Following the adaptive reuse of The Power House building at Ghirardelli Square to house the new San Francisco home for Compass, TEF led tenant improvements for the company’s expansion into the south wing of the historic building to support its robust growth.

Connecting the adjacent spaces to support a cohesive workplace was a critical challenge. Due to the building’s structural system, a strategically-located, five foot wide segment of a two-foot thick, load- bearing wall, was carefully demolished to create a passage-way between the mezzanine level of the existing offices and the ground floor of the expansion space. The scope of work also included interior demolition and new, non-structural partitions, doors, interior glazing, ceilings, casework, lighting and finishes.

The open layout of the offices is organized around axis nodes and provide an array of flexible spaces for diverse work styles and needs. In order to leverage the authentic beauty, texture and geometry of the historic structure, the design team stripped away gypsum wall and faux floor finishes to reveal original brick walls and wooden rafters. Uplighting was used to create a sense of spaciousness and counteract the space’s limited access to natural light and views.