gb&d Issue 64: Summer 2021

G R E E N B U I L D I N G ISSUE 64

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Designing an Icon LOHA captures a beloved company's energy in the design of the new Nike Icon Studios in Los Angeles.

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DESIGNFLEX® CEILING SYSTEMS

FELTWORKS ® BLADES MODULAR KIT

SUSTAINABILITY COMES IN MANY SHAPES & FORMS The Sustain® portfolio features over a thousand products that meet today’s most stringent industry sustainability standards – including new disinfectable shapes and forms to create healthier, sustainable spaces. Explore the many options at armstrongceilings.com/sustain

Beauty_ Revealed Driven by a pioneering spirit and thoughtful dedication to bring forth a balance of excellence, beauty and innovation, Cultured Stone fashions stone that inspires and transforms.

culturedstone.com

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issue 64 V O L U M E 12 • S U M M E R 2 0 21

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Designing Safe Environments EPIC Fans can improve everything from gyms to schools.

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Smart Solutions Refresh the home and breathe easy with solutions like FrothPak Spray Foam.

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Build a Healthy Classroom Jonti-Craft makes classroom furniture that’s flexible and safe.

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On the Ground Western Forest Products is mitigating climate change and managing biodiversity.

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The New Dynamic Workplace Tarkett is revitalizing the office with its latest collections.

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Designing Healthy Workspaces Humidification systems and tools from Condair can help.

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Thursday’s the New Monday Salesforce on design changes companies are making to get people back to work.

ON THE COVER Photo by Iwan Baan

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R ENDERING COURTESY GBDMAGAOF ZINE.COM MARC THORPE ISSUE DESIGN 64

PHOTOS BY TK TK

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NEOCON.COM

CHICAGO

OCT 4–6, 2021

DESIGN

ANEW NeoCon® is a registered trademark of Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. PHOTOS BY TK TK

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content s

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Outer Beauty Diamond Kote’s complete guide to pre-engineered siding solutions

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What is a Living Learning Community?

Mithun’s design for the University of California Irvine is focused on all aspects of learning.

Rock Solid Design Inside the world of manufactured stone veneer and the many options of Cultured Stone

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Sounds Great Primacoustic’s guide to acoustic solutions, no matter the space

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In the Details A closer look at BASCO Manufacturing Company’s luxury quiet shower doors.

Water-Based Wood Finishes General Finishes shares the benefits of switching to water-based wood finishes.

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Benefits of Solar Reflective Coatings Real solutions for the urban heat island effect from Westcoat

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Save Buildings with Restoration Coatings APV Engineered Coatings brought life back to a historic FAA building in LA.

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Every Step Counts Mondo’s rubber flooring is helping to make health care spaces even safer and healthier.

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A Lighting Revolution H.E. Williams shares commercial lighting solutions that are long-lasting.

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Fresh Air A guide to energy-efficient commercial HVLS fans with the experts at Hunter Fan

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Rigorous Standards Trex Commercial educates architects on safety and the aesthetic options of their commercial railing products.

Cool Comfort Solar Art’s window films protect and beautify commercial spaces with energy-efficient options.

Projects 80

The Hybrid Work Experiment

Perkins&Will’s new Manhattan studio is measuring how we use the modern workplace.

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Building for Chile’s Future

Lagar Architects designed the Keepex lab in Puerto Varas, Chile.

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Downtown Connections

2 Houston Center, designed

by Gensler, connects a busy complex with the community.

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Photo Finish

Inside the colorful, clever design of Nike Icon Studios in Los Angeles

Practice 173

Higher Ed Spaces for All WRNS Studio’s Lilian Asperin shares her journey and the importance of inclusion in higher ed architecture.

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Architect to Watch

Svigals + Partners Associate Katelyn Chapin shares the LEED Gold-certified Bergami Center for Science, Technology and Innovation.

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Portable Dividers

Screenflex on how these flexible solutions make educators’ lives easier.

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Taming Wild Steam

Salus on how to tame wild steam in old buildings

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Choosing Underlayment Maxxon on selecting the best underlayment depending on your project

All in a Sail Polyfab USA shares the importance of outdoor shading fabric and designers’ common mistakes.

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PHOTOS BY TK TK

PHOTOS FROM TOP: GARRETT ROWLAND; COURTESY OF ROCA TILE USA; JEREMY BITTERMAN

Products

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westernforest.com

DEFINING A HIGHER STANDARD ™ OF SUSTAINABLE PRODUCT Western Forest Products provides architectural appearance solutions that make your clients projects beautiful. As one of North America’s largest Western Red Cedar suppliers, we’re here to meet all your specialty lumber needs.

PHOTOS BY TK TK

PROUDLY DISTRIBUTING

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gb&d is sue 64

contributors J. LIVY LI

(“Slowing Down with Sharpe House,” pg. 118”) is a writer and maker based in Chicago. She has a formal background in architecture and manages the Arts & Culture section for F Newsmagazine out of SAIC, from which she is a recent graduate. She’s interested in daydreaming about ethical, sustainable modes of living and how human migration interacts with the built world. She can be found walking her beloved dog or on Instagram (@titus.livy).

MIKE THOMAS

(“Save Buildings with Restoration Coatings,” pg. 30) is a Chicagobased writer whose work appears regularly in Chicago magazine and gb&d, among others. He also spent nearly 15 years at the Chicago Sun-Times and is the author of two books. He has written about a wide range of subjects—from movie stars and bestselling authors to famous musicians and business leaders.

HILARY DANINHIRSCH

(“On the Ground,” pg. 152) is an award-winning freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. Her work has been published in numerous trade magazines and many regional and local publications. When she is not writing she is either reading, exercising, or playing endless games of Words with Friends.

She lives with her husband, younger daughter, a senior dog of undetermined breed, and a high maintenance pandemic puppy.

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Editor-in-Chief Christopher Howe Associate Publisher Laura Heidenreich Managing Editor Laura Rote Art Director Kristina Walton Zapata Content Marketing Director Julie Veternick Marketing Manager Sophia Conforti Editorial Interns Sierra Joslin Rafael Pico Samantha Stevens Contributors Carol Ross Barney Lark Breen Hilary Daninhirsch Colleen Dehart Kate Griffith Hailey Hinton J. Livy Li Rachel Mendelson Jessica Mordacq Mike Thomas Jessica Zuniga

ONLINE gbdmagazine.com gbdmagazine.com/digital-edition SUBSCRIPTIONS Online shop.gbdmagazine.com Email service@gbdmagazine.com gb&dPRO Online gbdmagazine.com/gbdpro Email info@gbdmagazine.com MAIL Green Building & Design 47 W Polk Street, Ste 100-285 Chicago, IL 60605

Printed in the USA. © 2021 by Green Advocacy Partners, LLC. All rights reserved.

Green Building & Design (gb&d) is printed in the United States using only soy-based inks. Please recycle this magazine.

The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the consent of the publisher. The publisher is not responsible for product claims and representations.

The Green Building & Design logo is a registered trademark of Green Advocacy Partners, LLC.

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20+ YEARS OF

EXTREME PERFORMANCE

A TECHNOLOGY BY:

PHOTOS BY TK TK

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no tebook

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Even after a global pandemic, people want to be together—and work together. Salesforce’s work culture is dominated by immersive spaces, and they’ve surveyed their employees to understand how they’re feeling and help address any pain points along the way to reopening offices around the world.

They discovered nearly half of their employees want to come in only a few times per month, but also that 80% want to maintain a connection to a physical space. Thursday’s the New Monday, pg. 168 4

In 2015 the Federal Aviation Administration West Coast Headquarters was listed in the

of employees reported that they thought their companies cared more about what their offices meant to the outside world than what they meant to their own teams. We talk to Tarkett about the implications, and how the flooring manufacturer is helping companies provide workspaces everyone cares about. The New Dynamic Workplace, pg. 156 2

5 Things We Learned Behind-thescenes tidbits and fun facts we discovered making this issue

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Chile has a large fishing industry, particularly salmon fishing, which was a recent boon to the country’s economy. However, the fishing industry is also causing sustainability concerns. Industry innovators like Keepex are working on the sustainability issues of large fish farming operations as local species of fish, particularly in the Patagonia region, become threatened. Read about Keepex’s design. Building for Chile’s Future, pg. 92

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In 1962 two brothers in Vallejo, California pioneered manufactured stone veneer as a new kind of building material. They developed a concrete mixture cast in flexible molds and hand-colored with iron oxide pigments to reflect the texture and color tones of natural stone. The product weighed approximately one-fourth the weight of natural stone and easily adhered to most wall surfaces. It set the stage for Cultured Stone. Rock Solid Design, pg. 54

PHOTO BY JASPER SANIDAD, COURTESY OF BCCI CONSTRUCTION COMPANY

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In a survey of more than 200,000 people across six continents, nearly half (44%)

National Register of Historic Places.

The federal government officially closed the building—one of the nation’s most significant examples of 1970s late modernism—in 2018. APV’s Engineered Coatings helped restore the building to its former beauty as part of a series of improvements overseen by the LA Conservancy, including restoration of the glass skin and a seismic retrofit. Save Buildings with Restoration Coatings, pg. 30

company index

directory SUMMER 2021

APV Engineered Coatings, pg. 30

DuPont Froth-Pak,

Jonti-Craft, Inc.,

pg. 142 greatstuff.com 866.583.2583

pg. 148 jonti-craft.com 507.342.5169

EPIC Fans,

Maxxon,

bascoshowerdoor.com 800.452.2726

pg. 132 epicfan.com 866.352.8541

pg. 190 maxxon.com 800.356.7887

Condair,

General Finishes,

pg. 162 condair.com 866.667.8321

pg. 22 generalfinishes.com/ greenbuildinganddesign

Mondo Contract Flooring, pg. 34

Cultured Stone,

H.E. Williams, Inc., pg. 38

apvcoatings.com 330.773.8911

Basco Manufacturing Company, pg. 20

pg. 54 culturedstone.com 800.255.1727

hew.com 417.358.4065

Diamond Kote Building Products, pg. 50

Hunter Industrial Fan, pg. 42

diamondkotesiding.com 800.236.1528

hunterfan.com 888.523.0181

SALUS North America, Inc., pg. 188

Westcoat Specialty Coating Systems, pg. 26

salusinc.com 888.387.2587

800.250.4519 westcoat.com

Screenflex Portable Partitions Inc., pg. 128

Western Forest Product Inc., pg. 152

screenflex.com 800.553.0110

westernforest.com 604.648.4500

Solar Art,

mondocontractflooring.com 610.834.3835

pg. 66 solarart.com 949.825.7940

POLYFAB USA LLC,

Tarkett,

pg. 46 polyfabusa.com 440.503.9056

pg. 156 tarkettna.com 800.248.2878

Primacoustic,

Trex Commercial Products, pg. 62

pg. 58 primacoustic.com 604.942.1001

trexcommercial.com 877.215.7245

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NYC 2021

Be a part of it all.

