FARMERS & MERCHANTS BUILDING DTLA LOS ANGELES Studio BBA provided comprehensive architecture and interiors services for this adaptive reuse project—redeveloping the historic, long-abandoned Farmers & Merchants building in downtown LA’s Old Bank District into our client’s vision for a fantastic, new kind of dining emporium. With the building’s character and significance as our muse, we designed artful, structural and strategic interventions that would restore its glory and distinction for modern patrons. Entirely dedicated to the experience of enjoying food and drink, the interior offers a range of refined and casual environments. The main floor is a seamless integration of new and old, featuring the emporium’s flagship bakery and café near its main entry, and a central horseshoe bar with custom deck-mounted lighting gracefully anchoring the open plan. The fine dining restaurant has both communal and intimate seating; serviced in the front-of-house by an open kitchen, meat room and wine storage. A new 1,600 sq. ft. mezzanine borders the triple-height atrium, providing a singular vantage point of the grand volume. The existing second floor was redesigned with a speakeasy feel and flexible use in mind—the corner bar, cool lounge areas and three dining rooms can be used as restaurant overflow or for private events. Above it all, a restored 300-panel, vaulted skylight is engineered with natural and artificial lighting options. The expansive back-of-house is in a connected but separate building, through no small effort to resolve the structural and systems challenges. Nostalgia and authenticity are expressed throughout with well-considered materials and finishes. Historic preservation elements include moldings, pilasters, the mosaic floor, distressed plaster and the original “Verde” marble cladding. Sophisticated new finishes include brass inlaid tile, exposed steel and concrete, custom millwork, black steel, and walnut. Studio BBA specified complete furniture and decorative lighting packages to complete the tactile, rich environment. The primary complexities of rehabilitating this building centered on the need to introduce and integrate completely new systems in a structure where modern systems had never existed (mechanical, electrical, plumbing, structural, circulation, ADA, exits, fire separation). Through rigorous and thoughtful collaboration with expert engineers, consultants, preservationists and city agencies, Studio BBA arrived at a systems approach that worked for all parties. Back to Projects page Client Tartine LA, LLC BBA Team Bonnie Bridges Seth Boor Anand Sheth Size 19,719 SF Contractor Howard CDM Collaborators MEP: Henderson Engineers Structural: John Labib & Associates Acoustic/AV Consultant: FYXX Entertainment, Inc. Lighting: Hiram Banks Lighting Design Photography None Back to top

CHOCOLATE SHOP SAN FRANCISCO A Japanese chocolate company sought out BBA to design a flagship for their expansion to America’s West Coast. As their company focuses on carefully crafted, high-quality natural products, they came to us for our aligned values, retail design expertise and our experience creating successful food and drink destinations. We collaborated with the chocolatier’s international team to develop two concepts: retail only, and retail plus production. The latter embodies their ‘bean-to-bar’ philosophy—to house the entire chocolate-making process in-house—by integrating a state-of-the-art factory with a customer experience component for production viewing, alongside café, retail and workshop spaces. Our design approach blended Japanese precision with California humanism and warmth to create an environment that encourages customers to linger and learn about the artisanal chocolate-making process. Back to Projects page Client Confidential BBA Team Bonnie Bridges Megan McGuinn Size 2,500 SF Contractor Unbuilt Collaborators MEP: MHC Engineers Food Service Consultant: Christensen Consultants Structural: DCI Engineers Photography None Back to top

BRUCATO AMARO SAN FRANCISCO A distillery, tasting room, and restaurant that is in progress (under construction) for Brucato Amaro. Back to Projects page Client Brucato Amaro BBA Team Bonnie Bridges Samantha Buckley Size 6,933 SF Contractor CCI Collaborators MEP: ACIES Lighting Design: Banks Landl Project Management: Canopy Photography Studio BBA Back to top

