Dubai Mall Medical Centre

Bloomingdale’s, Giorgio Armani, and Catherine Malandrino aren’t the only major imports at the Burj Khalifa, the 2,600-foot-tall United Arab Emirates tower formerly known as the Burj Dubai. On the third story, health care based on a Western model is offered at the Dubai Mall Medical Centre, an NBBJ-designed alternative to local public options.

Whether circumstances call for an echocardiogram, a capped tooth, or a touch of Botox, traffic is heavy and truly multicultural: local elites rubbing shoulders with expats from Asia, Europe, and the U. S. To avoid an “airport lounge” feeling, senior lead designer Karen Eskandari explains, her team prepared a mood video exploring the sensory aspects of a visit to the medical center. What would it smell like? How would a door handle feel?

The 60,000-square-foot project borrows luxury-hospitality elements such as marble flooring. A color palette emerged when NBBJ pixellated photographs of the region’s landscape: taupe, pearlized cream, white, silver blue, and sea blue. Water, the ultimate luxury for desert dwellers, became a metaphor not only in terms of color but also in terms of shapes. CNC-milled MDF wall panels ripple like the surface of a pond.

Imagining how rain puddles, Eskandari designed free-form carpet insets to anchor separate seating groups in the spacious central waiting area. Semicircular ceiling tracks allow sheers, highlighted by recessed LED fixtures, to be pulled around each grouping for partial privacy. The sofas and ottomans inside are round or curved in deference to the region’s traditional flowing clothing, prone to snagging on sharp corners. It’s seating that would not appear at all out of place in the designer shoe department at Bloomingdale’s.

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Herman Miller Ardea

The Ardea light has earned both Gold and Silver honors from the International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA), while the Twist LED task light earned dual Bronze awards. The products and their respective awards across multiple categories secured a place for Herman Miller among the top corporate winners for 2010 and also for the past five years, with 8 awards in total during the period.

2010 marks the 30th year of the annual design competition, which recognizes design excellence in products, ecodesign, research, strategy, packaging, interactive design, and concepts. The IDEA awards are sponsored by the Industrial Designers Society of America and held in collaboration with the Henry Ford Museum and media sponsor Fast Company Magazine. Herman Miller’s Ardea and Twist lights were selected among 1900 product entries from 29 countries.

Designed by Yves Behar and fuseproject, Ardea took top honors in the Ecodesign and Home Living categories. Its elegant design, inspired by the long, slender, and flexible necks of great herons, is also highly functional: Users can infinitely direct illumination. Juror Mieko Kusano of Sonos, Inc., summarizes Ardea’s impression on jurors: “Organic form inspired by nature and design to have minimal impact on nature through high efficiency lighting and green design.”

Also designed by fuseproject, the Twist LED task light won recognition both in the Ecodesign and Office & Productivity categories. The Twist LED light consumes up to half the energy of other undershelf lights, while its energy-efficient, eco-friendly design is matched by its simple aesthetics and easy-to-control illumination.

Both lights are part of Herman Miller’s Thrive Portfolio, its collection of research-based, ergonomic products

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Thrive Portfolio from Herman Miller

Feel Better. Work Better

Herman Miller’s research-based ergonomic products makes it possible for people to thrive. Described as Total Ergonomic Solutions, Herman Miller rolls out the Thrive Ergonomics Portfolio to better organize their health-positive line of products and help guide clients in their proper use. With their acquisition of UK-based Colebrook Bosson Saunders, Herman Miller rounds out their ergonomic product offerings to make people safer, happier, healthier and more comfortable.

Check out the new Thrive Portfolio for yourself at http://www.hermanmiller.com/Thrive-Portfolio

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Campo Chair from Kimball Office

JASPER, IN (May  2010) — For those in the market for task seating, Kimball(R) Office interstuhl(R) is offering a new, ergonomic and affordable option, with many of the same features found in higher-end office seating. Campos(TM) allows employees from all corners of the office to experience the comfort found when intuitive controls integrate with simple design. The line will debut in June, in the Kimball Office Chicago showroom, during the week of the NeoCon World’s Trade Fair.

“Campos revolutionizes the expectations of traditional task seating by including many of the same luxury features found in other Kimball Office  interstuhl seating products, and not currently available in the general task chair market,” said Jeff Fenwick, Vice President and General Manager at Kimball Office. “Campos combines solid quality with a light aesthetic, to provide the market with a budget-friendly, sustainable task chair.”
Crafted by world-renowned designer, Reiner Moll, Campos incorporates features such as a synchronous mechanism, tension adjustment, the option for a seat slider, adjustable lumbar pad, and a mesh or upholstered backrest. The line also includes large casters, backrest height adjustment, the choice of 2D or 4D armrests and a polished aluminum or black plastic base. Moll previously designed the award-winning Axos(TM), Best of NeoCon Gold 2007, and Xantos(TM), both Kimball Office  interstuhl lines.

