SAN FRANCISCO MILI WINE BAR SAN FRANCISCO Mili Wine Bar founders are a successful technology couple who have travelled the world (with wine as their muse) and decided to turn that passion into a local wine bar in San Francisco. While wine is their passion, they are first-time industry owners. They engaged Studio BBA for our expertise in creating well-loved, successful food and beverage places across the Bay Area. We guided the client throughout the process: curating a fantastic consultant team, navigating Landlord approvals, designing a beautiful, functional bar in exceptionally small footprint, and developing a future outdoor bar experience. The client asked for a friendly, well-appointed, neighborhood gathering place that enables connection, debate and discussion while enjoying excellent curated wines from across the globe. In response, we anchored the tiny space with a huge zinc bar. Zinc is a warm, soft grey and malleable (double bubble edge detail) material that carries the history of use over time. It is both timely and timeless and has been used in bars all over the world – and as such resonated with the global wine offerings of the bar. Tables are tucked into the angled niches along the storefront edges. Saturated moments of rust and azure accents provide pops of color and texture to an overall calm and quite palette. As having a gathering place for stories and debate (critical to a functional democracy) was tantamount, we carefully crafted an acoustic environment (within a glass and concrete shell) to allow for non-shouting conversation: cork floors, tectum ceilings, full height wine display shelves (with nooks and crannies to dissipate sound waves) and acoustic curtains. Situated on the corner near the Bay, Mili is a billboard to the bay with stunning views of the Bay Bridge. Back to Projects page Client Mili Wine Bar BBA Team Bonnie Bridges Tara Rajan Vishnu Balunsat Size 1,270 SF Contractor Cookline Collaborators MEP Engineering: ACIES Lighting Design: Pritchard Peck Branding: Ray Studio Owners Representative & Styling: Whisk Photography Molly Decoudreaux Back to top

DOWNTOWN, SAN FRANCISCO SIGHTGLASS SFMOMA DOWNTOWN, SAN FRANCISCO Our longstanding relationship with Sightglass Coffee continues at SFMOMA, with a café that intervenes where the gestural, formal Snøhetta expansion meets the pure, symmetrical, geometric volumes of the Botta interior. It was an immense pleasure to design at the intersection of this larger aesthetic conversation. We took the opportunity to create an original, site-specific solution for this Sightglass, deviating from the local architectural brand we developed for their first two locations. By playfully twisting the café’s main façade—using curvaceous custom concrete panels around a strict symmetry—the design fills our given niche while mingling with the surrounding museum interior. The curved façade also fulfills a demand for highly efficient service areas, in response to the café’s small footprint and high-volume location. A palette of concrete, natural maple, blackened steel and soft museum white reflects the refined modernity of the transformed museum, and features custom designed and fabricated elements including the bar and light fixtures. Back to Projects page Client Sightglass Coffee BBA Team Seth Boor Bonnie Bridges Anand Sheth Size 390 SF Contractor Architect of Record: EHDD Associate Architect: Snøhetta Collaborators Fabricator: Concreteworks Millwork: Acosta & Sons Inc Photography F. Jason Campbell Back to top

VANCOUVER MOJA COFFEE VANCOUVER Moja Coffee’s new café is a neighborhood living room where the community and baristas can share espresso and daily conversation together without pretense. Owners Doug Finley and Andrew Wentzel were inspired to create a local place that offers an egalitarian, communal atmosphere for enjoying coffee, as they had experienced in their travels through Italy and Africa. Not only a café, Moja will serve as a roasting and packaging facility—a 12 kilo Probat roaster lies at the heart of their operation, visible within the café as well as from the outdoor patio. Located in an historic, corner building amidst the thriving arts corridor of Vancouver’s Commercial Drive, the space is characterized by industrial simplicity. The layout of the café balances the need for efficiency and organization on the production side, with the desire to foster seamless interaction between patrons and staff. A steel shelving armature provides area for retail display, while a band of wood cabinetry, accessed by rolling ladder, fulfills the pragmatic need for storage. The new architectural elements crafted from locally sourced woods and original brick wall feel warm and familiar, grounding the light-filled, clean and crisp character of the overall space. Back to Projects page Client Moja Coffee BBA Team Bonnie Bridges Stephanie Griffith Size 1,300 SF Contractor Collaborators Architect of Record: Allan Diamond Architect Photography Studio BBA Back to top

SAN FRANCISCO DROPBOX HQ SAN FRANCISCO Our design for this young company’s new 70,000 sq. ft. China Basin headquarters provides flexibility for their fast-growing business, while introducing innovative approaches to urban workplace density. If cubicles are the suburbs then our approach to Dropbox HQ is downtown, with their core product as the design inspiration. The company’s new workspace a simple, well-executed container that maximizes functionality and allows for customization without compromising honest aesthetics. Our design reiterates our belief that all spaces – particularly the all-too-often neglected office – deserve real materials and attentive, appropriately-scaled interventions. The primary challenge of this design was to continue the charged and collaborative newsroom feel of the company’s former open office space, while planning for projected growth that could more than quadruple staff. Wrapping the existing building core, a nearly 1,600 ft. continuous circulation loop provides daylight and views to the entire office. The open space plan is organized to be approachable but intensively active and vibrant. Team groupings of open workstations and centralized social spaces line the glazed perimeter, interspersed with shared work rooms, interview and meeting spaces, and informal lounges. The scale and placement of the work groups provides team unity and isolated acoustics, while still maintaining views to neighboring groups to achieve the company’s desire that everyone maintain a connection to overall density. Specific auxiliary spaces include: phone, break, game, music, server, gym, kitchen, and dining. Back to Projects page Client Dropbox BBA Team Bonnie Bridges Seth Boor Sarah Fucinaro Size 70,000 SF Contractor Skyline Construction Collaborators Interiors: Geremia Design Photography Bruce Damonte Studio BBA Back to top