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

TARTINE BERKELEY BERKELEY Tartine Berkeley is in the historic Graduate Hotel, a Spanish Colonial style building from 1928. Over the years, the space has evolved from a floral shop, into a sunroom, and now a feature bakery. Studio BBA was engaged to design Tartine’s fifth Bay Area restaurant while we were constructing The Manufactory LA and designing Tartine Inner Sunset , allowing for the emergent process of design to shape this new space. The building’s story, like all of Studio BBA’s work for Tartine, was a main inspirational driver for the design. There is nothing to “roll out” and no mandates on continuity, only the desire to approach our circumstances with strategy and authenticity. Sunrooms are filled with clay tiles and potted plants, garden furniture and wrought-iron, and beautiful light casts over white-washed structures. Tartine Berkeley’s layout achieves internal function while providing maximum visibility through the existing multi-paned windows. Dialed-in millwork consists of heavy cypress, refined zinc (an incidental carry-over from the utilitarian dining rooms in LA), and custom steel and glass. The café’s lounge seating, detailed with traditional wood paneling and elevated furniture, is only accessible through the hotel’s lobby; the flow between spaces is intentionally disconnected, as the change in floor elevation infringed on accessibility requirements. Studio BBA took this challenge head-on, to create engaging spaces for people of all mobilities and adhere strictly to the ADA (which was born just one block away, on UC Berkeley’s campus). An articulated drink pass was reinstated during construction to provide functionality and visual continuity between the café & lounge. To reinforce the sunroom design elements, the space features custom hanging metal bread racks and precious ceramic planters. The back of house is just as considered – organized and oriented to be washed with light through façade windows and skylights. Back to Projects page Client Tartine Bakery BBA Team Bonnie Bridges Anand Sheth Size 1,500 SF Contractor Echo Summit Construction Collaborators MEP: Acies Engineering Lighting: Hiram Banks Lighting Design Kitchen Equipment: Myers Food Service Photography Eric Rorer Photography Back to top

BERNAL HEIGHTS HOUSE SAN FRANCISCO Form and function exist hand-in-hand in this joy-filled modern home. An intricately detailed dwelling for a tight-knit family of four, the Bernal Heights House boasts inspired finishes, strategic placemaking and conceptually rich accents throughout. An homage to the dad’s family home in Australia, designed by his architect-father, Studio BBA conceived of a “rescue house.” “Memories of the outside world will never have the same tonality as those of home and, by recalling these memories, we add to our store of dreams; we are never real historians , but always near poets , and our emotion is perhaps nothing but an expression of a poetry that was lost.” -Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space An all-too-true San Francisco story applies here; after searching for years for a new home, the family finally settled on one in terrible shape and with few resources left for a renovation. Through a strategic design exercise, Studio BBA assisted the family in a new design approach, circumventing the Planning Department by staying within the building’s envelope and expanding down. Coupled with the necessary foundation upgrade, the new lower level added minimal work for maximum opportunities. The program is split between three floors: a lower floor for parents, a middle floor for the family, and an attic floor for the kids. The levels are tied together and enveloped in wood: a douglas fir slatted ceiling above and a white oak hardwood floor below. The wood detailing visually extends as an outdoor canopy, integrating the outdoor bathing and lounging space adjacent to the master suite. Studio BBA took advantage of every nook to achieve function and beauty. The Welcome Niche at the top of the stairs provides a place for everyday objects, serving platters, and family games. Open wood shelves display Australian heirlooms and family artworks. Efficiently planned kitchens and baths host colorful tile and new daylight via two added skylights and large sliding doors. Added space even allowed for an upright piano in the dining room. Like all BBA projects, sustainability is inherent to the design and integrated into every design detail; this house is solar powered and offers radiant heating on two floors, leaving the attic uncontrolled because the building envelope is tightened and heat naturally rises. Our design work continues with a new garden project and mural in the stairwell. Back to Projects page Client Confidential BBA Team Bonnie Bridges Megan McGuinn Size 1,890 SF Contractor Elliot Build Remodel Collaborators Semco Engineering Photography Brian McCloud Photography Back to top

EQUATOR MARKET STREET SAN FRANCISCO Equator’s San Francisco debut—following two Marin cafés in Tam Valley and Mill Valley —is right next door to the historic Warfield Theater in the heart of the red hot Mid-Market rejuvenation. Guided by a neighborhood in transition and the urban elements of downtown’s ‘main drag,’ we kept the interior’s existing mottled concrete and added a new exterior-feeling brick wall. The café’s street cred is enhanced by a new, signature Mona Caron mural, whose work captures site-specific history and future, and a cat-walk-inspired, custom LED light fixture giving nod to neighboring theaters. The coffee roastery and retail displays are situated to take advantage of copious light from south-facing windows. A white stone and mahogany bar adds a touch of classy newness in contrast to the urban environs. And sunny sidewalk seating will soon be accompanied by a “Marklet ” with a rotating program of local art and events. Back to Projects page Client Equator Coffees BBA Team Bonnie Bridges Sarah Fucinaro Size 730 SF Contractor All Phase Construction Collaborators Custom Fixture: Malder Lighting Mural: Mona Caron Photography Nicholas V. Ruiz Back to top

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

ASHBURY HEIGHTS HOUSE SAN FRANCISCO A single family residence in San Francisco that is under construction. Back to Projects page Client Confidential BBA Team Bonnie Bridges Vishnu Balunsat Samantha Buckley Size 945 SF Contractor Alder Construction Collaborators Interiors: Fix Interiors Photography Studio BBA Back to top

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