SAN FRANCISCO HARTFORD SAN FRANCISCO Clients new to San Francisco, with a love of modern, came to us to design a spacious, light-filled urban sanctuary within the context of their newly-purchased 1890s Victorian. Minor updates to the historic façade maintain the original sense of privacy, but new visual connections to the outside are enjoyed throughout the thoroughly remodeled interior. A large skylight with exposed beams spans the front living spaces, accentuating new openness where the center hallway formerly enclosed the entry. A family of integral gray materials—counters, fireplace surround, and dual-glazed tile by Heath—articulates the spaces and provides a background for the clients’ personal art and furniture collection. Through large openings in the rear, the new great room and intimate patio area become one large entertaining, dining and living space, with lighting, power, and heating systems that make the outdoor area usable on even the foggiest San Francisco evenings. A climate-appropriate garden is being created by the landscape-savvy client with the help of Flora Grubb Gardens. Back to Projects page Client Confidential BBA Team Bonnie Bridges Sarah Fucinaro Size 1,400 SF Contractor Saturn Construction Collaborators Structural: Semco Engineering Soils: Earth Mechanics Consulting Engineers Photography Sharon Risedorph Back to top

SAN FRANCISCO CHECKR HQ SF SAN FRANCISCO We created a humanized headquarters for this savvy young tech company, whose distinctive tastes and commitment to design values laid the foundation for an excellent project. Elegant, ordered architecture and interiors reflect the owners’ style and vision, and temper the orthogonal rigor of the building shell. Equitability, transparency and community are fundamental to Checkr and therefore to the design—the company’s core values and approach to services relies on these attributes, as does their friendly, smart, respectful company culture. With an entire financial district building under lease, the team implemented a strategic phased approach, gutting and redoing 4 floors totaling 70,000 SF over 3.5 years. We likened the 360-degree views to being in the treetops, and the idea that this perspective gives the staff a keen advantage as they work. An investment in custom acoustic ceiling panels replaced an odious drop ceiling, and the donut-shaped floor plan uses workstation pods to maintain openness while defining the space. Every floor has a destination break area and intentional programming to encourage Checkr’s teams to circulate freely and often between floors. The original lunch room is a multi-function space, serving “all hands on deck” meetings, as well as hosting outside mixers, events and ‘fireside chats’ while the final phase was being developed. Other amenities of the HQ include a yoga lounge, a library for quiet time (with real books and no cell phones), and phone booths for private conversation while ‘treetop’ viewing. We introduced a ‘jazz bar’ destination space—born out of our thinking about treetops and freedom, which led to birds, which, of course, led us to Charlie “Bird” Parker and jazz! Like a forest at night, the bar’s finishes, fixtures and furnishings are dark and moody, and include a service area with a hand-hammered aged brass island and coffee bar. The ping pong table was a top criteria for Checkr’s program, to enable the ace players on staff to keep up their game. In the final phase for Checkr’s SF HQ, we created a home for guests, staff and key public consisting of a Welcome Center and an “All The Hands” space. The Welcome Center uses tone-on-tone blue to provide an anchored entry sequence while expanding on “birds in the sky” by adding “clouds” as inspiration. The “All The Hands” space is hyper-flexible, divisible into three rooms for training, lounging and dining and expandable into a 300-person gathering space. Activity-Based Working (ABW) techniques were employed and integrated with a diverse set of experiences, space and places to provide a truly inclusive environment. As a nod to our hospitality work, we also considered the front of house as important as the back of house spaces, including a thoughtful kitchen prep space with a terrific view. Particular attention was also spent on the all-gender restroom, with custom accessories built locally by Hume Studio, reinforcing that everyone matters at Checkr. Also integral to the aesthetic, the art program throughout was developed as another expression of Checkr’s values and culture; featuring local artists to express their connection to the San Francisco Bay Area, and prison artists to underscore their commitment to authenticity. A portrait by TW FIVE was commissioned and made on site, sparking joy and daily reflection to passersby entering the lunchroom. Back to Projects page Client Checkr BBA Team Bonnie Bridges Ellen Yanisse Dave Ornvold Size 70,000 SF Contractor Principal Builders Inc. Collaborators Lighting: Hiram Banks Furniture: POD Office Photography Bruce Damonte Jasper Sanidad Back to top

