Column Offices – San Francisco
Fennie+Mehl Architects designed a family-oriented, budget-conscious workspace in San Francisco for fintech start-up Column, featuring warm, inviting interiors with soft curves and a bright earthy palette.
Column’s co-founders are a husband and wife team who wanted to create a better financial backbone for fintech companies. After having co-founded Plaid, valued at $2.7 billion in 2019, William Hockey knew the fintech industry could do better.
Family run tech companies are unique, and the couple wanted their office to feel overwhelmingly warm, inviting, and reminiscent of their family home. In 2021, Annie Hockey found the perfect location in San Francisco’s Presidio, where the interior is filled with light even on the gloomiest day.
Within a cost-conscious start-up budget and an aggressive timeframe that included pandemic scheduling setbacks, FENNIE+MEHL delivered a workspace that is bright, open, and the perfect backdrop for Column’s intensive work culture. Soft curves within the furniture and lighting add comfort and style. A bright, earthy palette compliments the Cyprus trees outside the 10-foot-tall windows. Welcoming breakout areas flow through and around the work area.
Column’s employee-owned start-up now has a 10,550 sq. ft. space that feels like a home while functioning as an office committed to a demanding mission.
Design: Fennie+Mehl Architects
Design Team: Doug Mehl, Jenna Ruth, James Ibali
Contractor: Skyline Construction
Furniture: CRI
Photography: courtesy of Fennie+Mehl Architects
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