First Office
First Office
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Bauer Wurster Hall

First Office

Bauer Wurster Hall lobby and review space at UC Berkeley, California. Photography: James Leng.

Year: 2024

Location: Bauer Wurster Hall, UC Berkeley, California

Client: College of Environmental Design

First Office Team: Andrew Atwood, Anna Neimark, Jono Coles

Color Consultant: Alex Spatzier

Photography: James Leng

Contractor: MN Builders

The project reworks an existing exhibition space in Bauer Wurster Hall at UC Berkeley into a lobby, review space, and major circulation path. The design makes this overlap explicit. A continuous low bench serves as seating and as a pedestal surface for models during reviews. Wall-mounted display panels are applied over existing plywood, with openings cut to expose existing light switches, outlets, and fire alarm devices. Rather than moving them or concealing them, these elements are left visible, calling building systems into focus and providing a practical backdrop to the space.

First Office
First Office

Interior elevations, showing wall cladding with practical cut-outs.

Moveable display panels extend the flexibility of overlappping programs. Their angled bases provide stability and create a 45 degree surface that works for pin-ups or model display, sitting somewhere between wall and floor.

First Office
First Office

Configurations of moveable display panels. ©Leng

First Office

Electrical socket reveal. ©Leng

First Office
First Office

Photography: James Leng.

First Office
First Office

Practical details revealed. ©Leng

First Office
First Office

©Leng

First Office

Bauer Wurster Hall. Photography James Leng.

Bauer Wurster Hall

First Office

Bauer Wurster Hall lobby and review space at UC Berkeley, California. Photography: James Leng.

Year: 2024

Location: Bauer Wurster Hall, UC Berkeley, California

Client: College of Environmental Design

First Office Team: Andrew Atwood, Anna Neimark, Jono Coles

Color Consultant: Alex Spatzier

Photography: James Leng

Contractor: MN Builders

The project reworks an existing exhibition space in Bauer Wurster Hall at UC Berkeley into a lobby, review space, and major circulation path. The design makes this overlap explicit. A continuous low bench serves as seating and as a pedestal surface for models during reviews. Wall-mounted display panels are applied over existing plywood, with openings cut to expose existing light switches, outlets, and fire alarm devices. Rather than moving them or concealing them, these elements are left visible, calling building systems into focus and providing a practical backdrop to the space.

First Office
First Office

Interior elevations, showing wall cladding with practical cut-outs.

Moveable display panels extend the flexibility of overlappping programs. Their angled bases provide stability and create a 45 degree surface that works for pin-ups or model display, sitting somewhere between wall and floor.

First Office
First Office

Configurations of moveable display panels. ©Leng

First Office

Electrical socket reveal. ©Leng

First Office
First Office

Photography: James Leng.

First Office
First Office

Practical details revealed. ©Leng

First Office
First Office

©Leng

First Office

Bauer Wurster Hall. Photography James Leng.

First Office was founded in 2011 by Anna Neimark and Andrew Atwood to create a dialog between architectural practice and academic discourse. Their collaborative work spans buildings, exhibitions, and publications, all rooted in the belief that architecture is a form of cultural production.

The practice has engaged with leading institutions, including the MAK Center for Art and Architecture, the Chicago and Venice Biennials, MoMA PS1’s Young Architects Program, and the Architectural League of New York. The projects and essays of First Office have been recognized with awards and compiled in Nine Essays (Treatise Press, 2015), as well as in Andrew’s publication Not Interesting: On the Limits of Criticism in Architecture (Applied Research and Design, 2017).

Anna Neimark
Design Faculty and Visual Studies Coordinator, SCI-Arc
anna.neimark@gmail.com

Andrew Atwood
Licensed Architect and Associate Professor, UC Berkeley
w.andrew.atwood@gmail.com

Logo and La Grotesque typeface by La Bureau.
Site: Mr. Wren & Friends. 

First Office was founded in 2011 by Anna Neimark and Andrew Atwood to create a dialog between architectural practice and academic discourse. Their collaborative work spans buildings, exhibitions, and publications, all rooted in the belief that architecture is a form of cultural production.

The practice has engaged with leading institutions, including the MAK Center for Art and Architecture, the Chicago and Venice Biennials, MoMA PS1’s Young Architects Program, and the Architectural League of New York. The projects and essays of First Office have been recognized with awards and compiled in Nine Essays (Treatise Press, 2015), as well as in Andrew’s publication Not Interesting: On the Limits of Criticism in Architecture (Applied Research and Design, 2017).

Anna Neimark
Design Faculty and Visual Studies Coordinator, SCI-Arc
anna.neimark@gmail.com

Andrew Atwood
Licensed Architect and Associate Professor, UC Berkeley
w.andrew.atwood@gmail.com

Logo and La Grotesque typeface by La Bureau.
Site: Mr. Wren & Friends.