Experience the can’t-miss lighting event of the year.

October 25–29, 2021 Javits Center, New York, NY Visit us at Lightfair.com

The future. Illuminated.

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PHOTOS BY TK TK

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Greentiles Greentiles are Roca Tile USA’s latest way of proving their commitment to the environment. The company’s product range offers a wide selection of materials and designs for a variety of situations—from versatile wall tile to highly resistant indoor and outdoor floor tiles, including single colors, marble, wood, concrete, fabric, decorative tiles, and more. Greentiles qualify for LEED points, so you have even more options for your next project. Roca Tile USA is an offshoot of the Roca Corporation—a global leader in manufacturing, distributing, and marketing high-quality ceramic and porcelain tile.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ROCA TILE USA

ROCATILEUSA.COM

PIGMENT, PICTURED HERE, IS ROCA TILE USA’S TERRAZZO LOOK. IT HAS 50% RECYCLED CONTENT AND IS PART OF THE GREENTILES PROGRAM.

Read, Breathe, and Live Green Inside the latest sustainable products and projects, from a new arena to building materials

BY RAFAEL PICÓ

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Publisher gestalten’s Evergreen Architecture showcases the many ways in which design can incorporate natural elements in spaces all over the world. This beautiful combination coffee table book and educational resource includes the repurposing of unused spaces into biodiverse oases that filter rainfall pollutants, contribute to effective water management systems, enhance the energy efficiency of the buildings they adorn, and help to lower temperatures in urban areas.

Highlights include Milan’s Bosco Verticale, the Urban Forest in Brisbane, and Heatherwick Studio’s design for Maggie’s Leeds (pictured), a cancer support center. Available July 20 in the US. US.GESTALTEN.COM

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PHOTO BY BY HUFTON + CROW; EVERGREEN ARCHITECTURE, GESTALTEN 2021

Evergreen Architecture by gestalten

editor s ’ pic k s

Zauben Living wall and green roof company Zauben is breathing life back into the built environment with sustainable green products like Model Z—a living wall designed with hydroponic technology that conserves 75% less water than plants grown in soil. Model Z self-irrigates and monitors plant health 24/7. Zauben’s products combine biophilic design with IoT sensor technology to monitor plant care while improving air quality. FROM

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ZAUBEN

$7,500; ZAUBEN.COM

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Turf Design’s new Reed wall panel designs fuse texture and visual interest with impressive performance capabilities. Turf panels are renowned for reducing sound and empty-room echo. Reed wall panels can be customized to fit any environment and design without sacrificing performance.

Their undulating form is created by a dense row of fluted felt that is 60% pre-consumer recycled. “As industry leaders begin to reshape the interiors of their organizational spaces, the issue of villainous echoes and noise becomes more eminent,” says Rob Perri, Turf’s president. “Our performance fosters a sense of peace and quiet, as the Reed Wall Panel soothes sound while helping to create groundbreaking ambiences.” TURF.DESIGN

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PHOTOS FROM TOP: COURTESY OF IMPERFCT, COURTESY OF TURF

Turf Reed Panels

editor s ’ pic k s

University of Texas at Austin Moody Center

RENDERING COURTESY OF GENSLER

Designed by Gensler in collaboration with Oak View Group, CAA ICON, Live Nation, and C3, The University of Texas at Austin Moody Center draws from Austin’s culture and sense of community as core design concepts by combining indoor and outdoor spaces. The space plans to be green by recovering, reusing, and recycling 95% of all construction waste and reducing total water usage by using low-water plumbing inside and efficient irrigation technology outside. The Moody Center is slated to be one of just two arenas in the US that cool from the bottom up, which experts say saves on energy costs. The Moody Center is targeting LEED Gold and is slated to be completed by Spring 2022. GENSLER.COM

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WHAT IS MIDDLE EARTH TOWERS? This new freshmen community is the first housing development located at the campus core, setting a precedent for future development at a high-profile location and introducing a new scale and density to the existing 1960s-era residential neighborhood of smaller low-rise structures. Two residential towers rise above a mixed-use podium and richly landscaped base.

What is a Living Learning Community?

Mithun’s design for UCI housing builds in space for introspection and collaboration.

BY LAURA ROTE

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“Successful living learning environments incorporate

diverse settings that allow students to connect, share thoughts, collaborate, focus, and build community.

It’s essential that the spaces themselves foster both social connections and collaborative learning in a seamless way,” says Bill LaPatra, partner at Mithun.

Middle Earth Towers, Mithun-designed housing at University of California Irvine, was designed around key settings indoors and out—quiet, focused spaces, social community spaces, and flexible group spots for lectures and the arts. “With the right mix and arrangement of spaces, we’re able to create living learning communities that foster the continuum of learning through the residential experience, allowing students to thrive in unique and self-defined ways,” LaPatra says.

The right spaces are key, as 85% of a college student’s learning occurs outside the classroom—much of it in their residential environment. “We place special focus on supporting a culture of inclusion and participation through spaces that enable students to feel at home and comfortably connect with others.

The design of Middle Earth Towers supports diversity by offering students choices and control—like community kitchens that allow students to cook their preferred cuisine, and adjustable furnishings that invite residents to personalize living and study spaces.”

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PHOTO BY KEVIN SCOT T

de f ined design

At a Glance

Connection & Wellness A dining center supports student wellness with healthy menus and nutrition and cooking classes.

The courtyard passage on the second level landform is a welcoming place for academics, socializing, and student activities.

Landscaping and circulation are integrated to create a dynamic space, and daylight penetrates deep into adjacent spaces.

Bridging overhead, Link Lounge is a central gathering space on each residential floor that unites the towers socially and physically.

Multi-purpose lounges are the heart of residential life, fostering community and providing neighborhood views.

Performance

The LEED Platinum project includes a 50 kW roof-mounted, grid-connected photovoltaic system for clean energy production and natural ventilation on all residential levels (75% of the building area). Visible green stormwater design incorporates two cascading bio-filtration terraced zones on the landform that reduces pressure on campus systems. Green roofs are on all lower levels to reinforce the meadow concept and reduce heat-island effect.

Building Community

The 1,000-plus seat Brandywine dining center also offers students a place for informal meetings and social events. Sky portals bring daylight in. The form geometries of Middle Earth create a variety of courtyard settings integrated within the architecture and landscape, further welcoming students to connect and interact.

Dorm Life

Each residential floor features a variety of “third place” spaces for social connection, spontaneous exchange, and quieter moments.

Student health and comfort is supported by ample natural light and ventilation.

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OH SO QUIET

Quiet Comfort The Rotolo Lux series by Basco

The Rotolo Lux’s “Quiet Capture” system utilizes an innovative center guide that gently squeezes the door glass while in motion, reducing rattling that is common with many bypass shower doors.

Quiet, luxurious, and right at home, family-owned

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PHOTO COURTESY OF MAGIS

Basco has been designing exceptional solutions for the bathroom for more than 65 years.

“The Rotolo Lux builds off of our successful barn-door style bypass—the Rotolo,” says Ted Ley, vice president of consumer product sales. “The Rotolo Lux uses the same header and top rollers, but then offers a more frameless option, preferred by many of today’s homeowners.”

The frameless Rotolo Lux series combines ultramodern looks with high performance and minimalist design.

The European rolling door mechanism, dual bypassing glass panels, and stylish towel bar—not to mention the snap-lock header to simplify installation—make this the ideal enclosure, offering up everything you’d want in a premium door. Take that one step further, and the Rotolo “Zero Threshold” Lux features all the style of the Rotolo Lux with a no-barrier entry.

Installers will also benefit from easy, reversible installation for left or right entry. It’s ideal for all wall substrates, including fiberglass, acrylic, and tile. Every shower door is hand-assembled in the US. —Laura Rote

PHOTO COURTESY OF BASCO

in t he de t ails

RECYCLABLE Basco recycles all glass and aluminum byproducts created during the manufacturing process.

Packaging materials are purchased from 100% recyclable corrugated suppliers.

Choose the Rotolo Lux series in brushed nickel, oil rubbed bronze, chrome, or matte black finish.

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Wood coatings have reached a new inflection point in recent years.

Where once the prevailing finishes were made of waxes, oils, and toxic ingredients, there is now an emerging market of water-based wood finishes that surpass their traditional counterparts in quality and user expectations. General Finishes, a Wisconsin-based wood coatings manufacturer founded in 1928, has been a pioneer in the water-based technology revolution. General Finishes works relentlessly to formulate high-quality waterborne coatings equal to or better than any oil or solvent finish. “Many people are surprised at the quality of today’s water-based finishes, and they’re getting better all the time,” says Ryan Denny, technical director for General Finishes.

Here are a few reasons to make the switch to water-based wood finishes.

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4 Reasons to Switch to Water-Based Wood Finishes General Finishes on the evolution of wood coatings

PHOTO COURTESY OF POLYCOR

BY HAILEY HINTON

PHOTO BY RON ROSENZWEIG

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1. ENVIRONMENT & HEALTH–FRIENDLY

2. RICH, BRILLIANT COLOR

The most common concern for architects and designers is color.

Getting dark color, even over difficult wood species, is easy with water-based stains. “Wood likes water,” Denny says. “It opens up and allows water to get deeper for better penetration of color.”

General Finishes formulates a broad range of colors in paints, polys, stains, and glazes; and unlike other manufacturers, they may be custom-tinted to closely match existing colors. “We do color better than any other wood coatings manufacturer. And we’ll customize colors to give our customer and the contractor what they need to do the job,” Denny says.

The rich, dark colors of General Finishes water-based stains are unmatched by oil and solvent formulas, with little to no color pull. The high-quality micronized pigments in these stains impart exceptional color and clarity on challenging woods such as mahogany, walnut, maple, and pine.

General Finishes also has a portable, easy-to-use stain color-matching system for professionals called the RTM (Ready-to-Match) Stain System.

“We developed RTM years ago based on the old solvent-based color system to reduce waste of costly raw materials when color-matching,” Denny says.

