Thom Mayne of Morphosis designed the building using a juxtaposition of gray concrete walls, perforated metal panels, and custom, faceted wood ceilings.

[7][8] The result has been criticized as unsatisfactory by employees working in the building, which has received low workplace satisfaction ratings.

[citation needed] The building features some elevators which stop on every third floor to promote employee interaction and health.

[citation needed] The San Francisco Chronicle's architecture critic John King called the building "both daunting and dazzling, up to and including the stainless steel panels that fold over the broad concrete frame like some immense origami whim.

"[8] According to his colleague at the Los Angeles Times, Christopher Hawthorne, the building "shows what happens when a celebrated American architect is compelled [...] to embrace sustainability.

[10] He called the result a "hulking, aggressive tower [... and] perhaps the most ambitious of the federal government’s effort, through the General Services Administration’s 'design excellence' program, to make new courthouses and office buildings models of forward-looking design.

[12] At the same time, the design's use of extended, folded metal sunshading at ground level, which shades portions of the plaza and ground floor program, required extensive galvanized steel bracing, adding millions in materials and fabrication costs back into the project.

This led Morphosis to specify passenger elevators that stop only at every third floor, encourading employees and visitors to walk up or down one or two flights of stairs to reach their destinations.

The San Francisco Federal Building was included in this study even though commissioning was still underway, and tenant improvements of some floors were not complete.

[13] In 2020, then-President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order on Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture.

While elite architects praised the resulting building, many San Franciscans consider it one of the ugliest structures in their city.