The selected office furniture manufacturer, Haworth Inc., is an international manufacturer where environmental preservation is an integral part of the company's philosophy. Haworth's environmental awareness affects every aspect of production from design and product development to manufacturing and distribution. Haworth continuously monitors the environmental impact of raw materials and work processes used in the manufacture of office furniture. As a company, Haworth is committed to finding more ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

For this project, the designers configured all offices and workstations to allow for the maximum amount of workspace and the best integration of technology. Haworth and their dealer, Total Office Interiors, worked closely with the designers to develop a workstation that not only met the environmental concerns of World Resources Institute, but also blended with the aesthetics of the space design.

The team combined two different product lines, Tango, a desking system, and Crossings, an alternative officing solution, to create new workstation configurations for the interior and exterior offices.

For the exterior offices, Premise Panels system with a recyclable fabric was used for privacy surrounding the workstation.

All metal components in the workstations are electrostatically powder-coated, which is a zero-emission, zero-waste process. These metal components are also recyclable.

Work station surfaces are made of medium density fiberboard. Non-solvent based adhesives are used in the manufacturing process to further eliminate the admission of vocs (volatile organic compounds) into the air.

Persing Enterprises-Danko Design's unique gotham side and stack chairs used in the open meeting areas and conference rooms use only 11 pounds of sustainably harvested maple yet pass the testing standards of the business and institutional furniture manufacturer's association. Comparable chairs use approximately 20 pounds of hardwood. Wood requires much less energy to be processed into a usable form than does steel or plastic.

The Gotham chair stems from both shaker design and the work of modernists Alvar Aalto and Jens Risom. Their designs are in essence wood frames supporting interwoven cotton webbing on the seat and back. The Gotham chairs share the same concept but use surplus and second-quality automotive seat belts as the suspension system. Although they will not meet stringent national transportation safety board specifications, seat belts are astonishingly strong and will not sag or stretch as does cotton. Seat belts are easy to clean and can be replaced if damaged.

Environmental products and services: Sources and contributors

An asterisk indicates suppliers who contributed products or services.

* Haworth, Inc.

Office furniture

One Haworth Center, Holland, MI 49423 (616/393-3000)