Corporate Headquarters

Multistudio partnered with lead designer Olson Kundig to create a corporate headquarters that prioritizes an energized professional environment — one that focuses on shared experiences over individual offices and fosters open dialogue within a hospitable setting designed to encourage collaboration among colleagues and clients.

The project was shaped through a collaboration with Olson Kundig, who established the overarching vision, encompassing planning, finishes, and materials. Multistudio carried that vision forward, resolving complex code requirements, constructability, and technical coordination. The Novo Construction team contributed through their attention to craft and technical expertise. The team's process embodied the project's ethos: a shared BIM model, workshops across firms, real-time sketching on Miro, and deep engagement with trades and artisans to ensure intent carried through to execution.

From the outset, placemaking informed every decision. Set within the Presidio of San Francisco, the design draws from a Northern California palette—tactile, raw materials, daylight, and views that connect people to nature.

Strong sightlines of the San Francisco Bay, Golden Gate, and surrounding Presidio were preserved, the ceiling was left exposed, and traces of the building's history were revealed, allowing the design effort to focus on the crafted details that people interact with every day. The result is a workplace that feels serene, professional, and deeply tied to its context.

Private offices are clustered at the core, allowing for vistas of the Golden Gate Bridge and the surrounding eucalyptus groves to everyone. Spatially, the design strikes a balance between aesthetic refinement and performance, with open spaces and panoramic views reserved for communal areas. Honest finishes offer budget flexibility for high-touch details, while plywood, stained MDF, blackened steel, and locally sourced Monterey cedar anchor the palette.

At the heart of the office is a 6,000 SF "Collaboration Café," conceived not so much as a business lounge, but the coolest coffee shop in San Francisco, drawing people back to the office by choice rather than mandate.

The workplace supports new and diverse ways of working, offering a range of environments that include desks, lounges, café seating, terraces, and outdoor spaces, all designed to promote autonomy. Private offices are consistently sized, reinforcing equity and adaptability. Well-being is built in through daylight, fresh air, natural materials, and carefully tuned acoustics. The project was designed with LEED requirements in mind, reflecting the team and client's commitment to sustainability and health.

Signature moments anchor the experience: a Levi's-inspired reception banquette, the surfboard table, the "Face the Tiger" artwork by sculptor Scott Fife, and, most of all, the Collaboration Café—a hub of connection, creativity, and welcome.

Since move-in, the space has been met with enthusiasm. Visitors are impressed, while employees feel at home and are engaged in the high-speed work environment. The design has affirmed the client's vision: a workplace inspired by its context that engages associates to come together, think collaboratively, and pursue creativity.