When the beloved Café 24 on the second floor of Genentech Hall at Mission Bay closed, it left a void in the building and in the spirit of the UCSF community. Yet, from this ending sprouted an opportunity for a vibrant new beginning. The UCSF Campus Life Services (CLS) team aimed to co-create a new space, enlisting the UCSF community and building occupants to help envision its future. The co-creation committee*, supported by CLS Facilities and Retail teams, UCSF Real Estate, and Vice Dean of Research David Morgan, emerged to fulfill this goal. The former Café 24 space has now been transformed into a vibrant, multi-functional area serving the community in exciting new ways.
The journey to reimagine the space began with a co-creation process involving building occupants and the campus community, ensuring their needs and desires shaped the new space. Over 100 submissions were received in a contest for ideas, which the co-creation committee combined into a unified vision: a community space for learners, faculty, and staff. Despite the challenge of incorporating diverse suggestions, the team remained dedicated to the community's needs. With input from project managers, construction managers, subject experts, and leadership, they collaborated with select submitters to create a space that maximizes enjoyment. Guided by an expert facilitator, they blended ideas to truly reflect the community's vision.
The new community space has now been soft-opened and features communal tables with outlets, vending options, and a pool table, fostering a lively atmosphere. Soon to come in the space is a digital sign display, fresh food vending, and microwaves to heat and enjoy meals. The outdoor patio, a top request during the co-creation meetings, will see shade added in phase two, set for completion in September. The space is accessible and available for events and gatherings as a Special Use Area<, featuring beautiful foliage and new furniture. It’s designed to adapt to future needs, ensuring its lasting relevance.
The collaborative efforts set a new standard for future projects within the UCSF community. Campus Life Services Associate Vice Chancellor, Jon Giacomi, a champion for collaboration and co-creation, highlights the project's uniqueness: “This project was innovative in that stakeholders, rather than just CLS staff, participated in making decisions about the future of the space. It was a model of co-creation—creating solutions with the users of the space. This was a new process for CLS and has been highly successful. Their collaborative work, including the contest to gather community ideas, stakeholder meetings, and innovative design solutions, will transform this space to meet the community's needs and have a lasting impact.”
As we look forward to the grand opening, we celebrate a new space that belongs to the community, brought to life through a new way of thinking about community and collaboration at UCSF. Be on the lookout for fun events in the space to come—tropical drinks and pool tournaments are just the beginning!
*A special thank you goes out to the members of the co-creation committee, including: David Morgan, David Booth, Joe Bondy-Denomy, Benigno Salindong, Verima Pereira, Terri O'Brien, Rasika Shrirang Vartak, Mia Morgan, Holly Cline, Kevin Yackle, Emmy Delaney, Kimberly Cantero, Chloe Ghent, Alexis Villani, Alex Hong, Claire Kokontis, Sam Krishnan (Saumya Gopalkrishnan), Jon Giacomi, Becky Daro, Jen Dowd Kim, Tamara Villarina, Audrey Waller, Don Van Wie, Melissa Cherry, Hannah Evans, Morgan Vaisset-Fauvel, Jenn Chan, Ben Ramos, Renee Cheng.
