Create Space | For Higher Standards.
The world today challenges us, as designers and people, to provide inclusive, resilient design solutions that go beyond sustainability to promote health and well-being, equity and inclusion, and environmental stewardship. As we design our new office space, we are holding ourselves to the same high standards we advocate for with our clients. That means making choices that reflect our values, while staying mindful of cost and impact.
From the outset, we looked to established frameworks like LEED, WELL and other sustainable design standards to guide our choices in resources, natural light, materials, equity, biophilic measures and more.
Check out Matthew Lewis speak on sustainable building projects and processes at Harvard.
Climate & Building Response: Presentation & Conversation with NEACP Insight
But our approach goes deeper. Like many of our clients, we’ve embraced reuse as a powerful tool, not just to reduce costs, but to limit waste, lower our carbon footprint, and extend the life of materials that still have plenty to give.
Through strategic surveying of our current furniture and systems we have developed a plan that balances the reuse of existing pieces and new items to enhance and update the way we work and exist in the ARC office.
Below is the reuse plan we used to identify new locations for our existing furniture and systems in yellow.
The same approach informed our lighting strategy: with help from our lighting consultant, we’re reusing almost all existing fixtures, rearranged to support the new layout, supplemented by a few select new pieces where needed.
As we do on all our projects, we collaborated with our specification writer to eliminate red-list materials, select highly sustainable products where possible and specify healthy materials that provide a clean environment for all our employees.
Many products we used come from manufacturers that prioritize healthy materials and resilient products.
Check out a few ways we are using furniture and finish materials to stay sustainable and resilient in our projects.
Furniture Flips Escape Landfill Insight
Creating Healthy and Resilient Spaces: ARC Joins AIA Materials Pledge Insight
Green Revolution: AIA Pledge & Sustainable Selections Insight
See links below to some of the partners helping us walk the walk:
- Roseburg - Millwork Plywood
- Ege Carpets – Carpet
- Andreu World – Furniture
- Stylex – Furniture
- Kvadrat – Fabrics
- Capri Collections - Flooring
- Allsteel - Workstations
Other decisions reflect our efforts to reduce environmental impact in thoughtful ways.
- Sourcing from local manufacturers like Phoenix Workbenches in Lowell, MA minimizes transportation related carbon emissions.
- Designing for flexibility, through open plans, continuous flooring, and adaptable workstations.
- Delaying some non-essential purchases until we have lived in the space will help us determine if some products are necessary and reduce waste of unnecessary purchases and materials.
- Choosing a moving company, with a clear commitment to donating, selling for reuse or recycling furniture that is not making the move to the new office. ABC Moving Services
- Offering our employees the chance to give many items a second chance in their own homes.
- Partnering with Re-Stream a woman-owned business based in Waltham, MA, to repurpose and recycle architectural and interiors samples as we regularly clear out supplies in the office, has become a big support as we prepare for the move.
Check out some highlights on how we are reusing material samples.
Beyond the Bin: How ARC Transforms Material Samples into New Possibilities Insight
We know we play only a small part in the fight for a cleaner and healthier environment, but it’s an important one. As we guide our clients toward more sustainable solutions, we know we must lead by example, by creating space that reflects not only who we are, but the kind of world we want to help build.
Check out some of the spaces where we have collaborated with clients to implement higher sustainable standards.
Multipurpose Arena at Bentley University
Harvard University, American Repertory Theater
New Lower Middle School at Greenwich Country Day School
Center for Health and Wellness at Hackley School
Center for Health and Wellness at Deerfield Academy
Garden Facility Site Expansion, New England Biolabs
Boynton Yards 808 Windsor Street
See the other posts in the Create Space series about the process to our New Office.