SAN FRANCISCO STRIPE - PIONEER SAN FRANCISCO Occupying 23,000 sq. ft. of the landmark Pioneer Building , Studio BBA’s design for Stripe’s new headquarters provides a cohesive, connected spatial experience between three floors and two buildings, accomplished within a fairly tight budget and an extremely tight time frame. Stripe sought out Studio BBA to shepherd their complete process: space planning, Schematic Design, Design Development, interior graphics, furniture coordination, Construction Documentation, project administration, accessories, and art procurement. To relate to their densely-populated Mission District location, we realized their vision for an informal work environment that maintained its connection to the city and the needs of its urban dwelling staff, as well as the feel of their previously close-knit work environment (40 people in 4,000 sq. ft.). For us the project epitomizes “Jane Jacobs in an office”, an organically structured interior that will celebrate the beauty of growth over time. On arrival, Stripe’s waiting room is marked by intentional, subtle details in the signage and furnishings, enough to pique one’s interest while settling in. But bolder moves await inside. A new three-story blackened steel stair unifies the floors, providing a visual and physical relationship between spaces, enhanced with first and third floor garden lounges—one prim and proper, the other wild and overgrown—that invite exploration and connectivity. Myriad communal workspaces occur throughout the offices, from bar-height common tables to artful jungle lounges, and a series of progressively private ”code caves” provides the staff of software programmers a variety of code-writing environments. The ground-floor utilizes space that was formerly a garage for a professional kitchen, a rustic, comfortable lunchroom and an adjacent outdoor patio with covered bike rack structure, tumbled-brick pavers and café-style lighting. A library lounge flanks the busy lunchroom path, offering reprieve; the idea of a quiet introspective space; books as ornaments. On the third floor, a speak-easy bar provides a central gathering place and much-needed ‘time out’ for a work force that often burns the midnight oil. Back to Projects page Client Stripe BBA Team Bonnie Bridges Seth Boor Size 28,000 SF Contractor Peacock Construction Collaborators Structural: Structural Design Engineers Photography Bruce Damonte Back to top

SOMA, SAN FRANCISCO THUMBTACK LIBRARY SOMA, 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. Back to Projects page Client Thumbtack BBA Team Bonnie Bridges Samantha Buckley Vishnu Balunsat Size 20,000 SF Contractor MCS Collaborators MEP: ACIES Structural: Magnusson Klemencic Associates Furniture: Pear Workplace Solutions Plants: The Plant People Signage + Branding: Tinkering Monkey Photography Victor Goods Back to top

SAN FRANCISCO DOLORES PARK RESIDENCE SAN FRANCISCO In modernizing this 1907 house via a partial renovation, we focused on introducing a few key features to the interior that capitalize on its perch atop Dolores Heights, and clear the interior of previous interventions. Striking a balance between the clients’ love of entertaining and their desire for introverted space, the design adds an artist/office space, a temperature controlled wine room and a new rear deck. To make full use of the sloping lot’s privacy and incredible light we opened up the ground floor bedrooms to the new deck, giving direct access to views of the yard’s thorough revamp by Groundcover Landscaping . Upstairs, built-in library shelving, new fixtures, and a custom bar bring together the main living and entertaining spaces. Back to Projects page Client Confidential BBA Team Bonnie Bridges Size 2,400 SF Contractor Saturn Construction Collaborators Structural: Semco Engineering Photography Eric Hermann Back to top

SAN FRANCISCO 28TH STREET SAN FRANCISCO This expanded home exuberantly expresses its owner’s artistic style, rooted in her passion for texture and pattern. A master of craft and color with a background in textiles, art and photo styling, she is also part of the Studio BBA family as our materials librarian. Designing her family’s home was a highly collaborative process that was deeply rewarding and inspiring. Located on a very steep street, the original structure was leaning downhill 14” along with its neighboring houses. To stabilize the home and make space for ground floor and under-deck additions, we embarked on an exciting process of careful demolition, shoring and pneumatic leveling to bring all the properties as close to level as humanly possible. The incrementally slow cranking of 1” per hour took an entire day. The interior is a balance of 1910 Victorian coziness and modern great room lifestyle. We completely transformed the main floor living spaces by removing a partition wall and adding a large exterior door to the new deck—achieving an expansive openness and bringing in tons more daylight. We were also able to add key functionality for the family, with a full bath on the main level and a new bath on the upper level. The latter is washed in gorgeous west light, and is a combination of simple luxury and kid-friendly utility. The whole house benefits from new radiant heating and passive cooling systems. The rear yard is equally transformed, featuring a deck with cedar wall of built-in seating/planting and pop-out for grill on the main level. The new lower level guest suite opens onto an intimate patio with dog shower and potting bench, and enjoys a connection to the stunning and unusually large garden. Back to Projects page Client Confidential BBA Team Bonnie Bridges Lyda Cort Size 1,800 SF Contractor Blair Burke Construction Collaborators Landscape: Groundcover Landscaping Photography F. Jason Campbell Back to top