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[1] General Finishes Water-Based Wood Stains produce deep, rich colors for a clean, uniform appearance when applied to hard-to-stain woods like pine, birch, maple, poplar, and cherry.

[2]

General Finishes pigmented polys are acrylic/urethane pigmented topcoats that exceed the durability of solvent lacquers and are on par with solvent-based 2K conversion varnishes for a cabinet-quality finish.

They excel over wood and MDF. Custom tinting is also available.

[3]

This commercial bar top was finished in General Finishes Water Based Conversion Varnish—a clear 2K topcoat for high-use commercial and residential applications inside and out. General Finishes’ most durable topcoat outperforms solvent-based conversion varnishes.

[4]

This private observatory was finished with General Finishes Exterior 450 Water Based Stain and Exterior 450 Topcoat over cherry.

These exterior stains contain UV absorbers to help stabilize the stain color in sunlight and mildewcides to retard mold growth.

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PHOTOS 1, 3, 4: COURTESY OF GENERAL FINISHES; PHOTO 2 BY RON ROSENZWEIG

Water-based finishes don’t pollute the environment like oil-based finishes do. They are low-VOC, non-flammable, easy to clean up with soap and water, and disposal is simple. They eliminate fire hazards.

“They are noncombustible, so they lower insurance costs,” Denny says.

Solvent or oil-based products require additional solvents for cleanup. This creates hazardous waste that is costly to dispose of and has to be reported to the DNR, whereas water-based waste disposal is a fraction of the cost and does not need to be reported because it is non-hazardous.

Several General Finishes waterborne products are made with more than 50% renewable resources—formulated from sustainable materials that decrease the carbon footprint. Those products include Enduro-Var II, an ambering water-based topcoat; Milk Paint, a premium interior/exterior acrylic paint for cabinets and furniture; Water Based Wood Stain; Exterior 450 Stain; and Wood Turner’s Finish.

In addition to being environment-friendly, water-based finishes are safer for your health. “There are less VOCs off-gassing, so the finishes don’t give off harmful, unpleasant odors that can last for months,” Denny says. The fumes and odors are so low you can finish work onsite without the headaches that solvent-based finishes can cause. General Finishes wood coatings are VOC-compliant in all states—that’s critical considering the EPA is tightening VOC restrictions for all finishes.

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“The 13 stain bases in the system contain dyes and pigments to produce a unique, endlessly variable color palette with depth and grain pop. RTM is versatile without a lot of investment, and pros like having the ability to color-match on site.”

3. EQUAL OR BETTER PERFORMANCE

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Some in the industry are still operating under the misconception that water-based finishes have slow dry time compared to lacquer and lack longstanding durability. However, with waterborne products, you can complete two or three recoats in a day, depending on your equipment. Although water coatings won’t flash off as quickly as lacquer, when you factor in sanding and spray times, the timeframe from start to finish is about the same. To speed up the process, experts advise using infrared light and increasing air movement.

General Finishes’ waterborne coatings are equivalent to or outperform high-end solvent finishes in terms of overall durability and chemical resistance while maintaining environmental friendliness and fast dry times.

Their business model is to produce premium finishes using the highest-quality resins, binders, and additives in their coatings. All of their products exceed KCMA performance requirements and are formaldehyde-free and HAPS-free.

One example of the quality of General Finishes’ water-based products is the High Performance Polyurethane Topcoat, winner of Fine Woodworking’s “Best Overall Choice Award.” It is a fast-drying clear coat for interior use that provides high durability over raw wood, glazes and stains.

PHOTO COURTESY OF POLYCOR

4. IT’S EASY TO MAKE THE SWITCH

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Many people stay with solvent finishes because they assume moving to water will be a costly, complicated process. In reality, converting from solvent to water requires only small changes in equipment accessories and application technique.

“All you really need is to clean your spray guns really well and, possibly, new tips,” says Denny. “In some instances you might have to change a hose. Other than that it’s just a minor learning curve for millage, pumps, and air pressure to achieve your desired finish.

Most find our water-based finishes easier to use than what they were using before.”

Denny says General Finishes is here to help, and they communicate well with customers, giving them a solution to their finishing problems and exceeding expectations.

“Water-based coatings are the future of finishing. You may not be using them today, but you will be in the next five years.” g ISSUE 64

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6 Benefits of Solar Reflective Coatings Real solutions for the urban heat island effect

BY JESSICA MORDACQ

H

Heat islands are not tropical vacation spots, but rather urban areas that experience higher temperatures than outlying regions. Urban heat island effect occurs when city infrastructure—think roads, buildings—absorbs and re-emits more of the sun’s heat than a natural landscape like a forest full of trees. It’s like LA—a city of 4 million people with not a lot of protective vegetation. Urban heat island effect causes an increased need for cooling across buildings, from homes and offices to hospitals and restaurants. In many spaces temperature is a matter of health and safety rather than an amenity. As people crank up the air conditioning, their energy bills are also on the rise, accompanied by increased demands for fossil fuels that emit sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide—and thus a rise in greenhouse gases. Fortunately there are ways to combat the urban heat island effect, including installing green roofs, applying cool coatings on asphalts and pavements, and adding solar reflective coatings. In fact, solar reflective coatings have many benefits, as they cast sunlight and decrease surface temperature. We talked to Westcoat, a sustainably rated manufacturer of concrete coatings and epoxy, about the advantages of solar reflective coatings.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF POLYCOR

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PHOTO COURTESY OF WESTCOAT

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2. REDUCED AIR POLLUTION Perhaps even more concerning is the amount of greenhouse gases emitted when an entire population has its air conditioning turned on. More electricity usage means more fossil fuels—and a lot more air pollutants released into the atmosphere.

3. DECREASED SURFACE TEMPERATURE In busy cities, packed buildings and roads absorb more heat than what you’d see in more outlying, rural spaces. In the same way that applying cool coatings over asphalt or pavement can reduce the urban heat island effect, so can putting a solar reflective coating on patios, balconies, and walkways.

Coatings reduce the urban heat island effect by lowering surface temperatures— decreasing the amount of heat the system’s surroundings absorb and re-emit.

Systems are installed in urban outdoor areas with little shade, where frequent foot traffic requires a ground to walk on. No matter what the temperature is outside, solar reflective coatings keep surfaces from getting so hot people have to run across them.

4. BOND TO EXISTING SURFACES Solar reflective systems can be built over plywood decking or concrete that’s already installed. Though just a few layers thick, solar reflective technology effectively blocks out sunlight and water to create a long-lasting system. Westcoat’s standard waterproof flooring has several reinforcement layers of dark gray cement to provide structural support, and their solar reflective systems contain thin layers of white cement to reflect more sunlight.

After a base, slurry, and texture coat are applied over a reinforcement material, a top coat with infrared pigments is applied to further reflect sunlight.

Westcoat’s solar reflective Texture-Crete top coat can be applied over both solar reflective and non-solar reflective systems.

It can also bond to concrete walkways and pool decks without waterproofing systems.

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[2]

Westcoat offers both solar reflective waterproofing and concrete coating systems. These systems help combat the urban heat island effect by lowering surface temperatures. Here, MACoat Solar Reflective was installed on a Carmel Valley deck.

[3]

Westcoat’s solar reflective Texture-Crete top coat can be applied over both solar reflective and nonsolar reflective systems. It can also bond to concrete walkways and pool decks without waterproofing systems.

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF WESTCOAT

1. LOWER ENERGY COSTS When city dwellers experiencing urban heat island effect turn up their cooling systems, their electric bills will follow. Solar reflective coatings provide a cooler urban area, diminishing the need for things like air conditioning and lowering energy costs. They also save the energy that would have been used to run cooling if solar reflective coatings were not in place.

[1] You can combat the urban heat island effect by adding solar reflective coatings to your pool deck or outdoor space. Solar reflective coatings have many benefits, as they cast sunlight and decrease surface temperature.

bene f it s o f

1 5. PROLONG DECK LIFE Because these coatings reflect sun, they actively prevent deterioration from harmful UV rays. Solar reflective systems also contain a thin membrane that helps to waterproof its layers and stop leaks. The less rain, snow, or pool water that gets through, the longer the substrate lasts.

When a high school in Hawaii didn’t want to remove its old concrete pool deck to pour a new layer, Ross Architect specified Westcoat’s MACoat Waterproofing system. The MACoat system was customized by applying the EC-15 Moisture Vapor Barrier to reduce moisture emissions. Then the system was sealed with SC-10 Solar Reflective Topcoat in Powder Blue.

PHOTO COURTESY OF POLYCOR

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6. COMPLY WITH BUILDING ENERGY STANDARDS Solar reflective coatings’ light-colored, layered cement and infrared pigmented top coat help to achieve a Cool Roof rating. The Cool Roof Rating Council (CRRC)’s standards for solar reflective roofs and walls call for a particular thermal emittance and Solar Reflective Index. In a nutshell, a cool roof is one that is designed to reflect more sunlight and absorb less heat than a standard roof.

Westcoat’s solar reflective coatings go even further, as all of their systems meet California Title 24 standards, which promote cutting out needless energy consumption in the state’s buildings.

Westcoat’s ALX™ Solar Reflective Finish System is a waterproof deck system that meets the CRRC requirements of California Title 24. It’s reinforced with metal lath and is installed with a series of three white polymer-modified cementitious applications before being sealed with Westcoat’s Solar Reflective series of SC-10 Acrylic Topcoats. The system gives plywood the look and the feel of concrete with a decorative appeal while reducing the urban heat island effect.

Westcoat manufactures out of San Diego.

“We are no stranger to sustainability and energy efficiency initiatives,” says Mallory Cabading, Westcoat’s architectural representative. “With the addition of the solar reflective series, we can provide a California Title 24, Cool Roof Rated waterproof deck coating solution.” g

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Save Buildings with Restoration Coatings A historic Southern California building gets a new lease on life with APV Engineered Coatings.

BY MIKE THOMAS

Spending a half-century in the blazing Southern California sun without proper protection can do some serious damage.

That’s true for people and buildings alike.

In the case of a historic property in Hawthorne, California, what was once sparkling and eye-catching upon completion in 1972 had grown dull and unremarkable in the ensuing years.

Fortunately APV Engineered Coatings and its longtime restoration partner Stuart Dean Company were able to restore the structure— one of the nation’s most significant examples of 1970s late modernism, according to the Los Angeles Conservancy­—to its former glory.

