Photographer: Jasper Sanidad | ArchDaily

Small Cafe Designs: 30 Aspirational Examples in Plan & Section

Clara Ott — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 07:30:00 +0000

The interior design of a coffee shop can make-or-break an establishment. With an inviting design, you can transform drinking a simple cup of coffee into a wonderful experience. However, when you only have a few square meters and various machines and properties to distribute, finding an efficient configuration is not easy.

Indoor Bleachers: From Offices to Homes

Eduardo Souza — Tue, 21 Dec 2021 06:45:00 +0000

Circulation spaces are often challenging for designers as they are intended—as the name implies—for moving from one room to another. While many take advantage of these areas by using them as storage spaces, Mies van der Rohe at the Farnsworth house reduced circulation to a minimum, creating an open floor plan completely free of hallways. When faced with vertical circulation, the issue is similar. Stairs fulfill the purpose of overcoming the height between one floor and another, but rarely constitute indoor living spaces. Bleachers, in turn, play this role in several projects. Until recently, they were only found in sports spaces or amphitheaters; now the use of bleachers has become widespread and is seen in office spaces, public buildings, schools and even homes.

Basic Principles of Acoustics: Why Architects Shouldn’t Leave It All To Consultants

Lindsey Leardi — Mon, 03 May 2021 06:30:00 +0000

More than half the world’s population lives in dense urban areas. Uncomfortably loud restaurants, stores, hotels, or offices are enough to keep patrons away. When planning a meeting or even a night out with friends, we are conscious of selecting a location where we can focus and hear one another. The noisier our world gets, the more difficulty we have focusing on the sounds we actually want to hear.

Sonoma Retreat / Studio Sarah Willmer

Andreas Luco — Thu, 09 Jan 2020 18:00:00 +0000

Located on a grassy, oak tree shaded hillside with a creek traveling through the southeastern portion of the lot, the site is emblematic of the Northern California landscape. A portion of the site is protected for a stream that carries the run-off of much of the neighboring properties and fluctuates dramatically throughout the year. The house is situated near the top of the sloped lot, with its back to the neighbor to the west above. The design takes advantage of the views towards the trees as well as perches above the potential flood plain of the site. The project includes a master plan, site development and the design of two structures: a garage/office/guest suite and a main house. Both structures are less than 3000 sq. ft. making it comfortable for two. The clients wanted to create a minimalist retreat away from San Francisco where they could escape and enjoy privacy within the landscape.

Berkeley Way Academic Office Building / WRNS Studio

Pilar Caballero — Fri, 06 Dec 2019 19:00:00 +0000

As increasing enrollment, fiscal constraints, and decades of underinvestment challenge public universities across California, the University of California, Berkeley models cost-effective, high-quality design by employing a private developer mindset. Berkeley Way West is a new hybrid academic and speculative office building located in the dense, bustling heart of Berkeley. The new building houses the University’s Psychology, Global Health, and Education departments, as well as numerous private companies, including Microsoft. By leasing space to private tenants, the University meets current space demands, supports revenue goals, and anticipates future growth. Berkeley Way West will eventually be occupied entirely by UC Berkeley.

How Lighting Affects Mood

Eduardo Souza — Mon, 12 Aug 2019 06:00:00 +0000

It's very likely that you are reading this text in an interior space with the lights on. For most people, modern living entails spending most of the day in closed rooms, bathed in a sum of artificial and natural lights. Yet while artificial light has afforded mankind incalculable possibilities, it has also caused some confusion in our bodies, which have evolved for thousands of years to respond to the stimuli of sunlight in the day and darkness at night. This responsiveness to natural light is called the circadian rhythm or cycle, and describes the 24-hour biological cycle of almost all living beings. Circadian rhythms are primarily influenced by light reception, but temperature and other stimuli also play a role in the process.

Two-Way House / Studio Sarah Willmer

Daniel Tapia — Thu, 21 Mar 2019 17:00:00 +0000

The Two-Way House embodies the marriage of San Francisco’s historic urban fabric with today’s modern needs/desires in a thoughtfully crafted home filled with daylight seamlessly connecting to the garden. Our client’s goals of filling their home with natural light while connecting inside to outside formed the transformation of this Pacific Heights row house.

Offices and Workplaces: Examples in Plan

Fabian Dejtiar — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 07:00:00 +0000

The functional distribution plays a fundamental role in the contemporary design of offices and places for work. The study of the architecture plan shows an interesting form of approach; not only allows for proper logistics and circulation but find efficient variations and innovations that will enable better workspaces that adapt to the current needs.

