CA+D Reception Desk

Many of San Francisco’s most sought-after artisans contributed to the Center for Architecture + Design, achieving an unusually high level of craft for a small non-profit and a fundamentally mission-aligned space.

Visible from the storefront, the gestural concrete reception desk is the result of a collaboration between Aidlin Darling Design, Concreteworks, and boxcabo woodworking. The process started with a sketch by the architect and was refined through digital and physical modeling.  Artisan concrete craftsmen poured and polished the concrete on-site, creating the graphite-like sheen that highlights the desk’s curves.  The curved elm wood countertop is a warm counterpoint to the concrete and a ledge for interaction.