Campos is ergonomic, Euro-styled seating, which encourages proper posture, respiration, circulation, and supports the vertebrae correctly. The line is available in a variety of mesh and upholstery colors. Orders for Campos will begin in early July 2010.

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Lutron Capri

The trove includes the original “dimming device” that launched a lighting-control revolution.

Few inventors can say they revolutionized interior lighting, cut energy consumption, and made people look and feel sexier—all with a single device.

Joel Spira can.

He’s the inventor and developer of the dimmer switch—the iconic gold knob that has graced countless dining room walls since the 1960’s. In a special ceremony on April 29, the chairman and founder of Pennsylvania-based Lutron Electronics donated a trove of materials related to the company’s 50-year history to the electricity collections of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, DC.

Appropriately, the chandeliers were dimmed in a private reception suite of the museum as the 83-year-old Spira officially signed the deed of donation. Spira then recounted how he got his start designing missile control switches during World War II. He turned the guest bedroom of his apartment in New York into a workshop, and by 1961 he’d perfected the dimming prototype. Until then, such devices were clunky and mechanical; Spira’s was electronic, reliable, and could fit inside a wall box. More..

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United States Green Building Council

Nicholas Tamarin — Interior Design, 4/30/2010

A new report by the United States Green Building Council and national energy, housing, environmental, and real estate organizations is sounding the alarm on America’s building stock while citing the many ways in which the Obama Administration can step up on the energy efficiency and sustainability of America’s multifamily and commercial buildings.

Entitled “Using Executive Authority to Achieve Greener Buildings: A Guide for Policymakers to Enhance Sustainability and Efficiency in Mulitfamily Housing and Commercial Buildings,” the study concludes that the current presidential administration has the unprecedented ability to use over 30 existing federal programs worth $72 billion to enhance efficiency in commercial buildings and multifamily housing with no new legislation needed.

The report was prepared by Washington, D.C.-based law firm Van Ness Feldman and sponsored by the Real Estate Roundtable, UDR, Johnson Controls, the Energy Foundation, Building Owners and Managers Association International, the American Institute of Architects, Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association, Natural Resources Defense Council, International Facility Management Association, Energy Future Coalition, and C3.

“As an early adopter of green buildings and the LEED green building certification system, the federal government has been a leader in bringing green buildings to cities and towns across America,” said Roger Platt, USGBC’s senior vice president of global policy and law. “This new report unveils an even larger opportunity for the Obama Administration to increase our nation’s energy efficiency, while creating thousands of jobs and saving taxpayers money.”

The report cites an extensive array of options which it says the Obama Administration could begin implementing immediately without having to seek new funds or authority from Congress. It states that some of the most promising options with the largest reach are reforming appraisal and underwriting practices at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; greening federal banking regulation; integrating energy efficiency and sustainability criteria into competitive grants and funding formula; strengthening minimum property standards for federal housing and economic development programs to reflect energy efficiency and sustainability standards; improving performance standards applicable to federal buildings and leases; and refining guidance applicable to the energy efficient commercial buildings tax deduction and the national historic preservation tax credit.

The full report can be downloaded at www.usgbc.org/government

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The HON Company Introduces Huddle™ Multi-Purpose Tables

Reported by eFurniture for Office Furniture & Design on 2/18/2010

Muscatine, IA – February 9, 2010 – Gone are the days when meetings were held in traditional conference rooms. In today’s office, work happens everywhere – in training rooms, project rooms, large offices – and more often than not, in an impromptu spot where two or three people want to quickly put their heads together to solve a problem. To provide the ideal solution for the today’s office, The HON Company is pleased to introduce the new Huddle™ collection of multi-purpose tables. These thoughtfully designed tables feature smart design, flexibility and a choice of base, edge and finish options to meet the needs of smart, agile businesses.

“Huddle tables provide the perfect platform for training, meetings and collaboration by allowing you to use the same space for a variety of purposes,” said Fred Colony, vice president of products for The HON Company. “Arrange tables in rows for training in the morning; and then reconfigure them into a presentation-friendly ‘u-shape’ just a few hours later. Or, pull one into an office for a spontaneous meeting with a coworker; then push it against the wall to display items for a new business meeting. The possibilities are virtually endless.”

Huddle tables are easy to set up, rearrange and store when not in use. And, Huddle tables are perfectly compatible with any work environment – offering nine rectangle-top work surface sizes, three base options (post leg, t-leg and flip-top for easy nesting), 16 standard laminate finishes, 15 edge colors, 10 base paint colors and three edge detail options.

