Furnishing a Century of Faith for the Future

Some buildings hold history. Congregation Emanu-El holds generations.

The Bay Area's largest synagogue has anchored San Francisco since 1925, its iconic dome, designed by the same architects behind City Hall, one of the most recognized silhouettes in the city. But even landmarks have to stand up to earthquakes.

After more than a decade of planning, Emanu-El completed a $97 million renovation in 2025. Mark Cavagnero Associates added 30,000 square feet, reopened the main entrance for the first time in decades, and transformed a beloved but inward-facing building into open, lightfilled spaces worthy of the next hundred years.

One Workplace furnished all of it, classrooms, library, offices, social hall, and every gathering space in between.

Project Highlights

Client: Congregation Emanu El
Architecture: Mark Cavagnero Associates (MCA)
Interior Design: MCA and Wendy Kohn Design
Contractor: Plant Construction
Furnishings: One Workplace
Account Manager: Lori Darrah Jones
Designers: Gabriella Cannon, Christal Adrianti
PM: Gwen Van Der Wahl, Kim Andreatta
Customer Experience Support: Dinah Garcia

150,820 SF total
Add new 30,000 SF
2-story glass structure inserted within existing courtyard
New below-grade office and support spaces
New floor added above classroom wing
Rooftop play deck

One Workplace provided full furniture and bepoke pieces fom PAIR for all spaces: seating, tables, desks, storage, lounges and sofas, cafe tables, classroom play structures in

adult and chidlren's classrooms
library
offices
social hall
common areas

Photography by Tim Griffith and Ken Gutmaker

Seismic Necessity Becomes Transformational Opportunity

Built on sand, well before modern building codes, the structure was a ticking clock. A retrofit alone would have been significant. Emanu-El went further.

The vision that emerged, designed by Mark Cavagnero Associates, married the historic and the contemporary: a two-story glass structure inserted within the existing courtyard, underground excavation creating new below-grade office and support spaces, and an entirely new floor added above the classroom wing, topped by a rooftop play deck with intimate views of the century-old dome.

What was once an enclosed, inward-facing facility became an open, welcoming place where people could come not just for High Holidays, but to learn, gather, and connect.

Old Soul, New Life

Furnishing the Full Story

One Workplace worked closely with CEE staff and Wendy Kohn Design to furnish the entire project, with selections to support every space in the reborn 150,820 SF campus.

Including classrooms for adults and children across the expanded educational wing and the new preschool floor, the library space designed to support both learning and quiet reflection, staff offices and administrative support spaces, many in the new below-grade floor, the social hall, refreshed with a bar area, flexible tables and seating, and common and gathering areas throughout.

Every solution honors the the architecture and the century of memories, and equips a 21st-century congregation with dedicated spaces for programs, education, and community.

Empowering The Next Chapter