The first ROAD: Retail Design Show made headlines when it was deemed that the
launch of this innovative think tank traveling consortium would begin in the city of San
Francisco. At second thought, San Francisco and its own inbred think tank consortium,
responsible for a varied approach to topics of food, design, and community truly makes the
perfect backdrop for the beginnings of ROAD. Here are just a few tid bits of what San
Francisco does when design and layout are placed in its’ creative hands.
MISSION CHINESE FOOD
www.alumind.com
Mission Chinese Food, which is on Mission Street in the Mission District delivers a design
approach that begins with Danny Bowien’s decision to keep the exterior of his trendy restaurant
untouched from the previous owner of the space. Enter the restaurant, and you notice missing tile
off the ceiling and the dark lit interior that grabs a certain familiarity but begs a new guest to
wonder, “Am I at the right place?” Brilliant. Any sign of Mission Chinese is only confirmed
when you see the logo on the menu. The confirmation once the food arrives sets all of the
components of the complete design in perfect order.
Mission Chinese | SF
FOUR BARREL COFFEE
Jeremy Tooker, designer and owner of Four Barrel Coffee on Valencia Street baits any innocent
passerby into his space by exterior elements first. The supercool bike racks right outside the door
almost make you feel that a bike is required for admission. Once you enter the space, the baiting
continues and the interior plays homage to old school cafeteria seating, incredible coffee
equipment all placed in focal points that take you to a San Francisco paradise of design. Oh yeah,
and the coffee is great too…
www.alumind.com
Four Barrel Coffee | SF
THE ARCHIVE
Union Square, where every major department store and retailer congregate to welcome all, is an
unobvious location for this single shop that determines to stand alone and offer local San
Francisco men their skin for the season. At The Archive, David and his team deliver a powerful
edit of the best of menswear into a shop that orders you to attention. It’s the uniform for the very
particular percentage of the male species that is accustomed to people of both sexes taking a
second look at the passerby. This look, when closely inspected, flourishes best in San Francisco
and is displayed ideally in a room where reflection, sharp corners, and smart lighting allow the
archived items out for a peek prior to a purchase that is undeniably impossible not to complete.
www.alumind.com
The Archive | SF
SAN FRANCISCO BAY BRIDGE
Design and the unique twist that San Francisco adds to this discipline requires the respect of the
carved out bay that the city is surrounded by. One would be accustomed to travel across the
Golden Gate Bridge to view its spectacular form. Some prefer to trek across the newly opened
$6.5 billion dollar Bay Bridge that is said to be an architectural phenomenon of modern times.
Aside from this portion of the bridge taking us away from proper San Francisco, it takes us
towards the fine towns of Oakland and Berkeley that in their own merit, are the spices and end
notes that truly complement any that we deem San Franciscan.
www.alumind.com
Bay Bridge | SF
AIR BnB
One of the prides of San Francisco is the fact that many companies are birthed right here with the
prerequisite of having to literally challenge the status quo. Imagine entire renting a room in your
home or your entire home to strangers who are traveling as an alternative to their traditional
hotel. Imagine you could make extra money and build a sub community by doing this. That
reality was built in San Francisco by Airbnb. Gensler took on the challenge of designing one of
the most company-literal corporate headquartersseen in years. 888 Brannan was reworked into a
true display of the codes that the city is comprised of and the company is founded on, blended
into a layout that places you in the center of it all at all times. Find a way to get in there and see
the spectacular world that awaits you inside. I hear that Airbnb will rent out space to local
residents for classroom community use. I’m sure you can figure out a course or lecture series that
you’ve been dying to have. Do it.
www.alumind.com