Things That are One Third of Your Life: The Office

First of a hard-hitting two-part series

Hello Pals,

One is not supposed to see letters of recommendation written on their behalf, but for some reason I was shown (or peeked at?) a letter from my boss to Whom it May Concern at all the Architecture schools and I saw what he listed as my top skills, and dear reader it was not design. Or being artistic in any way, or a critical thinker. It was “people skills” and “an ability to get along with everyone in the office”. I was mortified by this faint praise, and still am if I’m honest, but I share because this issue is about the office! Work! Co-workers! It’s a huge part of life and as someone who does have a mission (as we’ve discussed its good atmosphere equals a good life) along with an apparently preternatural desire to get along with everyone, it is key to get work atmosphere right. Both from a design standpoint and human standpoint. It’s literally one third of your life and it should be nice.

Which brings us to some big news: RAD moved into a new office last month and I thought it would be fun to interview the designer responsible (Rose) and let her introduce the space. It’s on Fourth Street in Berkeley and we got the atmosphere right, friends. Morale and productivity spiked from the second we moved in - I suspected they would but it’s nice to get validation over here, to be the proof in our own pudding so to speak, to have our asses be cashing the checks we’re writing, etc. Basically what a thrill: to do a project for ourselves and to have it succeed. Come peek at where we’re spending 33 percent of the week these days…

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INTERVIEW WITH ROSE LOUIE

Senior Designer Rose Louie has worked at RAD since 2018 and was the perfect person to lead this project - she worked on the Vintner’s Daughter office which turned out beautifully, and our Rose enjoys keeping her work diet varied between commercial, retail and residential like a little Interior Design Omnivore. If I recall, she had a tiny window in her schedule and we thought we could slot in the new office no problem. Ha ha.

A bit of background: The brief was challenging and the “before” was grim. We had a vague but limited budget, new commercial subs to get used to, and I’m going to say… months of VE. That stands for Value Engineering and it’s the semi soul-crushing exercise of watching one’s beautiful first choices get swapped for more affordable options. It always works out but also, it is always hurtful. Doubly hurtful for me to be on both sides! Demanding cuts that I don’t want was a mindfuck that I can laugh at now but yikes I didn’t like it at the time. Read on for Rose’s tastefully diplomatic takes on the process.

CW: How would you describe the office when we first signed the lease?

RL: Oh ho!!! Basic. It was just… [trails off disgustedly] There were no designated zones, you landed right in the middle of the main room and from there you could see into the bathroom and the kitchen and what is now our library. And it was most definitely two separate suites connected by clunky sad fire doors.

CW: How about the materiality?

RL: [big eye roll] Commercial-contractor-grade start-up office. Does that do it? (Author’s note: here are some “before” photos to illustrate - we took this space for the light and the location. Literally any realtor could have told me to prioritize this 15 years ago but we live, we learn)

CW: What is your favorite part of the new office?

RL: The amount of light we get is sublime, and the choices of materiality, specifically our oak herringbone floors.

CW: What was the most challenging part of the design process?

RL: The tight budget was a big challenge. Finding substitutes that felt high quality was a challenge and the construction process was different than it is for clients. (Author’s translation: we were scrappy and it was stressful!)

CW: What were you most excited to say good-bye to and what were you committed to correcting from the old office?

RL: Where to begin? [laughs then looks despondent] Well, having a front door that we don’t need to lock feels like a big deal, and I’m so happy to say good-bye to the dark, grey vibe we had over there [in Oakland]. I was committed to correcting the floor which was lovely over there at first - it was pale oak, but it had too much grey and it added to a dark feeling. Now we have warm oak and it is everything.

I was also excited to make improvements to the floorplan which was wide open at the old office. Now we have functional areas that make sense for all the different tasks we do, quiet zones, collaborative zones, multiple private areas, doors that close, it’s amazing.

CW: Was there anything you wanted to repeat?

RL: We kept the designers clustered together which I love. It’s nice for workflow and collaboration, everyone can pipe-up and assist and it is great for learning.

