San Francisco architect Eric Robinson of Melander Architects was approached to develop a new office for Filmcore, a digital video editing company. In their stripped-down 1920s warehouse close to the Transamerica Pyramid, Filmcore “wanted a low-budget space that did not feel like an office,” says Robinson. “They wanted it to feel like a residence.”
Sometimes Filmcore’s work requires employees to stay in the space for several days while they finish rush jobs for clients.
There is plenty of downtime between deadlines to relax, “but they also wanted a space to host clients,” Robinson says. The loftlike kitchen and living areas are indeed home-like, and competing clients meet with ease there.
The raw concrete space was left untouched and divided with simple freestanding components such as fiberboard kitchen islands with elegant marble tops, and light-filtering sliding glass-and-aluminum screens. Translucent editing rooms on the north side bring light into all corners of the 9,000-square-foot loft. Giant pleated fabric light shades from Santa and Cole animate the exposed ceiling, but, Robinson insists, their use of natural daylight within the design means they are rarely needed.
