Office Refresh for The Longnow
We’re a little over 9 years since we finished construction of the renowned bar in San Francisco, The Interval at The Longnow; a project we are very proud of. The interior layout has functioned so well over these last years that, even as we approach this 10 year mark, the layout serves the use so well that it has been named the best bar in countless articles since its opening.
Above The Interval bar is a lesser known and talked about space: an office for the staff of The Longnow. Behind a secret bookcase door at the top of the stairs, this is a place where the great minds behind the organization do their daily work. A space we designed and built along with the downstairs bar almost 10 years ago, though unlike the bar, was in dire need of rethinking as we all know how much workspace dynamics have changed over these last few years.
We were asked by The Longnow to help revitalize this space. Rethinking the layout with an updated mind of the way the staff works today. We helped them realize a workspace that is more of a meeting and gathering space, with a layout that is designed around how the staff is using the space now.
New Floorplan for a new way of working
Gone are the days of rows of desks. Now we have group meeting tables, comfortable seating areas and casual meeting areas. A more thoughtful floorplan for how we are working and meeting today.
We’ve taken out the rows of desks from pre pandemic area and created a layout that invites people to come, stay, gather. Within this small office envelope we’ve created 6 distinct seating areas for different functions.
Group seating / meeting areas for collaborative working, group working and meetings. Solo seating areas, desk spaces and a casual meeting area. This small and efficiently laid out space even has a small kitchenette, sound proof telephone room and office storage cabinets.
As part of our business practice, we have a fabrication shop that makes custom elements for our projects. Adding the live edge walnut table and countertop from salvaged hardwood slabs created anchor point for this small office space, and was also a relevant thinking point for the space, as it can reference projects the organization is working on. We processed, treated and fabricated the final pieces of the hardwood slabs in our shop in Oakland CA to make these one of a kind pieces.
This is one of the distinctions of our firm, that we do these elements in house, so we can thoughtfully integrated them into our overall design of the space.
The table and matching live edge countertop create both the desired focal point and practical surface that was needed for this small office to be the effective meeting and working environment it needs to be. You can see the whole project write up page here. And our original Interval at The Long Now project page here.