Peak Design

Honest. Thoughtful. Delightful. Radical. This is Peak Design, founded and proudly designing sustainable products in San Francisco that focus on celebrating how people and the great outdoors intertwine.

FENNIE+MEHL was asked to transform what was a cold, compartmentalized, and very industrial space in the AIC (American Industrial Center) into a cozy and inviting HQ slash workshop that always feels joyful and alive. There is a camp feel to the 15,658 sq. ft. space, with a simple and natural aesthetic in both the furniture choices and arrangement.

The designers cut huge openings between the existing suites to create one large workspace divided into small zones. Plenty of gathering places enable people to mingle, group chat, or find a private nook for relaxed creativity. One can now look over the mezzanine railing into the woodshop and see the hardware designers at work testing products and fine-tuning designs.

Vibrant murals on the 30-foot walls evoke the energy of being out in nature as well as give all employees on the main workshop floor or up on the mezzanine the same visual experience. A jumble of playful paper lanterns softens the volume of the space and can be seen from outside, a kind of sneak peek of the fun inside.

Instead of living with a roll-up loading dock door that let in zero light when closed, F+M designed around it with a sliding glass system that allows everyone to enjoy the afternoon light without any street noise or slide open the doors for fresh air.

With constant product design and refinement on site, the materials library and thoughtful storage areas keep emerging and past designs organized. Plywood finishes layered throughout the space serve as pin up boards and display areas for personal photography and other art as well as showing off their newest designs.

Design is at the heart of what we do at Peak Design, and it was both a challenge and joy to apply that thinking to our physical space. How do you take a cold industrial shell and turn it into something that’s warm, inspiring and inviting? How do we build for today’s work streams with an eye toward tomorrow’s? And how do we make it…fun? The result is something I’m deeply proud of. It speaks to who we are as a company and a culture.

Aric Shalev, Managing Member & Co-President

Photography: FENNIE+MEHL