But before we get to that, a bit of history about the project, plus a closer look at how it shines today.

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PHOTOS BY TK TK

how to

BACK TO BEAUTIFUL APV Engineered Coatings and Stuart Dean Company restored a significant US example of 1970s late modernism.

PHOTOS

BY TKOF TK PHOTO COURTESY STUART DEAN COMPANY

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BEFORE

PREPPING A LANDMARK

Formerly the Federal Aviation Administration’s West Coast Headquarters, this six-story rectangular building (described by the Los Angeles Conservancy as “one of the nation’s most significant examples of 1970s late modernism”) had lost its revolutionary mirrored glass “skin”—a look that went on to become widely popular in 1970s and ’80s corporate architecture. Having been painted over in the 1990s and again in 2009, the 40,000-square-foot anodized aluminum and glass facade was covered by a matte silver-gray aluminum-colored paint that began flaking and delaminating. Unguarded from the elements, portions of the original aluminum base layer began to pit and corrode.

In 2018, a few years after the building was officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the federal government decided to sell it. Before that could happen, though, the LA Conservancy worked with the government’s General Services Administration to obtain a conservation easement that would compel the next owner (Santa Monica-based Worthe Real Estate Group) to follow nationally recognized preservation standards in maintaining the property. In simpler terms, it means the next half-century will be far kinder than the last one.

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“Often it is a younger generation that sees value in these later, newer buildings that are just emerging as historic landmarks of the future,” the Conservancy noted on its website. “Now that the 1970s-era built environment is crossing the 50-year threshold, enough time has passed to start understanding, recognizing, and protecting these places, too.”

DURING

With the preservation details squared away and a thorough NACE inspection completed to better pinpoint specific damage, APV and Stuart Dean began what would be a five-month-long restoration process.

Meticulously planned and executed, it first involved multi-stage mockups to determine the best approach, then careful preparation of the building’s substrate—including pitting and corrosion repair.

But while the work went smoothly, it was sometimes tricky. “It’s difficult to work with a historical building,” says Erin Neff, director of marketing and business development for APV. “Most of the labor involved is prepping the surface properly and making sure you have a good foundation to start from. And because this was a historic structure, they couldn’t be too aggressive in removing the previous coating or in handling the pitting and corrosion issues. It’s not an exact science, and every building we do is on a case-by-case basis. Doing a pre-job inspection and coming up with a game plan that incorporates all of the different variables is the best way to be successful.”

Besides removing decades-old layers of paint, Stuart Dean also stripped away 60,000 square feet of metal-to-metal and metal-to-glass sealants from around the glass panels and window frames, replacing them with far more durable silicone.

TIME FOR A FACELIFT

The team removes decades-old layers of paint and incorporates NACE standards for surface preparation prior to installing the NeverFade® coating system.

PHOTOS BY TK TK

how to

AFTER

A primer was then applied (APV’s W-1650), followed by APV’s NeverFade® Metal Restoration topcoat.

Because NeverFade contains Kynar Aquatec®, the water-based polyvinylidene fluoride resin can be used on a variety of substrates and is extremely weather-resistant—so much so that APV guarantees premium performance (little or no film chalking, fading, or erosion from harsh UV exposure) for more than 20 years.

Just as important, the ultra-low VOC content and water-based nature of APV’s products means very low odors that can be bothersome to tenants and neighbors. And since both the primer and topcoat were brush-applied, nearby cars were safe from damage by airborne particles.

During the final stage, Stuart Dean Company applied a custom-colored NeverFade formulation that APV engineered to emulate the building’s original metallic look. The result: a former beauty resurrected to life.

“This project was unique and exciting,” says Michael Couchie, APV’s vice president of sales and marketing. “The inspections, scope of work plan, and execution was challenging but imperative. The Stuart Dean team are truly experts at their craft.

We were pleased with the outcome and felt privileged to extend the life of this beautiful historic architecture for another 20-plus years.”

PHOTOS PHOTOS COURTESY

BY TKOF TKSTUART DEAN COMPANY

OLD IS NEW AGAIN

The Historic Federal Aviation Administration’s West Coast Headquarters was fully protected using NeverFade Metal Restoration Coatings system from APV Engineered Coatings.

History is protected with NeverFade Metal Restoration Coatings.

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CASE STUDY This school in Quebec uses a mix of Kayar, Uni, and Harmoni in bright colors for more than 46,650 square feet of Mondo.

RUBBER FLOORING

Every Step Counts How Mondo is making health care spaces even healthier

BY RACHEL MENDELSON

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Health care flooring must be versatile.

It supports equipment transport, cushions the feet of hard-working medical staff, and provides acoustical properties to make it a quiet space for patients. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, medical centers need to rely on flooring that is durable, comfortable, and can withstand large amounts of foot and rolling traffic. Mondo Premium rubber flooring checks all three of these boxes and more.

Why rubber, compared to other forms of resilient flooring? “Dating back to 1839 when Goodyear invented vulcanization, the history of rubber in the world is one of extreme dura-

PHOTO BY ORPHISME

ts an ex per produc t ’s guide

bility, and that’s a testament that has carried forward to contemporary rubber flooring as well,” says Garret Davelaar, national sales director for Mondo Contract Flooring. Rubber flooring provides comfort underfoot, noise reduction, ease of maintenance, and addresses infection control concerns, Davelaar says.

When designing health care facilities in the post-pandemic era, these characteristics hold particular importance.

Mondo Contract Flooring has transformed commercial, educational, health care, and industrial spaces with its rubber flooring solutions for more than 70 years. Founded

by Edmondo Stroppiana in Gallo D’Alba, Italy in 1948, Mondo gained prominence from its novel manufacturing process of athletic surfaces that led to their supply of their first Olympic track surface in 1976. The process known as dual durometer technology was adapted by Mondo’s R&D and engineering teams to accommodate contract products designed for a wide range of applications.

For hospitals, labs, and health care facilities, Mondo Contract Flooring provides comfortable, hygienic, and safe contract flooring that prioritizes patient care and employee satisfaction.

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MONDO OFFERS 10 DURABLE, HIGH-PERFORMANCE RUBBER FLOORING MATERIALS FOR USE IN HEALTH CARE FACILITIES. BENEFITS INCLUDE SOUND ABSORPTION, SLIP RESISTANCE, BACTERIA RESISTANCE, AND MORE.

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Endless Options

RUBBER FLOORING’S VERSATILITY MAKES IT AN IDEAL CHOICE FOR MANY ENVIRONMENTS—FROM HEALTH CARE AND LIFE SCIENCES FACILITIES TO SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTATION HUBS.

Rubber Flooring & Durability Rubber’s natural elastic properties as a raw material, when subjected to the vulcanization process, give rubber its incredible durability.

Mondo’s flooring solutions maximize this durability through a proprietary method called dual durometer technology, where two layers—an upper wear layIN ACTION er and a bottom performance The Children layer—are molecularly bound Hospital of during the vulcanization proPediatry WUM cess. Davelaar says this techin Warsaw nology enhances the floor’s includes more than 75,345 abrasion and wear resistance, square feet of especially for health care–reKayar flooring. lated applications with high It's all part of rolling and point loads, while the architect's "childthe bottom layer provides the friendly" comfort and acoustics so critdesign. ical for the healing environment for health care settings.

Unlike other types of resilient flooring like vinyl or linoleum, rubber flooring does not require maintenance through stripping, waxing, or expensive chemicals. For high foot traffic areas, rubber flooring ensures a low life cycle cost since it’s easy to maintain and can last for several decades.

Sustainable practices have always been a top priority for Mondo Contract Flooring. The company’s waste-managed facility in Italy is powered by more than 4,000 solar panels on the roof, reducing its yearly emissions by almost 600 tons of CO2. During the manufacturing process no toxic gases are released, and all trimmings and waste are recycled within the factory.

All of Mondo’s products are GREENGUARD Gold–certified, which means they are

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PHOTO COURTESY OF MONDO

How is It Sustainable?

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DESIGN NOTES

PERSPECTIVE

PHOTOS, CLOCKWISE: COURTESY OF MONDO; DARYL SHIELDS; JOAN MICHEL ; ANDREW LATREILLE

“Architecture shapes our perception,” said the architects behind this clinic in Vienna. 

low-emitting and contribute to safe indoor air quality for hospitals and health care settings.

Mondo’s rubber flooring solutions also contain virgin rubber, natural fillers, and color pigments that are free of Red Listed chemicals. Mondo has available Health Product Declarations as well as Environmental Product Declarations for transparency and LEED initiatives.

where resilient flooring goes in a hospital,” Davelaar says.

Rubber flooring is also slip-, stain-, and chemical-resistant, which is why Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC chose to install around 35,000 square feet of Mondo’s flooring in their pediatric research labs at the historic Walter Reed Medical Center location.

Where to Use

Floor Disinfection

Rubber flooring’s versatility makes it an ideal choice for many environments, including schools, health care and life sciences facilities, and transportation hubs. Davelaar says rubber flooring’s underfoot comfort, acoustical values, and ease of maintenance are particularly beneficial for hospitals, labs, and health care facilities.

The majority of Mondo’s nine products are 3 millimeters in thickness, which provides a comfortable surface for doctors, nurses, and lab personnel who spend long periods on their feet. Rubber also contains sound-absorbing qualities, which can create a quiet, peaceful environment for patients and staff alike.

For those reasons, rubber flooring is standard in many health care systems. Banner Health installed approximately 900,000 square feet of Mondo’s Harmoni flooring across three medical centers in Phoenix, Tucson, and Chandler, Arizona. “They’re using it in corridors, patient rooms, operating rooms, emergency rooms, bariatric, and imaging. All of the areas you would think of

Preventing the spread of infection and disease is a top priority for hospitals and other health care centers. Installing bacteriostatic, or bacteria-resistant, flooring can prevent bacterial growth and keep patients safe.

Antibacterial agents kill bacteria outright, but these commercial antibacterial products can enter the environment and encourage the development of drug-resistant pathogens, says Erika Marcoux, technical product specialist at Mondo Contract Flooring. Alternatively, bacteriostatic flooring prevents bacteria from multiplying—without the addition of antibacterial agents. Mondo’s rubber flooring forms natural bacteriostatic properties during the vulcanization process, making it permanently resistant to the spread of bacteria and other microorganisms.

