Bay Area Metro Center

A New Model for Regional Collaboration

client

Bay Area Headquarters Authority
location

San Francisco, CA
size

155,000 SF (TEF Scope), 518,000 SF (total)
sustainability

LEED Gold

An adaptive reuse of a 1940s-era concrete building, the Bay Area Metro Center transforms a massive existing structure into a center of collaboration between four regional agencies. As consulting interior architects to Perkins+Will, TEF led the programming and interior design of three agency floors totaling 155,000 square feet.

Vintage Building Reimagined

Rooftop office terrace with seating and planted areas, framed by orange metal cladding and surrounded by downtown San Francisco high-rises.

Office corridor with glass-walled meeting rooms, wood ceiling accents, bench seating, and people working and gathering near an open atrium.

Glass-walled conference room with map graphics and blue film on the glazing, showing a person working at a meeting table inside and lounge seating in the foreground.

Extending the life of existing urban assets, the project transforms a 1940s-era concrete government building into a contemporary collaborative workplace through adaptive reuse.

Data Driven Insights

An extensive user research process engaged 22 departments across four agencies—the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), and Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG)—to understand operational needs, work patterns, and opportunities for greater connection. The resulting program encourages collaboration through co-location, bringing agencies together within a shared environment for the first time, while supporting the unique operational needs of each organization.

Interior office lounge with planted areas, soft seating, high tables, and direct access to an outdoor terrace with views of the Bay Bridge. — A restrained material palette and open spatial structure support flexibility, clarity, and long-term adaptability.

Interior stair with glass railings, wood treads, and a large map graphic wall, with a person moving through the multi-level office space. — A central stair, featuring a map of the Bay Area, connects all three headquarter floors while reinforcing the regional nomenclature of the project’s wayfinding system.

Office kitchen and gathering area with a wood counter, white stools, slatted wood ceiling, and a large landscape mural supporting informal collaboration. — Shared amenities, such as refreshment bars, conference rooms, and atrium lounges, foster culture and community.

Organized for Human Scale

To organize the unusually large floor plates, the design introduces a spatial framework of “districts” and “neighborhoods” that breaks the expansive workplace into smaller, identifiable zones, supporting team-based work while improving orientation and wayfinding. These districts and neighborhoods are reinforced through shifts in materiality, color, texture, and natural light, giving each area a distinct character and sense of place. This blueprint allows each agency and department to maintain a distinct identity within the shared headquarters while driving connection and sparking innovation across teams. Flexible planning supports evolving workplace needs and allows spaces to adapt over time.

Open office workspace with orange bench seating, individual workstations, glass partitions, and views into a multi-level atrium. — Energy-efficient daylighting strategies pull natural light from the central atrium and building perimeter deep into the floor plates, improving comfort and visibility throughout the workplace

Glass-walled office interior showing individual workstations, informal seating, wood ceiling accents, and people working across multiple levels.

Open office workspace with low-partition collaboration zones, individual workstations, wood ceiling accents, and large windows bringing daylight into the interior.

An Ongoing Collaboration

Following the successful completion of the agency headquarters floors, TEF was invited to continue shaping the Metro Center through a series of additional projects, including a 5th floor collaborative workspace, an 8th floor conference room, the Temazcal Room flexible amenity and event space, and ongoing environmental graphics, wayfinding upgrades, and hybrid workplace visioning.

Multi-level workplace library with book stacks, round study tables, glass railings, wood ceiling accents, and skylights bringing daylight into the atrium.

Multi-level office atrium with glass-fronted workspaces, wood railings and ceilings, open stairs, and lounge seating areas that support informal meetings and collaboration.

AWARDS

Engineering News-Record (ENR) California Best Project

2016 Northern California Award, Renovation/Restoration Award
Building Design+Construction

2016 Silver Reconstruction Award
San Francisco Business Times

2017 Real Estate Deals of the Year