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Blitz designed the office renovation for Webcor, a commercial contractor located in San Francisco, California.

This spring Webcor completed renovating and expanding its company headquarters, located at 207 King Street in San Francisco. The office transcends the company’s fundamental purpose of building solutions that better lives, honoring its commitment to superior building and quality standards, sustainability and wellness, and a collaborative and transparent culture.

Occupying the entire third floor of its building, the new office space spans 18,200 square feet and combines a variety of elements that showcase Webcor’s expertise as a general and specialty trade contractor of concrete, drywall, and interiors. Its goal was to make the craft of building and even the facility’s “guts” part of the design.

While it was initially conceived as a simple renovation, Webcor’s executives became convinced during the design process that delivering a more difficult (and expensive) project was in the best interest of the company. Accordingly, the team pursued a full office remodel that would increase its square footage, add capacity for employees, and support human and environmental health. And as a builder, Webcor was hyper critical of every detail and was willing to go through the process of changing and reworking the design to create a perfect space.

The renovation team included every specialty contracting group in Webcor’s arsenal – Webcor Interior Construction Group, Webcor Concrete, and Webcor Drywall. The self-perform work by these specialty divisions was designed to challenge their creativity, craftsmanship and process to build, making the overall project more personal and rewarding for Webcor and every team member working on the job. The lobby, for example, boasts a feature wall that includes contributions from all of Webcor’s various departments and self-perform groups.

Webcor is routinely recognized as one of the greenest builders in California as well as a Bay Area Healthiest Employer and Best Place to Work. Accordingly it was crucial to incorporate sustainable features that support employee wellbeing in the new space. This includes a biophilia program, recycled drywall, carpet, ceilings, tile and metal framing, and furniture that adheres to stringent ANSI/BIFMA eFurniture Sustainability Standards. The interiors are designed by Blitz to meet rigorous requirements for WELL Building Standard (Gold) and LEED v4 Commercial Interiors (Silver) certifications. Through its WELL certification, the office’s impact on employee health will be measured routinely.

Early in the project, Webcor assessed the opportunities for integrating biophilia-related features in the design. This inspired the instillation of two living walls as well as custom-made planters made entirely of repurposed rebar. These elements convey Webcor’s passion for tools and materials, and symbolize the balance between the built and natural worlds.

To ensure clean, breathable air for employees, the team vetted furniture, adhesives, sealants, paints, coatings, ceilings, walls, insulation, composite wood, and flooring materials to safeguard against VOCs and off-gassing. Since the office regularly has team members tracking in dust and debris from job sites, they wanted to be sure to have the tools to identify these harmful situations and mitigate as needed. Accordingly they installed new Omni Awair sensors to track various aspects of air quality such as VOCs, particulates, CO2, and humidity. These sensors play a vital role in providing a cleaner and safer working environment for Webcor’s team members.

This project pushed the envelope by sourcing better materials, using new technology and employing cutting-edge craftsmanship from across the company to support an increasingly transparent and inclusive work culture. In the last ten years, Webcor’s employee experience has been transforming from traditional and hierarchical to be much more collaborative and accessible. This process serves as an example of our evolving commitment to these values, and underlines the importance of holistic collaboration to support people and the planet.

Design: Blitz
Contractor: Webcor
Photography: Adam Rouse Photography