Bergmeyer’s recent work for California Closets’ newly designed retail showrooms tells the story of their company. Their business model is founded on customization, product quality, and luxury space management. The showrooms are studios which welcome clients in to work with a designer who facilitates a collaborative, custom design process. The aesthetic is spare and sublimely well-organized with a relaxed, urban sensibility.
Faced with moving their corporate office headquarters out of downtown Berkeley, and the need for additional distribution space, California Closets opted for the warehouse functionality and look of the former Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant, located on the inner harbor of Richmond, California. The breathtaking, industrial space featured all the opportunities and challenges older structures bring. Thirty-three foot ceilings, exposed beams and structural steel cables, create open, soaring spaces with large swaths of natural light; and … no indoor plumbing or HVAC systems.
The design team created a workplace that is every bit as sophisticated and modern as the new showrooms. The signature California Closets’ palette and California state’s iconic coastline served as the inspiration and foundation for finishes. The designers looked to create a linear street anchored on one side by a series of private offices and meeting rooms and crossed by a series of open-concept workstations and casual meeting pods. The layout is best understood in section. Offices have been located under the lowest area of the triangulated roof and furthest from the continuous rows of skylights so as not to obstruct the flow of daylight. Workstations are opposite the offices, with flex/touch down expansion space running between. The large, public spaces – reception, conference and training rooms, kitchen and break areas – are located adjacent to the expansive, west-facing windows cross-axis to the office space. The space captures splendid natural light for the 16,000 square feet office space from the original west-facing industrial windows and north–facing scalloped skylights.
The look and feel of California Closets’ offices is modern, sophisticated, and naturally lit, with coastal-inspired blues, tans, and bright whites, accented with woven textures and wood finishes. The results unmistakably connect their workplace headquarters to California’s iconic coastline, as well as to California Closets’ design and industrial heritage. The perfect setting for a company that truly believes exceptional design can improve lives.
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