One & Co is part of a new generation of industrial design firms on the rise in San Francisco. Since its founding 10 years ago, the firm has made its home in a turn-of-the-century brick warehouse in the Mission District. When the need came to expand into an adjacent space, the three principals saw the opportunity to create a workspace that represents the culture of their collaborative studio, design values and the firm’s increasing prominence.
At 6,500-sf, the new studio nearly doubles the size of One & Co’s original space yet the design maintains enough intimacy to support fluid working relationships among the staff. The open plan takes advantage of the generous windows to the south and east, setting more discreet uses—fabrication room, lounge, “war rooms,” kitchen and bathrooms—along interior walls. The war rooms can be temporarily occupied by design teams and concealed by curtains when needed to preserve confidentiality.
The minimalist vocabulary of the new construction enhances the character of the older building and provides a range of visual and tactile experiences through essays on translucency, transparency, materiality, mass, texture, color and light. The neutral palette is punctuated by hot pink surfaces on the walls, floor and furniture which enliven the perception of depth. Walnut, used in both the architectural paneling and furniture, adds warmth, naturally bridging perfect and imperfect worlds of new and old.
Products designed by One & Co. are integrated into the architecture and interior design including the new Crease tile (a collaboration with Heath Ceramics), the Periodic Table, Aura credenza and Chrysalis stool for Council, and just-a-bench for Orange22.