CW: Most proud tidbits:

RL: Well, here what I love is even with all the compromises there has been no let-down. All the VE worked. Details I chased paid off; the aligned herringbone, the little brass detail at floor transitions, the lighting plan is a triumph. I feel very proud when people come in and say it feels homey. (Author’s note: I just overheard the building manager tell Rose it didn’t feel like an office up here, he thinks it feels like a “library” and then handed her eight dormant orchid bulbs. Baffling.)

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For all the talk about VE there are a few things on which we didn’t compromise, and it’s only because we have amazing partners that we were able to pull it off. First; Urban Electric Co. worked with us on all of the non-vintage lighting and it is stone cold luxurious. Glowy, abundant, technical and atmospherically perfect. Thank you Tommy, Missy, Dave, I can’t wait to have you for a drink here someday.

At the beginning it was abundantly clear that the existing doors were one of the start-up-iest parts of this office, and if we didn’t get the architecture right it would always feel sad. Enter West Coast Architectural Millwork who made the gorgeous solid-core wobbly-glass tiny mullion doors of my dreams. This allowed us to combine the two suites while still adhering to fire code which is a straight up miracle. And miracles are what we do but we can’t do it alone! Thank you Dee and the entire team at WCAM.

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FEATURE: RAD BERKELEY

Pics are my own, taken over different days with drastically different lighting. We’re in touch with the weather up here!

Ooh la la, we built a reception area. Technically Alexis Moran built it thank god but it’s airy and profesh, and the new HQ of RAD Goods.

When you get to the top of the stairs and head towards that window you can see to the right is reception and to the left is our new conference room. Do you see the cohesive variety of lights? The doors that join what was once separate?

This is my office. Everything in here is so nice because it didn’t work out at a client project - for instance these butterscotch leather vintage chairs were intended for Andre and Christina Iguodala’s dining room but when they came in they were comically small and we reselected immediately.

Same with this fancy-ass Roman & Williams sofa. It’s slippery which I had never even heard of before but no client should live with.

As you pass through reception and RAD Goods HQ you are greeted by art and a peek into our new library which thrills the Type A bones of every employee.

The very back of Rose’s chair, a view into our bathroom, stacks of new Sarah Kersten Ceramics for classy lunches.

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Biggest thanks to Rose Louie, Ali Toia and Andrew Warner from RAD who made this dream come true. A lot of sparkly stars had to align for me to meet Elena Holsman who found it for us, and thank you to OPC - our amazing contractors who we hadn’t worked with since McMullen in 2018 and who did a wonderful job.

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FIVE THINGS

1. We committed to conforming cutlery,

2. glassware and

3. ceramics in this new office, and ooooh the sense of control is real

4. I’m very sensitive to scent and, like a mean little wolverine, can turn against the best smells in an instant if they get too strong or last too long. So I’m experimenting with incense like it’s 2015 and this one is nice! It only lasts 25 minutes so it’s also kind of like a natural Pomodoro Timer

5. Meeting people for dirty chai lattes at my new neighbor Cafe Réveille. I’m writing this at 4pm and I’m already excited for tomorrow’s beverage

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The boost we get from working somewhere suitable, considered and nice is real, and it made everyone in the office proud of what we do. Design is not a frivolous luxury, it’s a worthy stake in the ground of making your life wonderful, and should you have a project you would like to discuss with us we would be honored to discuss it with you. We take on offices, small renovations, decorating only projects and big zinger renovations. And I mention it now, to the few the proud who make it to the bottom of the newsletter: there is a gap in our calendar right meow for someone nice. If you have that person in mind send them my way!

Toodles to all of you fine people, thank you for reading and please consider sharing this free newsletter if you like it. Next month is part two in the Things That are One Third of Your Life series - topic is sleeping but I may change it to “the bedroom” to please the algorithm. Stay tuned…

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Last Word: A nip of my omnivore’s book club where I never tag the author because I like to let ’er rip on all books great and sleazy. Almost 200 book reviews of all flavors saved in stories

Including this one because the author is healed by the beauty of his workplace and colleagues. And time, of course, but we’re operating within a theme here.