“In areas where infection control is essential, having a nonporous, smooth, and easy-to-clean bacteriostatic floor is of great importance. Infection control first begins with surfaces that do not promote growth, and standard and simple floor maintenance takes care of the rest,” Marcoux says. g

HARMONI WAS INSTALLED AT THIS PHOENIX EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT—AN HKS PROJECT

3 COLORS OF HARMONI ARE SEEN HERE AT WEILL CORNELL MEDICAL CENTER IN NEW YORK

INSIDE THE STANLEY MILNER LIBRARY, DESIGNED

BY TEEPLE ARCHITECTS

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LED LIGHTING

A Lighting Revolution How H.E. Williams, Inc. designs lighting solutions architects love

BY SAMANTHA STEVENS

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As H.E. Williams, Inc. celebrates its 100th year in business, the lighting company has contributed to monumental changes in the industry—from gaining a foothold in the fluorescent industry in 1939 to partaking in the advent of the commercial LED in the late 2000s. With so many decades of experience, they also pride themselves in knowing what works for customers.

“The best lighting tools are the ones an

PHOTO COURTESY OF H.E. WILLIAMS, INC.

an ex per t ’s guide

architect can apply to show off the architecture, versus the product as itself,” says Dan Kohnen, director of commercialization.

Kohnen has been working with Williams since 1999 and has watched the design world evolve to incorporate more LED and human-centric design.

LEDs last longer, are more durable, and simply offer better lighting control. LEDs use at least 75% less energy and last 25 times

longer than incandescent lighting, according to energy.gov. As a Buy American–compliant, third-generation family business, Williams designs, engineers, and manufactures all of its LED products from its home base in Missouri. “Our customers know they can trust our product, and trust us because we do everything in-house. We have a strong reputation of delivering quality products,” Kohnen says.

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MORE THAN 75 PLATFORMATICSREADY LED LUMINAIRES FROM WILLIAMS PROVIDE TURN-KEY NETWORKED LIGHTING AND SOPHISTICATED CONTROLS.

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Full Spectrum

CHOOSE FROM CONNECTED LIGHTING, DYNAMIC LIGHTING, DOWNLIGHTS, CYLINDERS, RECESSED, CONTINUOUS, SUSPENDED, HEALTH CARE, VANDAL-RESISTANT, INDUSTRIAL, OUTDOOR LIGHTING, AND MORE.

Can Light Complement Design?

LED lighting allows an architect’s design to take center stage, blending in or bringing particular elements to life. “We provide products the architect can integrate into their design,” Kohnen says. “Our goal is to be DID YOU a reliable resource for the arKNOW? chitect to take their vision to a higher level.”

The square Williams considers the dedownlights at The Marq in sired lighting performance, then Minneapolis, complements it with accentual designed lighting options. Subtle fixtures—

by ESG like the company’s downlight Architecture & Design, collection, linear recessed lights, use a warm or cove and slot lights—guide vis3000K CCT for itors through environments. ambience.

“Lighting design is more than providing illumination for a task,” Kohnen says. “A space’s function informs the architecture, and the architecture informs the lighting design.”

How Does Light Provide Occupant Comfort?

The industry has seen a push toward human-centric design in the past 20 years. Architects are increasingly concerned with indoor air quality, ergonomics, acoustics, biophilic design, and the list goes on. This prioritization of well-being applies to lighting design as well.

Kohnen says the first step to designing for occupant comfort is to reduce the glare and flicker that contribute to eye strain. The Williams engineering team then examines color rendering and temperature. Matching a fixture’s color with a space’s mood, along with reducing visual fatigue factors, contributes to a healthy and productive environ-

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ment. For example, the lights you’d use in an attractive and long-lasting light source— an outdoor parking lot aren’t suitable for an something that simply wasn’t possible deindoor restaurant. When it comes to lighting, cades ago.

Kohnen says, context matters.

Lighting controls contribute greatly to comfort, too. Control solutions from Williams What are My Aesthetic not only give users power over their space, Options? they also save energy, enhance ambience, and invite flexibility. Controls can be used to automatically turn off lights when not needed or Recessed, perimeter, cove, directional—the to dim harsh lighting. Kohnen says they can options for lighting are endless.

Perimeter (PX) and cove (CX) lighting are boost morale and productivity by providing the right light to match the time of day based great options for designers seeking a light on occupants’ circadian cycle. “We work with source that seemingly disappears into the research institutions and LED manufacturers space. You can’t see the fixtures themselves— to provide these key features in our products,” you only see the light that the fixture emits.

Kohnen says.

These types of fixtures create layers of light, Platformatics—an IoT lighting controls company and a subsidiary of H.E. Williams, Inc.—employs PoE (Power over Ethernet) technology, along with IoT devices, to collect and analyze data in the built environment, enabling CASE STUDY your building to function at an optimal level. The company’s Continuous solution promotes an enhanced recessed workplace experience and smart linear lighting from H.E. space utilization, and it offers up Williams, Inc. to 86% in energy savings.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF H.E. WILLIAMS, INC.

Has Lighting Design Evolved?

ideal for guiding people through a space.

Linear recessed lighting, which is flush with the surface of walls and ceilings, is sleek and elegant, providing visual movement within a space.

One of the most versatile products from Williams is the MX Linear. It’s ideal for office spaces, classrooms, or corridors. MX comes in 2- and 4-inch sizes, along with various finishes.

The Williams downlight collection provides single point source lighting. The collection offers 2-, 4-, 6-, and 8-inch options, and customers can also choose a round or square style. The directional lights can be fixed or adjustable, depending on the customer’s needs. g

is used to draw the eye toward the signage at NeoCity in Kissimmee, Florida.

The advent of the LED in the late 20th century was a game changer for the industry. In 2009 Williams launched its first LED fixture and never looked back.

Nowadays the company estimates 99% of its products are LED—with the remaining 1% mostly reserved for maintenance and service-related replacements.

“We’ve reached a point where we don’t really talk about LED lighting anymore. It’s just lighting. Lighting is LED because it really has taken over as the main light source,” Kohnen says.

Prior to this groundbreaking market shift, lighting designers had to reconcile how to make an aesthetic design that was also long-lasting. Kohnen explains that halogen lights provided beautiful color at a short lifespan, while HID lights had a robust lifetime but produced poor color. There simply wasn’t a lamp on the market that could do it all—until LEDs. “Twenty-five years ago, we had to compromise our designs by choosing a light source that had really good color correlation but a very short lamp life,” Kohnen says. “Or something that lasted a long time but with very poor color rendering. We were always trying to balance these two things—color quality versus lamp life.”

Today LEDs hit both of those marks—as

DESIGN DETAILS A MIX OF COVE LIGHTING AND AMBIENT LINEAR PRODUCTS FROM H.E. WILLIAMS ARE USED FOR LOW-GLARE LIGHTING IN THE HALLWAY OF FOURTH FLOOR PATIENT ROOMS AT THE VIRGINIA HOSPITAL CENTER IN ARLINGTON.

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IN ACTION Hunter’s XP HVLS fan is seen here in a farmer’s market. The highly efficient XP series is designed for year-round HVAC cost savings and hassle-free installation.

HVLS FANS

Fresh Air Inside HVLS fans and their benefits with Hunter Fan

BY RUSS KLETTKE

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PHOTO COURTESY OF HUNTER FAN

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The use of ceiling fans in America goes back to the water-turbine driven mechanisms of the mid-19th century. A lot has changed since then—including our understanding of why air movement can be so beneficial.

Recent heightened energy consciousness and fan design innovations have increased the demand for increasingly smart fans across res-

idential, commercial, retail, and agricultural applications.

And the innovations continue, according to Mark D’Agostino, senior vice president and general manager of the industrial division of Hunter Fan/Industrial. “Our motor technology, which rid the fans of a gearbox, changed the industry already,” D’Agostino says.

135 EVEN AFTER 135 YEARS HUNTER FAN KEEPS REVEALING INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS.

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Did You Know?

THE MOVEMENT OF AIR DROPS THE PERCEPTION OF TEMPERATURE BY 7 TO 12 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT. MOVING AIR GENTLY EVAPORATES SKIN MOISTURE, REMOVING HEAT FROM THE BODY.

What is an HVLS Fan? In the 21st century, principles of aerodynamic physics and advancement in motor technologies have enabled the efficiencies and effectiveness of HVLS (high-volume, lowspeed) fans. The larger column of air pushed downward from these fans (defined by blade diameters ranging from 7 to 24 feet) encounters less friction, which then pushes more air outward when it reaches the floor. The larger volume of moving air effectively cools the skin, displaces odors and particulates, and more quickly evapCASE STUDY orates unwanted moisture on surfaces.

The Hunter Trak fan was installed in this fitness studio. It’s one of multiple commercial fan offerings from Hunter Fan that is aesthetically pleasing and performs great when used in the design of industrial settings.

By the physics of their design HVLS fans require minimal electric power while moving far more air than if several smaller fans were used. Hunter has taken that basic efficiency to heart. “Our objective is to move the most air with the least energy,” says D’Agostino. He explains that the proprietary Hunter blade designs, developed in partnership with members of the aerospace industry, maximize air movement efficiency.

The company also approaches every large-space customer (think warehouses, big-box stores, houses of worship, etc.) from a consultative, partnership approach. This helps those customers maximize their air movement strategies within the unique architectural configurations of each building by placing the right fans in the right places.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF HUNTER FAN

Energy Efficiency

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ON DISPLAY The Trak fan also works on restaurant patios and comes in white, silver, or black.

Human Comfort

PHOTO COURTESY OF HUNTER FAN

There is a reason HVLS fans are used in workplaces: The movement of air drops the perception of temperature by 7 to 12 degrees Fahrenheit. Moving air gently evaporates skin moisture, removing heat from the body.

This is particularly beneficial in workplaces where mechanical air conditioning is cost prohibitive.

Two studies show the benefits on employee productivity and satisfaction. One (“Comfort Conditioning the Plant with Evaporative Cool,” Joseph Marg, Plant Engineering, 1976) demonstrated that industrial output drops by 18% when in-plant temperatures rise above 85 degrees. Further, such conditions foster a 40% increase in errors. In another study, a survey of 1,601 workers across the US (“Future Workplace Wellness Study,” conducted by Future Workplace, a human resources advisory firm) found those workers ranked better air quality over onsite gyms, standing desks, and other common workplace wellness initiatives.

What are Other Benefits?

Some of the earliest adopters of HVLS fans were dairy farmers, whose cows suffered from excessive heat in barns that weren’t air-conditioned, which was just about all of them.

