In the heart of San Francisco, we created an inspiring space that accommodates art display, product development, and digital content production. Four One Nine is designed to be versatile. Its bottom floor features neutral, clean finishes in both the gallery space—made column-less by the installation of a deep steel truss—and in the spaces designed for content production, like the kitchen, where an angular island and a custom-designed wood shelving system fulfill practical needs while remaining camera-friendly. Light wood, smooth concrete, and matte-finish paint combine with movable furnishings to make a space that’s welcoming but also easily adaptable.

A dramatic stair, developed in collaboration with steel fabricator Henry DeFauw and concrete fabricator Concrete Works, plunges into the bottom floor and leads users upward into the more secluded and smaller upper floor. Here, the office space serves as a refuge, with a soft, curved sofa by Raphael Navot and a plush rug by Seraina Lareida lending a relaxed, cozy feel. Built-in furnishings give the space an air of permanence, and a carefully developed acoustic plan protects it from the noise rising up from 10th Street. And, a private bathroom with tactile details like curved hexagonal wall tiles and a pliable, tube-like light fixture gives users a chance to catch their breath in the middle of a busy workday.

And while the interior of Four One Nine is protected from unwanted noise pollution, it’s also acutely connected to the world around it. On the bottom floor, public restrooms feature colorful murals by Dave Muller inspired by the landscapes of the Bay Area. Throughout the interior, carefully placed skylights flood the space with light and forge a connection with the changing weather, as cloud cover and sun intensity register on the interior walls. And on the top floor, a few steps lead out onto a roof deck, where users can experience first-hand this inside-outside connection: a green wall designed by Habitat Horticulture and a well-kept, thriving beehive round out the feeling of refuge.

Year: 2020
Location: San Francisco
Square Footage: 5,973
Typology: Commercial Special Purpose