315 Linden

San Francisco, USA

Office Buildings

Architects: Piechota Architecture

Location: 315 Linden Street, 94102 San Francisco, USA
Year: 2004

The origin of the building, which until recently housed the bustling offices of our studio, dates back to 1920, when it was built as a bakery warehouse. The building is seated on a quiet stretch of Linden Street; in placing our office here, along with converting the street-level garage to a Blue Bottle Coffee, we hoped to add life to what was a quiet little alley, working through small, intentional additions to shape the neighborhood.

Its shell is simple and intentionally left unrefined — rough, board-formed concrete makes the walls and structure on the first story, while on the second, concrete blocks stretches up to the exposed wooden rafters. The layout of the studio takes advantage of the lofty warehouse dimensions of the building. Open desks and tables extend across the first floor, while two mezzanines — one on each end of the third story, connected by steel walkway — allow most of the space to remain double-height. While the office bustles with activity below, the two spaces above provide a quiet respite for relaxation, meetings or collaborative work.