To allow for space-efficient table storage, Huddle tables offer a nesting base. While nested, optional modesty panels drop down so the tables can be nested together without removing the panels. And to ensure safe, soft and quiet fold-down operation, an innovative dampened articulation function has been added by HON to Huddle’s hinge mechanism. Huddle tables are also available with glides for stationary use, or casters for enhanced mobility and reconfiguration.

Adding further customization, the Huddle collection offers a variety of accessories to tailor the tables for specific uses. Optional ganging hardware allows the tables to be locked into place – ideal for training rooms or areas open to the general public. Optional wire management trays and USB grommets are also available.

An additional benefit of the Huddle multi-purpose tables is their SCS Indoor Advantage™ indoor air quality certification by Scientific Certification Systems (SCS). When configured with t-mold or edge-banded tops, the collection meets SCS Indoor Advantage certification – the most rigorous indoor air quality criteria in all of North America.

For more information on the Huddle family of multi-purpose tables, contact Corporate Environments or visit huddle.hon.com.

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KI Furniture Helps Medical center

GREEN BAY, WI (Feb 2010) – Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland, WA., recently completed a $7.8 million expansion to its River Pavilion that houses the new Don & Lori Watts Pediatric Center. The new children’s department offers a higher level of care to pediatric patients, allowing local children who have cancer to receive treatment locally, instead of having to travel. Following research into best practices in children’s hospital design and patient-centered care, Curtis Group Architects LTD (Dallas, TX) chose furniture from KI to help create a welcoming and comforting environment for sick children and their families.

The 25,000-square-foot pediatric department expands the hospital’s capacity to treat children from 8 semi-private rooms to 20 private rooms. Each of the private rooms feature a KI Daybed Sofa Sleeper that pulls out into a bed, allowing parents to stay comfortably with their children in the hospital. All rooms feature a soothing underwater theme designed to help lessen the fear and anxiety associated with visiting a hospital.

“We are amazed by the amount of creativity and imagination that was poured into the creation of this facility,” said Don Thornton, Director of Plant Operations, Kadlec Regional Medical Center. “The furniture that fills its hallways, patient rooms and waiting areas complement the relaxing surroundings and offer an added element of comfort for the families who need it most.”

Contributing to the relaxing atmosphere of the children’s floor is a private family room with kitchen and dining facilities. Inside, KI’s Soltice Lounge Furniture adds to the room’s resort style atmosphere with a modern design where parents, siblings and relatives can gather for family time.

The fifth floor children’s department features a fifteen foot curved, 800-gallon saltwater fish tank in the lobby and a welcoming waiting room with fireplace. Each of the patient rooms are uniquely named after a sea creature and feature a hand-painted story about the animal on the inside wall of the room. Throughout the facility, the floors feature sea creatures cut out and inlaid in the linoleum.

“We designed the patient rooms with one thing in mind—putting the children and families at ease during their stay,” said Jennifer Hodges, Interior Designer, Curtis Group Architects LTD. “The concept behind the ‘Under the Sea’ theme was to create a healing, fun and educational environment for children ranging from infant to eighteen years of age and their families. KI’s healthcare furniture and expertise helped us create an environment that enables family members to be an integral part of the healing process.”

The free-flowing concept of the nurse stations enhances the ‘Under the Sea’ look, including the design and colors of the KI Impress chairs and KI Torsion on the Go that emphasize the theme and comfort of the space. Video-conferencing equipment was also installed to help local doctors and nurses stay in daily contact with pediatric specialists at Seattle Children’s Hospital, with which Kadlec has a partnership.

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Corporate Environments OFDealer Profile

Corporate Environments has been profiled in the January 2010 issue of the OFDealer eZine from OFDA. The article, written by Alicia Ellis, discusses what tools and techniques we are using to expand our products and business offerings to our current and future clients in a down economy. You can read the issue in pdf version here

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New Hon Logo 2010

First Mark Alteration in More Than 40 Years
New Logo Reflects The ‘New’ HON 
Smart, Proactive, Responsive and Ready to Serve

Muscatine, Iowa – January 6, 2010 – For some time now, there has been a “buzz” in the office furniture industry… reflecting the direction of the second largest office furniture manufacturer, The HON Company. This “buzz” has been extremely positive… and includes words like smart design… innovative solutions… strategic partnerships… inspiring headquarters and showroom spaces… unsurpassed customer service… and above all, commitment. To better reflect the energy within HON and the “at-your-service” attitude of its members, the company has introduced a new logo and branding initiative – the first such endeavor in more than 40 years. More…

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