Canopy Workspace San Francisco

Canopy's founders Amir Mortazavi, Yves Behar, and Steve Mohebi — Canopy’s founders Amir Mortazavi, Yves Behar, and Steve Mohebi

Photo Credit: Joe Fletcher

Fillmore is the hottest street in San Francisco right now. In the past couple of months, international brands Space NK, Intermix, and Frye have set up boutiques on the storied Pacific Heights avenue. Monday, there was another notable opening—that of Canopy, an unbelievably cool new shared workspace from Steve Mohebi, Yves Behar, and Amir Mortazavi. Mohebi is the business brains of Canopy while Behar and Mortazavi are responsible for the impeccably thoughtful design.

Photo Credit: Joe Fletcher

The space features 20 slabs of sleek black marble, beautiful wooden floors in a chevron pattern, and Heath ceramics tiles. Triangles figure prominently in the design of Canopy. However, you won’t notice that they are everywhere unless you’re absolutely looking for them. The elementary shape is the most basic building block and the repetitiveness of it, in the bathroom wall’s diamond tiles, on the metal hexagon shaped tables, in the Canopy logo, is oddly soothing. While the word canopy has several meanings, in this case, Mortazavi was thinking of the uppermost trees or branches in a forest. This type of canopy, a continuous layer of foliage, is rich in biodiversity, provides shelter from predators, a view of the surrounding land below, and allows for natural growth. “This is sort of metaphorical for what we want the space to be,” Mortazavi says—also an environment where members can feel secure, productive, and thrive. Skylights and large windows allow plenty of natural light and the chandeliers were inspired by the angel trumpet flower, which flourishes naturally in San Francisco. Work-inspired art by Ian Wallace adorns the walls and a pretty abstract Aga John rug in cool blue tones anchors the living area of the office.

An Aga John rug in the living area at Canopy

Photo Credit: Joe FletcherMohebi emphasizes that Canopy is a mature workspace free of the hip amenities that are often found at other communal workspaces. There are no ping pong tables, bike racks, or white boards. It’s a workspace that is for serious professionals from all industries—finance, nonprofits, designers, vintners, and creatives. “We want our membership to be reflective of a well-orchestrated dinner party,” Mohebi says. The space can hold up to 50 people, but Mohebi believes they’ll keep Canopy’s group intimate, with 35-40 members. There are three tiers of monthly memberships: shared table, dedicated desk, and private office that holds up to four people. One of the things that makes Canopy unique is its location. Mohebi, Mortazavi, and Behar purposely chose a neighborhood that isn’t traditionally a hub for offices. The nearby cafes, boutiques, and homes of Pacific Heights appealed to them because they want members to be able to walk to work, lunch, and their children’s school. If things go well, the team plans to launch other Canopys in San Francisco—Hayes Valley is the type of urban village they would consider for the next location—and other major cities across the nation.

Black marble and triangles are elements of Canopy's unique design — Black marble and triangles are elements of Canopy’s unique design

Photo Credit: Joe Fletcher

Of course, an opening of this sort isn’t without a celebration. The trio invited their stylish friends, including ballerina Maria Kochetkova, real estate star Justin Fichelson, and boutique owner Emily Holt, to a sumptuous soirée earlier this month that felt very un-San Francisco, in the best sort of way. Other notables include Jessica Silverman, Joel Goodrich, Lara Deam, and Mary Gonsalves Kinney.