For years, architecture firm Revel has designed workplaces for Silicon Valley companies from its headquarters in San Francisco. The firm’s design professionals could be at a Silicon Valley jobsite in under an hour.

But for many technology companies, including the firm’s roster of South Bay clients, the distance was just a bit “too far,” said Scott Clement, CEO and principal of Revel Architecture & Design.

“Clients in Silicon Valley want to work with people that are here,” Clement said. “It just made sense, at this point in our firm’s evolution, to have a local address, even though San Francisco is just up the road.”

“The two markets are highly intertwined, but each has its unique identity and professional ecosystem,” he added.

That realization prompted Revel’s leadership to expand the firm’s footprint, which also includes Los Angeles and Austin offices, to Silicon Valley proper. The firm’s leadership saw 2026 as the right time to make this move, given how the area's office market has come back, driven by demand from artificial intelligence startups and other tech companies.

Revel tapped Daleen Brummer to join the firm as managing director to lead the new office.

"Our goal in opening the physical office is to demonstrate our full commitment to the region as well as grow new relationships," Brummer said. "Many of our clients have commented that they're glad we're here and that it's about time.”

Brummer brings diverse experience to the firm, positioning her to serve the needs of Bay Area clients.

“She has owned her own design firm, worked in boutique studios and has been an in-house project manager and designer on the corporate client side,” Clement said.

Combined with her experience working around the globe, including locales across Europe, South Africa and the Middle East, Brummer’s résumé enables her to provide sophisticated counsel to companies on the cutting edge of workplace design, he said.

The new office that Brummer heads opened in April.

“Being physically local allows us to perform here with the same responsiveness and agility that Revel is known for,” she said. “While we will continue to be supported by San Francisco and our other offices, we’ve hired two other full-time employees, in addition to me, and will soon be adding more.”

The firm is focused on growth, but more important is finding the right people, rather than just “hiring for numbers,” she added.

For Revel, the move also acknowledges the reality of what technology companies expect from their design partners. They are seeking strategic counsel on how to expand, contract or pivot at a speed “not seen anywhere else,” Clement said.

Jump Space

Brummer said one client in particular illustrates that expectation of speed.

The client needed Revel’s help to prepare a “jump space,” a temporary location in the office building where they had already leased permanent space that they were in the process of building out.

“This client’s pace of growth is at a level that’s hard to explain,” Brummer said.

While 140 desks seemed like a good number to aim for one week, the ask rose to 160 by the time Brummer met with the client again just several days later.

“We had 35 days to make the temp space move-in ready,” Brummer said. “Even though they initially only planned to stay in the jump space for four months, they wanted to keep their vibe going there.”

Revel advised the client to include several key pieces of furniture in the jump space to make employees feel at home.

“Because the footprint of the jump space and the permanent floor were the same, the jump space became a testing lab for design solutions,” Brummer said. 

This experimentation helped the client realize they needed more private offices and huddle spaces than the landlord was originally providing them, she said.

"This is a great example of the strategic planning we love to bring to our clients across the firm,” she said.

Don't Just Follow A Recipe

While the mini-case study reflects one way that workplace design is changing, Revel’s client experience demonstrates other patterns and trends as well.

“One thing we’re seeing is the need to accommodate masses of people, big gatherings,” Brummer said. “In the past, offices included conference rooms that fit 10 or 20 people. Now, companies want to be able to host in-person all-hands meetings in their offices.”

The office is now viewed as a destination that provides an experience meant to attract and retain talent, rather than just a desk or cubicle. The goal isn’t to fit as many desks as possible into a limited amount of space, she added.

However, occupancy patterns have become less predictable, creating a new challenge for companies and their design partners.

Occupancy might fluctuate between 70% on peak workdays and 10% on slower days, Brummer said. 

"However, that number can jump to over 100% when workers fly in from around the globe for the big meetings several times a year," she said.

As a result, old rules of thumb that specify how much square footage is required per employee don’t work anymore.

“You need to dig deep, go through the client’s programming needs and how they work, not just follow a recipe,” Brummer said.

That requires architects to double down on listening to clients to understand their company cultures because every company and its needs are unique.

“Some clients have invested in having architects or designers as part of their team and know exactly what they want,” Brummer said. “We’re seeing a lot of knowledge on the client side. Other times, they step back and trust you to know what’s best.”

Clement said he believes Revel’s size and footprint give the firm an advantage in delivering the highest level of client service.

“With Revel, you get the nimble agility of a smaller boutique firm,” he said. “But with over 60 people across multiple cities and states, we’re large enough to work with the largest corporate clients.”

The firm’s model is built for a localized experience, with the backup of a national platform.

“Most of our clients in Austin and LA don’t realize we aren’t headquartered there,” Clement said. “That’s how localized the firm is. And that’s what we envision happening in Silicon Valley as well.”

This article was produced in collaboration between Revel Architecture & Design and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.