For people working in industrial environments HVLS fans can remove excess moisture

as well as odors and particulates that can negatively impact worker health. Occupational Health & Safety magazine recognizes that, because HVLS fans can move air at a rate greater than 200,000 cubic feet per minute, they lessen the chances employees will experience “sick building syndrome.” Sick building syndrome has been tied to acute or prolonged illness, lower productivity, and more sick days.

A good example is a manufactured home factory, where solvents, paints, joint compound, and so forth could potentially affect indoor air quality. HVLS fans could benefit the space greatly by helping to disperse the potentially harmful odors. In a pandemic and post-pandemic world, the appreciation for air movement has never been greater.

What About Aesthetics?

Where industrial chic rules, HVLS fans can reign over all. There is a reason these fans are popular in breweries and distilleries, restaurants, retail, and event venues.

Eliminating the clunky gearbox motor, Hunter’s HVLS fans offer a sleek design thanks to their direct drive motors.

Hunter’s streamlined slim blades come in 11 colors and can be customized to blend in or stand out. “My favorite is in a custom car showroom in Key West, where the fans are lime green,” says D’Agostino. “No matter your space, we’re sure to have a color, size, and design that’s the perfect fit.” g

DESIGN DETAILS • HVLS FANS ARE DEFINED BY BLADE DIAMETERS RANGING FROM 7 TO 24 FEET. • OUTDOOR FANS CAN BE DAMPRATED FOR COVERED PORCHES OR WET-RATED FOR PERGOLAS. • HUNTER’S WEATHERMAX FANS ARE WET RATED PLUS CORROSION- AND SALT AIR-RESISTANT. • READ MORE ABOUT WHAT QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD ASK BEFORE CHOOSING A FAN AT HUNTERFAN.COM/PAGES/HOWTO-CHOOSE-A-CEILING-FAN.

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SHADE CLOTH

All in a Sail Everything you need to know about shade sails and structures

BY LAURA ROTE

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Everywhere you look in Australia you’ll notice shade cloth—in backyards, at restaurants, even covering public basketball courts.

While shade sails and shade structures have been popular (even mandated in some places) for decades in the southern hemisphere, the importance of products like these seems to just be catching on in the US, according to Steve Morenberg, managing director of Polyfab USA. Morenberg has spent more than 40 years in the industry—the last 12 working with the shade fabric experts in Australia.

PHOTO COURTESY OF POLYFAB USA

an ex per t ’s guide

“The Australians really took shade fabrics and ran with them,” Morenberg says, noting the need for protection from the sun in warmer climates. But as more people spend time outside—and in often increasingly warm temperatures—those products first developed by the Aussies are growing in demand Stateside, too.

“Product awareness has been growing over the years,” Morenberg says. “People here now for the most part know what a shade sail looks like. They’ve probably eaten under one at a restaurant. When I started in 2009 it was

still a fairly new and quirky thing, but it’s becoming more mainstream now.”

In Australia almost every house has a shade sail in the backyard, and every public area is mandated to have such protection. As the COVID-19 pandemic pushed more people outside in the US, Morenberg says more people began searching for ways to enjoy their own backyards, no matter the weather.

“That’s only going to spur longtime growth in the industry as people become more familiar and comfortable with these,” he says.

100 HDPE SHADE CLOTH IS 100% RECYCLABLE AND HAS A LONG LIFE. A 10+ YEAR UV WARRANTY IS COMMON. HDPE SHADE CLOTH IS OFFERED IN WIDE WIDTHS FOR EASIER FABRICATION.

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The Facts

POLYTEX PROVIDES MAXIMUM PEOPLE PROTECTION AGAINST THE SUN’S HEAT AND STRONG UV RAYS AND UTILIZES THE BEST UV STABILIZERS FROM BASF. IT ALSO PROVIDES PROTECTION AGAINST WIND, RAIN, AND HAIL.

What is Shade Cloth?

Founded from Australian roots, Polyfab USA has been manufacturing and supplying premium fabric and supplies for commercial, industrial, and residential shade sails and shade structures for more than 25 years, and in the US since 2008. Polyfab’s DID YOU premium quality shade cloths KNOW? feature excellent UVR block, are flame-retardant where noted, Shadesails and are made of 100% recyclamade from ble materials. They’re also heavy Polytex+ protect you metal and phthalate–free. from the sun by Polyfab offers the popular leisure areas knitted fabric lines of Comand swimming tex+ and Polytex+ in different pools and offer a nice weights, depending on project alternative needs and shade size. (The “+” to flat designation is a new iteration roof timber of these market favorites). Smallpergolas. er shades, like those you might see at a backyard patio, don’t require as much tension to perform well. Larger shades require more tension to make the fabric taut.

Comtex+ offers excellent weight to strength ratio and is ideal for medium residential and commercial projects. Polytex+ provides maximum people-protection against the sun’s heat and strong UV rays, and it utilizes the best UV stabilizers from BASF. It also provides good protection against wind, rain, and hail. Comtex+ has less shrinkage and is more stable than the earlier version, while maintaining high strength and more than 90% UV protection.

Shape is Important Often when people seek shade sails or shade structures, Morenberg says they consider triangles first. “If you go to a hardware store or big-box store and get a low-cost shade, fre-

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quently it’s a triangle. The problem with a help you earn LEED points for your project. triangle is it doesn’t give you as much shade.” A certain amount of shade over a window Polyfab USA recommends four- or five-cor- will reduce the amount of heat gain, thereby ner shades instead. While triangles offer just saving a certain amount of air conditioning a single plane of protection that can simply be costs. tilted up or down, Morenberg says a four-corThe HDPE shade cloth is also offered in ner shade allows you to twist the fabric to get wide widths for easier fabrication, has a long a saddle shape, or what’s called a hypar. “The life (a 10+ year UV warranty is common), hypar shape is going to give you better shading,” he says. “It’s also going to give you better wind and rain resistance over the structure.”

It all comes down to physics, he says.

The more elaborate shape also protects your sail from flapping in the wind. The more your shade sail flaps, the quicker it may break down. “If you have a way of twisting the shape of the sail to get that hypar shape, that saddle shape, the fabric will not flap nearly as much.

It will last a lot longer. That’s one of the tricks of the trade.”

Morenberg says the curve of the fabric you see is also important, as tightening on the shade sail’s fabric or webbing causes lateral pulling all along the edge of the fabric, giving an even, consistent tension across the fabric panel. “As a designer you need to keep that in mind,” he says. “Because when you cut Polyfab USA the curve you’re taking some of has been the fabric out, and so you’re takmanufacturing ing some of the shade out. If you and supplying have a triangle, for example, and premium fabric for you have a curve on two or three commercial, edges, but it’s not a very big trianindustrial, and gle, you’re going to end up with residential just a little strip of fabric and not shade sails and structures very much shading. The customer in the US since is not going to be very happy with 2008. it. That’s another reason to go with a multi-corner shade sail.”

In a 20-by-20-foot space a square shade sail provides 24% more shade than a triangle. If you have to use triangles, Morenberg advises using height difference to add dimension, and add multiple triangles to add appeal.

and is 100% recyclable. Hot air “breathes” through the mesh fabric, so anyone beneath it actually feels cooler than they would under a solid shade like one made of PVC vinyl.

Polyfab USA offers a seemingly endless array of color possibilities, too, with new colors to match steel and other building materials out now. g

PHOTOS COURTESY OF POLYFAB USA

The Benefits While a shade sail has an unsupported span, shade structures have a supported framework; the benefits of both are clear when using Polyfab USA cloth. For starters, Polyfab’s revolutionary knitted mesh replaced the woven mesh of old, cutting down on any potential fraying. And because it’s made of high-density polyethylene, it lasts longer outdoors.

Morenberg says architects and designers concerned about the environment turn to shade sails or shade structures for several reasons—including to protect people from UV exposure, as the fabric has a UVB rating similar to sunscreen. The darker the fabric the higher the rating. The fabrics can also

DESIGN DETAILS • 22 COLORS OF POLYTEX+ • POLYTEX+ RECOMMENDED FOR RESIDENTIAL AND SMALL COMMERCIAL PROJECTS • COMTEX+ HAS MORE THAN 17 COLORS • COMTEX+ DESIGNED FOR MEDIUM TO LARGE TENSION MEMBRANE STRUCTURES AND ARCHITECTURAL SHADE SAILS

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IN ACTION This residence uses Diamond Kote’s Pelican 8” RigidStack™, white trim, and, light gray staggered RigidShake™.

PRE-ENGINEERED SIDING

Outer Beauty The complete siding system from Diamond Kote

BY LARK BREEN

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When it comes to longevity and reliability in a building’s exterior, pre-engineered siding offers an ideal solution with easy installation and environmental responsibility as added perks. Diamond Kote® Building Products, a leader in building products and a pioneer in pre-finished siding, has been innovating in the product space since 2004. Today the company’s pre-engineered, pre-finished complete siding system combines function and aesthetics to guarantee at least 30 years of

PHOTO COURTESY OF DIAMOND KOTE

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beautiful durability in a home.

“It’s designed to last for decades,” says Andy Strey, Diamond Kote’s brand development manager. Diamond Kote offers a 30-year No Fade Finish warranty as the natural pigments in the paint leave the siding vibrant for years.

Diamond Kote’s history gives them industry perspective that provides the employee-owned company the tools to continuously meet and redefine industry standards. When

specifying a project, Diamond Kote provides architects technical data, a three-part CSI specification, approved AIA continued education courses, and a team of product specialists that are able to go to job sites and ensure correct product installation. The Diamond Kote team is eager to communicate with architects and builders. “We’re looking to continue that relationship and invite conversation and suggestions from that community,” Strey says.

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DIAMOND KOTE’S COMPLETE SIDING SYSTEM IS BUILT TO LAST AND COMES WITH A 30-YEAR NO FADE WARRANTY.

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All You Need

DIAMOND KOTE OFFERS 23 STANDARD SOLID COLORS, SIX DUOBLEND COLORS, AND CUSTOM COLOR MATCHES FOR SMOOTH AND WOODGRAIN SUBSTRATES, SO YOU CAN FIND EXACTLY WHAT YOU NEED, NO MATTER THE PROJECT.

What is Pre-Engineered Siding?

