Argonaut

Studio BBA

San Francisco, CA

PritchardPeck Lighting

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Emily Hagopian

Doubling as lighting design superheroes, we were tasked with the responsibility to bring back employees from home, redefine what it feels like to go to work, and empower companies to invest in office space in struggling downtown San Francisco. Our mission was defined by a drive for a visionary team culture baked into an office that inspired selfies for social media while being sustainable, affordable, and built at lighting-speed.

Argonaut imagined a creative social hub for their new downtown headquarters that struck the ideal balance in feeling both quiet and chatty, lounge-y and productive, and sophisticated and relaxed. The goal was to entice their teams to gather in a space as comfortable as home, yet as performative as a workspace. Every chair needed to be web camera-ready with signature lighting.

The design team drew inspiration from the local neighborhood and the magic of being a pedestrian strolling past a series of storefronts. In our narrative, the corridors transformed into sidewalks at night softly lit with rhythmic pools of light, and conference rooms transformed into retail entries with uniquely branded decorative lighting.  Attention to detail and obsessive collaboration with the Architect on materiality, finish, scale, and quality of light were our daily conversations to strike the perfect balance between storytelling and the realities of meeting all the performative technical goals. Lower light levels supported both the design narrative and LEED Gold energy. Individual controls worked just like home.

Behind this curated space were messy months of juggling long lead times, tight budgets, and 911 site visits for brainteaser conflicts within the old historic Art-Deco building.  As Lighting Designers, we became close partners with both the design and build teams, took personal care in each decision as if it were our own home, and delivered a winning project (on time)…feeling like superheroes.