Frog
San Francisco
David Baker FAIA & Partners

Curtained curves soften orthogonal grid 
 

Photo courtsey David Baker FAIA & Partners, Architects

For more photos click on 'photos & drawings' above. To see the people and products behind this project click on 'people & products.'

Set in the South of Market (SOMA) area of San Francisco, this renovated warehouse serves as the new home for product development, new media, and web site design for this international industrial design firm. Because the space would be used for such varying purposes, ensuring complete visual privacy between the work areas and the conference/meeting areas was a priority.

As a counterpoint to the orthogonal grid of the existing structure, a number of curved elements were introduced into the building volume. The largest of these forms is the principal conference room located on the ground floor. In lieu of walls, a large arc of velvet curtain has been introduced at each floor, segregating the client/meeting spaces from the workstation/office zones. 

The owner requested a casual but purposeful approach to design. A collection of standard building materials identifies the various use areas. Corrugated fiberglass is used at the conference room exteriors, while recycled fiberboard functions as the wall sheathing for the angular volumes of the support spaces. 

At 12,200 square feet, the building is two stories in height, with an additional large mezzanine located between the ground level and upper story. Included within this framework are two large spaces designated for computer workstations (projected to reach a total of fifty), a kitchen/dining facility, a recording/sound editing studio, and three formal conference rooms (along with a number of casual meeting "enclaves").

Formal name of building:
Frog Design Studios

Location:
San Francisco, Calif.

Gross square footage: 
12,200 sq ft

Total construction cost:
$804,000

Owner:
frogDesign Inc.
www.frogdesign.com

Architect's firm: 
David Baker FAIA & Partners, Architects 
461 Second St., Loft 127
San Francisco, CA 94107 
Tel. 415.896.6700 
Fax. 415.896.6103
www.dbarchitect.com