Pre-engineered siding is made of a wood substrate that is engineered, refined, and strengthened off-site. When the product is packaged and delivered, it is quick and easy to install. “As a pre-finisher, we want to make sure we’re partnering with quality substrate providers, and that provides owners and installers beneCASE STUDY fits with our durability,” Strey says. Diamond Kote re-manuThis lakefront custom-built factures and pre-finishes LP® house in SmartSide® wood substrate, Wisconsin uses allowing the resulting siding Diamond Kote’s to withstand weather condiCustom Color RigidStack™ tions across climates. with white trim In the manufacturing and corners. process, the siding is made to stand up against extreme weather and hold to its promise of durability and longevity. The process utilizes moisture-resistant resins to create a composite product that’s treated to withstand rot and decay. “What’s important about that is every part of the board is actually treated as it’s manufactured. So it is making it strong and resistant from the inside out,” Strey says.

Then Diamond Kote’s waterborne pre-finish tops off the siding, completely free of Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs) and with very low levels of VOCs.

What are the Major Benefits?

Though the strengths of pre-engineered siding form a long list, the biggest bonuses are product consistency, longevity, and reduced environmental impact. “The

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ON DISPLAY

PHOTOS COURTESY OF DIAMOND KOTE

This project uses Diamond Kote’s 8” RigidStack in white, with onyx trim and corners.

siding we’re using today is a treated, engineered wood siding. By having that product pre-engineered, it allows for the wood to be straighter, stronger, and last longer than in regular traditional wood siding,” Strey says.

This allows Diamond Kote’s complete siding system to perform better, last longer, and be particularly easy to install.

Diamond Kote’s complete siding system includes all of the components necessary to protect a home from the elements—including the siding itself, trim, diverter flashing, and mount blocks—in one aesthetically and functionally cohesive package. When the system leaves the production facility, it is packaged to be as easy to install as possible.

“Anybody can be trained to use it effectively and efficiently and do a good job with it,” Strey says. “We generally see anyone from a small group of maybe two or three people to large crews of a dozen people installing the larger projects.”

Plus, the packaging of the pre-finished, ready-to-install siding system is designed to store easily for longer periods of time, so on larger projects the product remains in good condition until it’s put into place.

How is Pre-Engineered Siding Sustainable?

In addition to the sustainable strengths of performing for decades with very little maintenance, containing no HAPs and few VOCs, and being made from the regenerative resource that is wood, Diamond Kote offers the remarkable benefit of producing little waste in production. “With LP Smartside’s pre-engineering, especially in a wood-based type product, the increased consistency makes for less waste because you don’t have to cull anything out. You have a much lower waste factor just in the raw material, which is much more efficient than real wood siding usage,” Strey says. Diamond Kote’s own efficient finishing process wastes less paint and generates more consistency in the product.

How Does It Fit Into Overall Aesthetics?

In terms of building design, pre-engineered siding is adaptable and versatile enough to suit just about any architectural style or aesthetic. With its adaptability in both horizontal and vertical sidings and many different shakes and shapes, pre-finished siding can be used on projects of many architectural styles: from Victorian townhouses to Craftsman-style homes. Diamond Kote offers both woodgrain and smooth texture products,

all pre-finished to fit both traditional and modern designs. “We can even create custom shapes. For older historic restorations or re-creations of those historic buildings, we can match profiles like diamond shapes or fish scales and things like that as well,” Strey says.

Diamond Kote keeps its color offerings up to industry standards by working with color trend experts and designers in the industry as well as with extensive internal research.

These efforts allow Diamond Kote to offer 23 standard solid colors, six DuoBlend colors, and custom color matches for smooth and woodgrain substrates. “We’re constantly evaluating to make sure we’re meeting the industry’s requirements,” Strey says. “One of the important factors of being a pre-finisher is that everything is designed to be color matched to our color palette, which makes it easy for the ordering process. And it also provides excellent aesthetics when the project is complete.” g

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CASE STUDY This sophisticated residential facade features Winterhaven™ Pro-Fit® Alpine Ledgestone.

STONE VENEER

Rock Solid Design Inside the world of manufactured stone veneer with Cultured Stone

BY LAURA ROTE

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It was 1962 when two brothers in Vallejo, California pioneered manufactured stone veneer as a new kind of building material.

They may not have known then just how incredible their creation was. Today the innovation that led to Cultured Stone has evolved to include countless shapes, colors, and styles

PHOTO COURTESY OF CULTURED STONE

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used by designers inside and outside mansions, ranch homes, and ski resorts as well as across retail, hospitality, and health care.

“The stone veneer category has only grown, and stone veneer products are getting more artistic and more playful,” says Sarah Lograsso, director of marketing and product design for

Cultured Stone, who’s been in the industry 15 years after working in interior design. “Our mission is to develop and design beautiful products that can showcase the artistry of whoever is using them. As the pioneer of the manufactured stone veneer category, we want to carry that sentiment all the way to the end user.”

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YOU CAN CHOOSE FROM CULTURED STONE VENEER PRODUCTS IN 105 COLORS AND 20 TEXTURES.

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Did You Know?

CULTURED STONE IS NAHB GREEN-CERTIFIED AND HELPS PROJECTS EARN LEED CREDITS FOR INDOOR AIR QUALITY AND RECYCLED CONTENT.

Cultured Stone’s manufactured stone veneer, or MSV, is made from a concrete mixture cast in flexible molds and hand-colored with iron oxide pigments to reflect the texture and color tones of natural stone.

MSV is much lighter than natural stone— approximately one-fourth the weight—and is easily adhered to most wall surfaces. Unlike full bed-depth natural stone, you can install MSV without additional footings, foundations, or wall ties.

To make its product, Cultured Stone has a team of craftspeople dedicated to pulling natural stones from all over the world for molds and looking for inspiration in nature. “It’s very involved, and CASE STUDY it’s a labor of love,” Lograsso This says. “Mother Nature is a true multifamily source of inspiration and an home features important anchor to our life a gathering experiences, so we strive to space with Gray maintain the textures and Cobblefield®, color tones found in nature.” designed to Cultured Stone offers a emulate the wide array of veneer options, architecture of rural and the stone products are 19th-century easy for architects and deAmerica. signers to use, as they come in pre-sorted arrangements for rapid box-to-wall applications. While natural stone veneer often comes in large boxes with more uniform sizes and styles that may require more cutting and shaping before going up, Cultured Stone ships in a more organized fashion—with each box offering what its team of experts considers to be the optimal mix of stones in color and size, which ultimately saves time when it comes to wall applications.

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF CULTURED STONE

What is Manufactured Stone Veneer?

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What are My Aesthetic Options?

Cultured Stone offers more than 21 textures and 100 colors, plus a variety of shapes and sizes in options that range from highly traditional to provocatively modern. They’re constantly testing and trying new color mixes and textural markers in various environments and under different lighting conditions to see how they look with other design elements.

In addition to the more standard sizes you might expect when choosing MSV for, say, a fireplace or accent wall, Cultured Stone offers many large-format shapes in veneer versions.

Think statement pieces.

Larger stones from Cultured Stone are just as easily applied as smaller ones, and these lightweight solutions can adhere entirely to the backing of plaster sheetrock. That’s a major benefit over using full bed-depth natural stone, whose weight will require significant architectural interventions on the wall before applying.

How Easy is Installation?

It’s not just big stones that go up fast, though.

Cultured Stone also developed panelized systems for ease of install.

Cultured Stone’s Pro-Fit® products offer a practical way to achieve a tailored ledgestone look with small-scale, low-relief stones. The lightweight panelized format makes this stone veneer quick and easy to install, with groups of small stones meticulously bundled together to form modular components of equal height. Instead of laying a wall stone by stone, you can put up a whole grid of stones at once.

Whether you’re using a panelized system or not, Cultured Stone offers tips to make every install successful. To meet building code requirements, adhered stone veneer must achieve a minimum bond strength of 50 psi.

To meet these standards, start by ensuring all stone units are clean. Remove any loose material from the back with a wire brush.

Then consider your weather conditions.

Hot and/or dry weather will require you to dampen the back of each manufactured stone unit as well as the scratch coat. Meanwhile, cold weather will require you to heat stone veneer materials and also to tent and heat during installation and curing.

Finally, Cultured Stone advises you to choose high-quality mortar that meets or exceeds stone manufacturer requirements. Then carefully mix mortar so the setting bed mortar is wet enough that a trowel covered with it can be inverted and the mortar will remain adhered. Mix only what you can use, as the bond is critical.

Biophilic Design In addition to looking great, stone and natural-looking products also have mental health benefits, as they evoke the natural world and can help to reduce stress by making you feel more connected to the outside world. Manufactured stone veneer is a great option both inside and out, and stone veneer accent walls are a beautiful way to incorporate natural touches into everyday work, live, and play spaces.

Cultured Stone’s new sister brand, Kindred Outdoors + Surrounds, takes that idea even further, offering essential building blocks for outdoor kitchens and entertainment spaces.

Its line of sculpture-inspired fire bowls is ideal for anchoring outdoor conversation spaces, and its collection of fireplace surrounds can help frame your interior fire features with the stunning texture of limestone.

DESIGN NOTES

SMOOTH SURFACE AND INTRICATE DEPTH PATTERNS FEATURING CARBON PROFIT® MODERA™ LEDGESTONE

How Sustainable is MSV? MSV is incredibly durable. It can endure years of weathering with little change to color, is weather-resistant, and can freeze, thaw, heat up, and cool down without cracking, chipping, or fading. Cultured Stone’s MSV is NAHB Green–certified and can help earn LEED credits for indoor air quality and recycled content. Cultured Stone’s LEAN-operated manufacturing facilities eliminate waste while also protecting the health of the environment and employees.

From an operations standpoint, the company also produces its products using a closedloop water consumption system that helps reduce each facility’s water consumption by up to 50%.

CLOSE-UP TEXTURE OF SILVER SHORE® SCULPTED ASHLAR

What’s Next?

Cultured Stone has seen a move away from the open floor plans popular in residential architecture for decades and a shift toward more defined spaces. Architects are using building materials like MSV to create segmented areas within homes like freestanding fireplaces to divide living rooms from dining areas.

Lograsso is also seeing demand for longer, more linear lines and geometric play with pattern. “This next year is going to be all about texture and pattern,” she says. She expects neutral colors to continue to be in demand, with the addition of more groundbreaking patterns. “You’ll be able to get creative with installations and application,” she says of Cultured Stone’s own forthcoming innovations. “It’s giving a little bit more flexibility and creative freedom to the end user so they can create their own original look.” g

SMOOTH SURFACE AND INTRICATE DEPTH PATTERNS FEATURING VELLUM PROFIT® MODERA™ LEDGESTONE

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MAKE IT YOUR OWN The Primacoustic Paintables acoustic panels come in a bright white primed panel that’s paintable—great for restaurants, offices, and more. 

