Sightglass Coffee by Studio BBA
Sightglass Coffee – 20th Street brings a light-filled café to San Francisco, CA, United States. Studio BBA shapes the 2014 project around a double-height warehouse shell, pairing marble, plaster, teak, and dark brass with the easy circulation of a working coffee bar and roastery. Custom chandeliers, a chevron-patterned ceiling, and a wraparound banquette give the room a measured rhythm. The result feels practical, but never spare.
About Sightglass Coffee – 20th Street
Light fills the café, which reads at once airy and busy. Within the double-height warehouse shell, Studio BBA introduces the comfort of an old-world café and the plain clarity of a sailboat cabin.
Sightglass Coffee – 20th Street is a café in San Francisco, California, United States, designed by Studio BBA in 2014. A restrained material palette of marble, plaster, teak, and dark brass warms the industrial volume without softening its scale.
Studio BBA custom-designs nearly every element, from fixtures and hardware to displays and finishes. The parts relate closely to one another, yet each keeps its own character.
Three custom chandeliers define the customer and employee zones and draw the eye toward the redwood sapwood ceiling, where a chevron pattern carries through to the steel entry door. Niches for merchandise and music equipment echo the woodwork in the bar and seating areas, while the brass pastry case sits at standing height for clear view and easy access.
The layout gathers the program efficiently. A full-production roastery with a vintage Probat roaster serves both roasting and retail, while espresso and pour-over bars support steady circulation through the room.
A sinuous cushioned banquette wraps the perimeter and supports different ways of sitting: outward-facing perches for people-watching, small nooks for two, and a group area. Studio BBA uses a mock-up with sliding parts to settle the dimensions, and the design process extends through construction observation, city coordination, and work with fabricators, baristas, and the general contractor.
Photography courtesy of Studio BBA
Visit Studio BBA