Adobe Town Hall / Valerio Dewalt Train Associates

Rayen Sagredo — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 17:00:00 +0000

Adjusting to a growing workforce in San Francisco, Adobe found itself in need of more culinary space and they wanted to provide their employees with a new experience that would match their ambitions as a company. Having their offices housed within the historic Baker & Hamilton building, expansion and structural changes were strictly prohibited by the city. The process to solve this problem began with a close collaboration between the newly hired Chef, Mirit Cohen, and Valerio Dewalt Train with their in house Media Objectives Studio. Together, they explored new ways to optimize their existing space and create a new and diverse culinary experience for Adobe employees.

Uber EMEA Headquarters / CannonDesign + Assembly Design Studio

Rayen Sagredo — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 05:00:00 +0000

With services offered in more than 65 countries and over 450 cities worldwide, Uber is one of the tech industry’s fastest global expansions. The key to Uber’s rapid globalization was to “think local to expand global”. In 2017, Uber moved and expanded their EMEA headquarters in Amsterdam to establish a global presence, connect people and cultures, and understand the ever-evolving markets around them.

Uber Advanced Technologies Group Center / Assembly Design Studio

Sabrina Leiva — Thu, 26 Jan 2017 12:00:00 +0000

Since Uber’s inception in 2009, the company has transformed the way we live by connecting over a billion riders to drivers in 450 cities and counting. In 2015, Uber opened the Advanced Technologies Group (ATG) Center in Pittsburgh to research and develop solutions for mapping, vehicle safety, and autonomous transportation. Pittsburgh’s long history of cutting-edge production technology and manufacturing the most essential machines of its age matched perfectly Uber’s desire to launch and build its first self-driving vehicle. This idea of marrying the past and future became the design inspiration behind ATG.

WIRED Looks at 8 Cities of the Future

Sabrina Santos — Tue, 13 Oct 2015 08:00:00 +0000

WIRED Magazine has created a list of Eight Cities That Will Show You What The Future Will Look Like in the latest edition of their design issue. In the relatively short span of time that humans have been planning cities, more and more decisions have been made that have shaped the path of new technologies and methods that will make cities better. Such projects—like new streetlights, bicycle infrastructure, and traffic-sensitive museums—highlight some of these advances in the urban lifestyle.

2015 AIA Institute Honor Awards for Interior Architecture

Holly Giermann — Thu, 15 Jan 2015 01:00:00 +0000

Celebrating the most innovative spaces in the realm of interior design, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) has selected this year's recipients for the prestigious Institute Honor Awards for Interior Architecture. These eight projects will be recognized for their exceptional design at the AIA 2015 National Convention and Design Exposition in Atlanta.

The Slow Death of the Corporate Architecture of Exclusion

Scott Wyatt — Sat, 20 Sep 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Of all the changes in architectural typologies in recent years, one of the most dramatic - and the most documented - is the transition from corporate to more casual, 'fun' office buildings. This change has infiltrated companies from tiny 5-person start-ups to Silicon Valley giants, and while it has been pioneered by tech and media companies it has certainly not been limited to them.

VARA / Studio O+A

Daniel Sánchez — Thu, 28 Aug 2014 01:00:00 +0000

With San Francisco securing its place as one of the world’s technological hubs once-industrial areas of the city are turning into digital foundries. Unlike the industrial areas of old these foundries attract people who want to live nearby. Vara, the new housing development at 1880 Mission is a living space for urban professionals who may walk to work, work from home, work in a café—or all three.

Capital One Lab / Studio O+A

Cristian Aguilar — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

A bank is not a client to whom designers would normally suggest their most adventurous color choices, but the creative team at Capital One Labs in San Francisco was an exception. This group, which develops apps for easy and effective interface with Capital One’s online customers, wanted their space to reflect the wide open spirit of their team. Capital One Labs is essentially a design studio, and the people who work there wanted it to look like one. They didn’t want to drape it in banker’s gray.

Yelp Headquarters / Studio O+A

Cristian Aguilar — Fri, 20 Jun 2014 01:00:00 +0000

As tech companies take root in urban locations where space is limited, the collegial spirit of Silicon Valley finds new modes of expression in high-rise buildings and converted industrial facilities. Key to our design for Yelp was the concept of a vertical campus– an all-encompassing, self-contained community stacked on multiple floors. Yelp moved its HQ from a smaller site in San Francisco to a classic Financial District high-rise. As with most multi-story occupancies, the design challenge at Yelp was to facilitate group dynamics so that people interact with each other even though they work on different floors.

O+A: In Search of Optimal Office Design

Eva Hagberg Fisher — Sat, 10 May 2014 01:00:00 +0000

Although office design has dramatically and drastically changed over the course of the 20^th century, we aren't finished yet. San Francisco firm O+A is actively searching for today's optimal office design, designing work spaces to encourage both concentration and collaboration by merging elements from the cubicle-style office with those popularized by Steve Jobs. In this article, originally published by Metropolis Magazine as “Noises Off,” Eva Hagberg takes a look at some of their built works.