In 2019 we completed a production kitchen for TruLab, a small bakery specializing in Italian pastry and gelato, and two years later we developed the design for their first retail outlet in downtown San Francisco.  Located on the ground floor of a low-rise office building, the café was required to have a minimal, tidy footprint and be open to the everyday functions of the lobby.  The need to be porous and fluid inspired the idea of a cloud, hovering over the café like an ethereal marquee. 

To balance this light and airy figure, the food display cases are designed as hot-rolled steel blocks, topped with minimal glass cases focused  on the craft and color of the pastries.  The functional overlap required for the lobby cafe was also applied to the building façade, with a large overhead door designed to open the café up to the public sidewalk with an outdoor eating area.