LOS ANGELES FLORA GRUBB GARDENS LA LOS ANGELES We had the opportunity to collaborate again with the dream team that is Flora Grubb Gardens on their new Marina Del Rey location. Their new location in Southern California is quickly becoming a gathering place for design-driven gardeners who are committed to the wiser use of resources. Studio BBA helped to create and iterate with Flora’s vision of another park-like nursery. We helped the Marina Del Rey location to embody Flora Grubb’s commitment to making lavishly beautiful landscapes that require minimal water and chemicals accessible to the public. It has been incredibly rewarding to watch the successes of Flora Grubb Gardens as they grow and we are grateful for our partnership, as they bring us along time and time again. Through our longtime relationship with Flora Grubb, we continue to collaborate frequently with the Gardens’ landscape services on other Studio BBA projects. Back to Projects page Client Flora Grubb Gardens BBA Team Bonnie Bridges Vishnu Balunsat Size 1,765 SF Contractor Flora Grubb Team Collaborators Flora Grubb Team Photography Caitlin Atkinson Back to top

LOS ANGELES TURTLE ROCK HOUSE LOS ANGELES We share a love for the poetry of architecture and its relationship to natural landscapes with the enthusiastic family of four for whom we designed this ground-up, peace-infused southern California residence. Every room in the house enjoys natural light and ventilation, many of which utilize skylights to mitigate the need for artificial light during the day. An expansive great room acts as a central point of connection and interaction for the family, and provides common access to the personal spaces: an acoustically-isolated music room, a home office with framed vista of the park, a studio space, and the bedrooms and bathrooms. The house is oriented to appreciate the site’s bucolic urban and rural views as well as the bordering park, with the massing and form of its main volume embracing the adjacent greenspace. A lush, native front garden contrasts the smooth, modern façade in texture and color, engaging street life while maintaining privacy. Around the back of the house, ample space for outdoor living is connected to the interior through full height walls of glass doors and windows, framed by the warmth of consistent wood and stucco planes. Back to Projects page Client Confidential BBA Team Bonnie Bridges Size 3,000 SF Contractor Mike Mckay Construction Collaborators Structural: Wickstrom Structural Engineering Geotechnical: Mission Geoscience, Inc Soils: Bagahi Engineering Inc. Civil: Incledon Consulting Group Photography Bruce Damonte Studio BBA Back to top

SAN FRANCISCO HERON ARTS SAN FRANCISCO A dramatic space for work, for entertaining and for home, this project occupies two stories of an historic South of Market building. Studio BBA had originally transformed the 8,000 sq. ft. brick warehouse as the LeeQuen Atelier in 2006. Our design approach for Heron was responsive and explorative, seeking to create a few defining gestures with visual impact, while maintaining the casual, open tone set by the Client. New infrastructure—guest bedroom and bathroom, kitchen and communal restrooms—is appropriately industrial and utilitarian in aesthetic, devised to serve the building’s three, overlapping uses. A new stair tempts you up to the roof through a sliding skylight. Sculptural LED lighting adds an artful touch and helps define the spatial zones. An over-scaled, custom steel and glass door grounds the design as a throwback to the building’s earlier use as a commercial laundry. Back to Projects page Client Heron Arts BBA Team Bonnie Bridges Seth Boor Sarah Fucinaro Size 8,000 SF Contractor Jeff King & Co. Collaborators Interiors: Geremia Design Photography Cesar Rubio Back to top

MILL VALLEY EQUATOR MILL VALLEY MILL VALLEY Studio BBA’s concept for this historic town square café draws on the area’s rustic and natural energy and connects to the vibrant street life, while reflecting the refined character of Equator Coffees and Teas. Expanding on elements we used at the Equator Prooflab location, our Mill Valley café design deepens the company’s brick-and-mortar brand palette with the warmth of salvaged redwood, balanced by concrete, plaster, tile and copper, and accented by ‘Equator red’. We capitalized on existing high ceilings in the storefront to feature a 27-point light array, half of which suspends down to reveal the fixtures’ slip-cast concrete texture. To further integrate Mill Valley’s history, Studio BBA designed a table of redwood and salvaged railroad rails for the outdoor seating area. Back to Projects page Client Equator Coffees BBA Team Bonnie Bridges Sarah Fucinaro Size 950 SF Contractor Dan Dafoe Collaborators MEP: MHC Engineers Photography Nicholas V. Ruiz Back to top