301 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA

301 Howard is the New York-based Embarcadero Capital Partners’ first property in San Francisco. 

With renovation of the whole building, the lobby in 301 Howard was calling for a spacious, modern glow.  The minimalist space is central to the site’s occupants, as the transition space between a bustling city landscape and the quiet, focused reprieve the offices above.  Meetings, greetings, lunch pick-ups, goodbyes, and after-hours chat and chatter call lobbies home, so we needed to make this space comfortable and flexible enough for all of its wide-ranging uses.  At the same time, maintaining the sense of loft in the single story space while presenting a touch of style was key.   

The concept of daylight is a psychological touchstone when we look for spatial references.  This natural association gives small spaces a larger feeling when diffuse fixtures are used, and luckily, this lobby has the perfect opportunity for their placement as it steps down in height from the street.  Opposite contours in the ceiling and walls gave us the chance to orient light both outward and inward, while the pure-white painted wall and ceiling surfaces took care of the rest, producing lots of diffused, face-flattering fill light.  Staging all of the above on a polished stone floor treatment echoes the presence of occupants as they move through the space as their forms are carried across its surface towards the observer. 

To highlight this nuanced interplay of sharp and soft we moved to eliminate undue glare from overly-brilliant exposed sources, or rhythmic but visually cluttering wall-washes and sconces.  A Birkenstock specialty, LED strip in coves and recesses provided the bulk of the illumination as it was easily integrated into the architectural motifs and provides softly focused, marginally directed light. 

Winner:

o   2017 •   IES SF Lux Award: Award of Excellence: Interior Lighting Design

o   2017 •    IIDA NC Honor Award