SAN FRANCISCO NICO RESTAURANT SAN FRANCISCO Our approach to Nico Restaurant’s new location was akin to the way the Chef approaches food—with an experiential and inviting sophistication, and decidedly not stuffy. Design choices err toward a pared down purity while accomplishing a higher intent. By exposing the original brick walls we returned architectural authenticity to the space, but also embedded the environment with Owners Andrea & Nicolas Delaroque’s belief in letting ingredients speak for themselves. The building’s historical significance was certainly on our mind during design, having been the midcentury home to SF’s legendary Black Cat Café. The Cat was a cultural institution—an early bohemian hangout where patrons packed in to be entertained by drag shows infused with groundbreaking advocacy for the LGBTQ community and civil liberties. We honored this past with subtle references. The main move was to put Chef Nico’s impeccable kitchen on full view through a wide opening framed in wood trim—as if it were a stage and the diners had front row seats. (In this case, patrons are here to witness the reclamation of a Michelin star, lost only due to relocation). Cat-print wallpaper adds a light touch in the restroom. Jewel tones on the painted exterior and base of the marble-topped bar harken to a French brasserie. Patterned concrete tile flooring enlivens the entry and bar area. The ambiance of the dining area is tempered by nicely detailed wood elements, plaster wall surfaces, a leather-backed banquette and upholstered seating. Back to Projects page Client Nico Restaurant BBA Team Bonnie Bridges Sarah Fucinaro Size 2,900 SF Contractor ACI General Contractors Collaborators MEP: MHC Engineers Photography Mariko Reed Back to top

AUBURN 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. Back to Projects page Client Confidential BBA Team Bonnie Bridges Stephanie Griffith Size 2,700 SF Contractor Saturn Construction Collaborators Structural: Nellie Ingraham Civil: Atteberry & Associates Surveyor: Andregg Geomatics Geotechnical: Holdrege & Kull Photography Bruce Damonte Studio BBA Back to top

SAN FRANCISCO MAZARINE COFFEE SAN FRANCISCO Mazarine Coffee exemplifies a passion for coffees from around the world and a pursuit of the perfect cup, and pays homage to its namesake Bibliotheque Mazarine—the oldest public library in France—with communal space for reflection, inquiry and interactions. Visually, the patterning of tiled alcoves in the café subtly mimics the rhythm of library shelving. Mazarine is also a deep shade of blue, which in nature is embodied by the Mazarine Blue butterfly. Studio BBA selected a palette that took its cue from this vibrant hue, adding complimentary colors in the space to create a warm, inviting, positive atmosphere. The refined materials chosen to define the café: marble—tile, wood and brass—are intentionally in contrast to the exposed, raw texture of the base building. A leather-backed banquette provides seating for patrons having a quick coffee or bite, while communal tables in the back of the café offer space for larger gatherings, meetings and longer stays. Back to Projects page Client Mazarine Coffee BBA Team Bonnie Bridges Megan McGuinn Size 1,500 SF Contractor Peacock Construction Collaborators Kitchen, Restaurant + Bar Specialists Photography Nicholas V. Ruiz Back to top

SAN FRANCISCO FLATIRON WINES SAN FRANCISCO This prominent New York city retailer, known for their incredible breadth of wine and friendly experts, came to us to design their second U.S. shop—a ‘super boutique’ in San Francisco’s storied Palace Hotel. The Palace location inherently elevated the design language with a sense of elegance and tradition, relating well to their vintner and collector relationships. But equally important was the need to set a social, welcoming tone, to maintain their appeal for all levels of enthusiasts. Our work was cut out for us, as the square footage and location were perfect for the client but existing conditions posed a couple big challenges. The first task was to remedy layers of dated renovations, for which we decided it was necessary to mount a major cleanup and strip the space down to its shell. The other challenge was addressing the labyrinthine structure of the space, compartmentalized in a series of little rooms and long corridors. We chose to use this historic framework to Flatiron’s advantage, creating a place in which to wander, get lost and delight in discovery, as you would in a library. For each of the retailer’s functions we created a distinct room, maintaining separation while opening up varying sightlines. Intentional, meandering pathways allow customers to explore arbitrarily, balanced by clear ‘boulevards’ for a more direct course. The two types of circulation are distinguished by subtle changes in floor finish, matte and bright pendant lighting, and articulated thresholds. Literally miles of custom shelving in white oak and raw steel allow for displaying Flatiron’s vast offerings (over 4,000 bottles of wine and spirits), and distinguish the tasting rooms and lovely and intimate spirits room. The street-level, light-filled tasting room connects to city life through large windows. The private, basement-level tasting cave is an introspective space for the visitor to discover. The décor is a mix of classic, contemporary and industrial, with feature lighting and vintage furnishings and art. Back to Projects page Client Flatiron Wines BBA Team Bonnie Bridges Anand Sheth Size 5,800 SF Contractor Northern Sun Collaborators Fabricator: Boden Alexander Photography Nicholas V. Ruiz Back to top

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO PARK PADEL SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO A luxe and approachable 6-court Padel club with new locker rooms, retail, court viewing areas and soft seating lounges is currently under construction for Park Padel in South San Francisco. Back to Projects page Client Park Padel BBA Team Bonnie Bridges Samantha Buckley Michelle Cruz Size 26,000 SF Contractor Principal Builders Inc Collaborators Structural: Spectrum Engineering Photography Studio BBA Back to top