Leading Architectural Firm Chooses Historic HQ in SF

Decision Boosts Case for Reuse and Appreciation for Cities’ Heritage Properties

with Daniel Pamperin, Principal, Gensler

Q: Gensler’s San Francisco headquarters is moving from a gleaming modern skyscraper at 45 Fremont to the historic Mills Building a few blocks away. As the world’s largest architectural firm, I am sure you could office anywhere you like. Why choose an older facility?

A: The Mills Building offers a great location in San Francisco’s North Financial District, blocks from where Gensler was founded in 1965. We not only liked the idea of getting back to our roots, but we felt it was important to support the local business community, which has been negatively impacted by the CBD’s high office vacancy rates.

Specific to the building, 220 Montgomery both meets our 2030 carbon zero goal and supports our future work strategy. The Swig Company’s investment in making the space fullyelectric was very attractive to our firm, as it’s a great platform for our LEED Platinum and Zero Operational carbon goals. The space has 10-foot operable windows as well as an 18' x 65' View skylight reducing the use of electric lighting and creating a connection to the outdoors. In addition to its sustainability benefits, the layout allows us to move from our current threefloor office to a large, single floor, which aligns with the firm’s future of work plans to create an engaging and effective destination for its employees, clients, and community members.

Q: Many downtowns have charming historic office buildings that tenants bypass for modern towers, presumably because they offer grander views and more modern features. What are the advantages versus the challenges of officing in historic buildings?

A: Some features modern towers are striving to achieve are inherent in historic sites. For example, operable windows for fresh air, large windows and high ceilings for daylight, and being close to a walkable community are standard features in historic buildings. Whereas these coveted design elements were included out of necessity at the time, they are harder to come by in a typical modern high rise.

Q: Are you aware of other tenants choosing to move into historic buildings, and are some choosing Gensler to design their spaces?

A: Many of our clients desire the charm and character of historic buildings, however often, especially in San Francisco, historic buildings tend to be smaller than their modern building neighbors or devised to accommodate smaller tenants.

That said, we have had a few clients that have selected historic industrial buildings for their offices. Gusto opted for Pier 70 in San Francisco's Dog Patch neighborhood. The building is a cavernous open space featuring exceptionally high ceilings and tall windows. The overall effect provides a spacious airy feeling. Also, Airbnb loves its headquarters at 888 Brannan Street in San Francisco. The building was constructed in 1917 for the Eveready Battery Company warehouse.

Q: As you know, there is some interest in converting Class B and historic office buildings into residences in an attempt to invigorate downtowns cored out by the pandemic and the consequent work-from-home movement. Do you foresee this happening, and it is architecturally achievable, versus constructing new multifamily structures?

A: Given San Francisco’s high office vacancy, the changes in how people work and how companies operate, it would be irresponsible not to consider other uses for San Francisco’s vacant office inventory. While office to residential is a popular topic, not every office building is conducive for residential. Gensler has developed a proprietary building rating system and cost model to assess vacant office building compatibility for adaptive reuse, conversion, and redevelopment. To date, we have assessed over 15 million square feet of downtown office space in more than 300 buildings in 25 different cities across

North America. On average, 30 percent of the buildings we’ve studied rated favorably for conversion.

However even buildings that do rate favorably for conversion require significant investment for conversion. We are currently working with SPUR and the City of San Francisco to see what policies and financial incentives would need to be introduced to encourage office building owners to convert their properties to residential. We hope that converting vacant office buildings does become a reality. It would not only bring more vibrancy to our downtown, but also create much needed housing.

Q: Are you planning your space in a way that accommodates hybrid work?

A: We are designing our space to fit the future of how we work best. As designers, we have a strong need for in-person collaboration and conversely, individual focus work. This fits with our latest workplace survey, which ranked “to focus on my work” as the top reason to come to the office. We acknowledge that everyone comes to the office with different needs, so we are designing the space to provide a variety of spaces ranging from community and town hall spaces at the entry, through a central team collaboration area, and concluding in an area for deep individual focus. We are also investing in better technology in our rooms and collaboration areas to bridge the experience between remote and in person attendees.

Q: Are there particular features of the Mills Building you found appealing?

A: There are probably too many features to mention, but first, the idea that a historic building is taking a progressive approach to its all-electric operations. Secondly would be access, the building is centrally located in the Financial District and our new space is on the building’s second floor and is accessible by two grand staircases at the entrance, which means we no longer feel disconnected from the street level retail, restaurants, and activity of the City. Lastly, it’s operable windows, 16’ ceilings, and massive skylight in the center of the space. n Pamperin is Workplace Studio Director and Principal at Gensler.