdoor shower greets the family’s return from the beach; discreetly screened by a custom mahogany gate with louvers. Continual hand-troweled wall plaster runs from the outside in, enhancing the connection. A wall garden of stainless steel and felt is soon to be installed—made in BBA’s Cedar Alley workshop—as well as new planter boxes we designed to reference an original, unbuilt design by Brooks. BBA Team Bonnie Bridges Seth Boor Size 2,500 SF Contractor Collaborators Photography Studio BBA Back to Projects page Back to top

HAYES VALLEY HOUSE SAN FRANCISCO A single newly completed single family home in San Francisco. More information to come. BBA Team Bonnie Bridges Stephanie Griffith Size 1052 SF Contractor Saturn Construction Collaborators Photography Jason Campbell Client Back to Projects page Back to top