Project Feature: SFO
Interior Designer: Gensler
Location: San Francisco, CA
Project Type: Transport
Spaces: Terminal 2
Products: Custom Ski Lounge Chairs, Custom Kanzo Bench, Custom Egg Tables
Photography: Matthew Gordon Studio
Completion: June 2024
The first thing you notice about San Francisco International Airport’s (SFO) Terminal 2 isn’t the planes—it’s the calm. Sunlight spills across wide concourses, glass walls frame a wash of Bay Area sky, and small clusters of travelers lounge in spaces that feel more like serene third spaces than an airport built to move millions. The renovation, designed by Gensler, was always meant to be different: a LEED Gold–registered terminal that would reduce traveler stress, showcase art, and give a family on vacation the same level of care as a business traveler chasing a connection.
But here’s the thing about spaces designed to feel effortless: they rarely are. Every curved bench, every laptop-friendly side table, every detail you don’t notice had to survive the physics of high-traffic public life. And for much of SFO Terminal 2’s seating, bolting, charging, and heavy-duty durability, the subtle force shaping the traveler experience is HBF.
When Everyone Else Said No, HBF Said Yes
HBF isn’t new to customization. The North Carolina–based company has spent decades turning designers’ sketches into commercial-grade furniture that quietly supports work, hospitality, and the moments in between. Even for a brand comfortable with “specials,” SFO’s demands were formidable. Gensler needed furniture that would withstand luggage wheels, sticky fingers, and spilled coffee while blending seamlessly into a light-filled terminal designed to feel human. Many manufacturers would have said no, yet HBF said yes—and then figured out how.
Take Kanso, a hefty, three-section lounge bench. Its sculptural form and multi-level seating felt perfect for quick airport perching: recline for a moment, sit upright to work, or perch while your boarding group is called. The problem? Weight. Kanso is built like a tank—a virtue for durability, but a risk in a concourse where shifting furniture could block evacuation routes or cleaning crews. HBF’s engineers designed custom stainless-steel plates so the benches could be bolted directly to the floor, and adjusted seat heights—18 inches low, 25.5 high—for accessibility and passenger flow. FSC-certified wood and a black powder-coated base kept sustainability and aesthetics intact.
"Projects like SFO push us to test the limits of what our furniture can do,” says Scott McFerren, Senior Engineer Manager at HBF. “Every custom plate or cut-out is a chance to refine our engineering and prove that beautiful design can handle real-world demands.”
Then there’s the Oval Egg Table, which evolved far beyond its catalog form. Travelers perch on tables—that’s reality—so HBF thickened the HDPE plinths, added anti-rotate locking rings, and put the design through lounge-level durability testing that exceeded BIFMA standards. The team integrated Salt and Pepper power units—USB and standard plugs, four per table—because even a five-minute charge can rescue a boarding pass buried in a dead phone. And when Gensler asked for a table that could slide over a sofa edge, HBF created a C-shaped variant with a cut-out cavity—a small detail that makes working on a layover feel civilized. A rectangular, millwork-like console table, with softened corners and integrated lighting and power, rounded out the suite of custom pieces.
Engineering-led Choices
The Ski Chair, another sculptural staple, wasn’t spared. Its polished stainless-steel frame was modified for floor bolting; removable cushions were fitted with heavy-duty Velcro to deter wandering in a busy terminal. In every piece, HBF’s engineers thought like travelers: Where will people sit? Lean? Charge? Spill? Even hardware choices—water-resistant stainless rings, pre-drilled holes for secure bolts—were calibrated for a space that would be scrubbed, sanitized, and overused daily.
For McFerren, these tweaks aren’t chores—they’re the point. "We knew travelers would sit on tables and lean on edges—so we designed every piece as if it would be tested a thousand times a day. That’s the difference between a showpiece and a workhorse."
Customization is resource-intensive: every special order consumes engineering hours, prototypes, and supply-chain effort. But Matthew Esposito, Sr. Product Portfolio Manager at HBF, argues that SFO proves why it matters.
“Saying yes to customization isn’t just about winning a project—it’s about living up to the expectation that HBF will do what others can’t or won’t. That’s part of our value proposition.”
Meeting that expectation—when the stakes include a Gensler-designed, LEED Gold airport terminal—cements the brand’s reputation in a way spreadsheets can’t measure.
Senior Marketing Manager Annie Ming points to another benefit.
Designers are increasingly asking if our products can thrive in airports and other third spaces. SFO gives us the proof—and the imagery—to show HBF belongs in those environments.
She sees the terminal as a visual calling card: photos of Oval Egg Tables with discreet power ports glowing under skylight, or Kanso benches bolted neatly into a bustling departures lounge, prove that HBF’s furniture isn’t confined to offices or boutique hotels.
Sustainability runs through these decisions. SFO’s LEED Gold mandate meant FSC-certified wood, durable solid surfaces, and bolted installations that reduce replacement waste. Over-engineering for durability isn’t wasteful—it’s sustainable. Every table that survives a decade of scuffed suitcases is one less item in a landfill. Even minor details—the thickness of a plinth, the choice of stainless over lesser metals—extend the furniture’s life cycle and preserve the integrity of a busy public space.
Viewed from 30,000 feet, the project is about more than one terminal. Airports, train stations, and hotel lobbies are becoming the new public commons, extensions of our offices and living rooms. They’re places where you answer emails, FaceTime a friend, or decompress between flights. Furniture is no longer background decoration; it’s the infrastructure that makes modern movement tolerable.
For HBF, SFO Terminal 2 was never just another order. It was a statement: flexibility, craftsmanship, sustainability, and the commitment to tailor furniture solutions when it matters most. In an industry where many manufacturers decline complex specials, HBF’s quiet “yes” helped redefine what airport interiors can feel like—less transactional, more human. And that, in the end, is the future of travel spaces: places where a well-placed table or a perfectly tuned bench can turn the chaos of transit into a moment of calm.