Under cover: Yves Béhar reveals concept for San Fran’s Canopy co-working space

Frustrated with the idea of commuting to a business park or downtown to an office, Yves Béhar, Amir Mortazavi and Steve Mohebi decided to revolutionise the workspace with Canopy, a co-working space located right in the heart of Pacific Heights on San Francisco’s Fillmore Street. Elevated and refined, Canopy, opening this September, will have a sophisticated membership program and concierge-style amenities.

‘Canopy is designed as a pioneering space, where classic radical designs of the 1970s such as Joe Colombo, Don Chadwick and Alexander Girard are mixed with today’s most collaborative and ergonomic furniture from Herman Miller, Flos, Tylko and others,’ says Behar. ‘In conceiving the space with Amir Mortazavi, we were intent on designing inspirational moments in the space, such as the lounge or kitchen, and also bringing together an eclectic mix of classic and current designs that are high concept and high quality.’

Behar sought to create something that’s a departure from the traditional start-up and co-working spaces located in Silicon Valley. ‘Canopy is a space for experienced workers: people who have careers and want to start their own thing,’ he says. ‘People with a mature and efficient approach to work don’t need foosball or ping-pong tables, so naturally we did away with those.’

The designer looked back on his 15 years with Herman Miller for inspiration for a space that’s conducive to idea making. ‘It’s in our interpersonal interactions that stimulate collaboration and innovation,’ says Béhar. ‘My experience with designing office products naturally helped me conceive of a space that allows for open collaboration as well as focused private work.’