ACOUSTIC SOLUTIONS

Sounds Great Primacoustic has acoustical solutions for all scenarios.

BY MIKE THOMAS

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Providing acoustical solutions in a noisy world for more than 20 years, Primacoustic has worked with and been an integral part of many of today’s most recognizable artists, companies, and events: Motley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee, Sony, Target, and the NBC

PHOTOS COURTESY OF PRIMACOUSTIC

Olympics—the list is long and distinguished.

From T-bar ceiling tiles and acoustic clouds to baffles, bass traps, and diffusers, Primacoustic’s lineup of acoustical wall and ceiling treatments provides maximum performance at an impressive value.

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PRIMACOUSTIC HAS MORE THAN 30 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN STUDIO AND LIVE SOUND AND 15 YEARS IN ACOUSTICS.

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Here’s How

THE EXPERTS AT PRIMACOUSTIC RECENTLY SHARED THEIR TIPS FOR WHAT TO CONSIDER BEFORE YOU OVERHAUL, OR DESIGN FROM THE GROUND UP, YOUR NEXT SPACE.

Envision Your Space The first step is determining how your space will primarily be used. Intimate recording sessions? High-decibel concerts? Board meetings that include teleconferencing?

Primacoustic has the materials and knowhow to realize any vision. And there’s no guesswork involved when you use the company’s online Room Designer tool to help visualize your layout and create a custom solution for your room before installing a single product in the actual space.

Sound From the Top Down “The easiest and cheapest way to treat a room from an architectural and design perspective is to install a drop ceiling,” says Primacoustic Product Manager Juan Carlos Bolomey. The company’s StratoTile T-bar panels—made of high-density, six-pound KEY glass wool—are a perfect blend HIGHLIGHTS of form and function.

Or maybe it’s just one porCloud Paintables tion of a ceiling that needs include the acoustical enhancement. If a circular Halo room has interesting exposed seen here as concrete or HVAC systems that well as the hexagonal designers don’t want to hide, Hexus and Bolomey says, the company’s the square paintable or Nimbus “cloud” Altos. Each is products are ideal. available in 36- or 48-inch Essentially localized dropversions.  ceilings, customized cloud panels can be placed over a specific area (say, a conference table) and hung at different heights and angles. Depending on ceiling height, Saturna hanging baffles can also be deployed.

“Those can be very effective,” Bolomey says,

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DESIGN NOTES

FRESH IDEAS

PAINTABLES ACOUSTIC PANELS ARE MADE FROM HIGH-DENSITY GLASS WOOL.

Check out primacoustic. com to try the Room Designer and custom solutions. 

“because as sound travels through the room, it has a lot more velocity. When you install baffles within areas where sound is moving fastest, they can help to reduce the energy of that sound as it moves through a space.”

Placed horizontally or vertically and at different heights, baffles can be even more effective than tiles because sound is mitigated as it’s traveling and before it reaches the ceiling or walls. Complementary in their acoustical functions, clouds and baffles are often used together.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF PRIMACOUSTIC

Walls of Sound Along with the proper acoustical ceiling treatments, wall panels are key to mitigating refractions, or echoes and reverberation that can muddy music and render dialogue unintelligible. “And there’s another thing that happens called resonance,” Bolomey explains.

“A room will resonate at a natural frequency, which tends to be at the lower end of the spectrum, depending on its size. But voices in the lower range can actually activate those frequencies—what’s called a resonant node—and cause the room to sound boomy.”

Primacoustic’s fully sealed and ecologically sustainable wall panels are made from

high-density glass wool and typically 2 inches thick. While customizable paintable/printable panels are a bit more functional from a design perspective, Bolomey says, the company’s line of fabric-covered Broadway panels and extremely durable Hercules panels (great for athletic settings like gymnasiums) have a wide array of applications, too.

Then there’s the TelaWall Fabric Track System. A modular PVC track system suited to almost any surface, it houses easily mounted panels (also made from glass wool) that are covered with durable stretch fabric. “If you don’t want to hang individual panels on the wall, the TelaWall allows you to cover a large surface and create more of a seamless custom look,” Bolomey says. And, of course, the fabric comes in a variety of colors.

More than ever before, people appreciate the benefits of optimized sound. And now that it’s possible to accurately predict how sound will behave in any room before a single acoustical product is installed, there’s no downside to an upgrade. “Primacoustic’s affordable products are specially designed to meet the exacting standards of recording engineers, so every one of our commercial applications enjoys that same high-end quality. Because of that, you’re guaranteed to increase the clarity and the intelligibility of sound in any space,” Bolomey says. g

RESTAURANTS USE PRIMACOUSTIC’S PAINTED STRATOTILES FOR AESTHETICS AND ACOUSTICS.

ABSORPTIVE WALL PANELS COME IN MANY OPTIONS.

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CASE STUDY The modern design of Carnegie Mellon’s new Tepper Quad is enhanced by Trex Commercial Products Track Rail, emphasizing open space and natural light.

COMMERCIAL RAILING

Rigorous Standards Designing railing systems for safety and aesthetics

BY LAURA ROTE

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On top of a beautiful high-rise, inside a busy stadium, or waiting for a concert—railing systems play a bigger part in most people’s lives than they may realize.

But too often railing is an afterthought in the design process, and that can make for serious headaches and create substantial cost overages for project budgets, according to Tony Barnes, director of structural engineering at Trex Commercial Products.

PHOTO COURTESY OF TREX

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Barnes says considering railing—in particular Trex Commercial Products’ pre-engineered architectural railing systems—at the forefront of a project can save time and money. “Starting early has so many benefits,” he says.

Trex Commercial Products’ team of inhouse engineers often gets contacted late in the process by the glazier who already has his/her own contract and is working with the architect who’s already got a rigid plan in motion. When

Trex Commercial Products is brought in late, they often find themselves pointing out the project’s technical problems. But all that could be avoided with earlier consultation. “Starting that project process and collaborating with the architect early is so much better for everybody and for the project budget,” Barnes says.

He says having those conversations earlier also enforces more engineering rigor, which benefits the project from concept to completion.

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Did You Know?

THESE RAILING SYSTEMS RANGE FROM CLASSIC AND ELEGANT WOOD TOP RAIL WITH SLEEK STAINLESS COMPONENTS AND GLASS INFILL TO MODERN AND MINIMALIST STAINLESS CABLE AND ROD INFILL CHOICES.

Pre-Engineered Systems Barnes defines a pre-engineered railing system simply as one that is engineered to meet code requirements. “Part of our job is to review the particular railing given the building construction and codes that exist. We make sure the DESIGN design is consistent with jurisdicNOTES tional requirements.”

Trex Commercial Products Dickies Arena looks at a site’s loading requirein Fort Worth ments (what is the environment? has 14,000 linear feet location? use?), which establishof custom es the engineering demand for architectural the railing system. Rails must be railing engineered to meet this demand from Trex Commercial without failure—typically defined Products. as permanent deformation or fracture of a component. Each project is assessed individually, as environmental loading will vary along with the substrate to which the railing is attached.

Trex Commercial Products’ engineers design railing to meet all of these requirements, which differs from their competitors who supply product off the shelf. “When end-users, the general contractor, or the glazier buys product from a supplier without appropriate engineering considerations, then it’s left up to those parties to determine if the product meets building codes,” Barnes says.

With Trex Commercial Products, the liability rests with their team of internal experts.

Safety “Inherent in the code is a level of safety,” Barnes says of Trex Commercial Products’ pre-engineered railing systems.

But as more projects look to incorporate glass, how we design with glass is changing.

Barnes says the primary difference between laminated and tempered glass is the interlay-

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er within laminated glass. The code is moving away from tempered glass, which will crumble into granular chunks, and moving toward laminated glass, which holds together, preventing any falling shards.

“Glass is a very versatile, tough material when you add a laminated interlayer,” Barnes says. Historically, some architects in the US have been reluctant to design with glass as compared to Europe, but that’s changing. “People are specifying it more, and as engineers we’re forced to hone our technical. We have to understand how to use it.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF TREX

Design Features Besides ensuring occupants are safe and buildings are up to code, Trex Commercial Products’ pre-engineered architectural railing systems also add beauty to projects. They can be applied to grand staircases, balconies, and overlooks in styles ranging from classic and elegant wood top rail combined with sleek stainless details and glass infill to modern and minimalist stainless cable and rod infill choices.

Barnes is seeing a lot more glass used in projects, including tall glass systems at the edge of a high-rise, for example. “That really requires an expertise of glass,” he says, noting that Trex Commercial Products has that very expertise, with options like the Ascent® Glass Windscreen—an aluminum plus glass system that incorporates steel. Ascent offers a standard system at a height of 6 feet tall that’s capable of handling 80psf wind loads, elevating windscreen options to altitudes not possible with previously offered specifiable systems. This product’s height and finish are customizable.

Trex Commercial Products also offers the Point™ supported glass railing, with fascia mounted stainless steel nodes; and Monaco™, an adaptable economical glass railing solution for high-traffic commercial environments. Then there’s Equinox®, whose defined clean lines amplify the best features of glass railing with an innovative rod-and-disc assembly that features zero visible fasteners. It offers a modern look with even more design possibilities. And these are just some of Trex Commercial Products’ many product offerings.

At Princeton University, more than 3,300 linear feet of internal and external ornamental glass railing from Trex Commercial Products was installed. There, Point series glass railing systems with 1-inch laminated tempered low-iron glass surround the stairs and overlooks. Recyclable materials contributed to the university’s LEED Gold status.

Almost every one of Trex Commercial Products’ jobs is custom, as they’re often pulled

BY THE NUMBERS Engineering experts at Trex Commercial Products design systems inhouse and take the liability off of architects.

“We take that liability and we’re looking at those aspects down to 1/16th of an inch, so they feel comfortable.

You can delegate that design.”

in to design railings with unexpected shapes or add graphic cutouts, as seen on a custom railing project at Fort Worth Arena.

Barnes says about half of architects consider railing to be “simple,” and in some cases it is. But very often it’s not, and that’s when he wishes they’d turn to the expert engineers for help. “Sometimes they don’t know there are people out there like us who are providing that level of service,” he says.

“We were probably the first ones in the industry to put together a strong technical team to really get a good grasp on this, and that technical team is in-house.”

Sustainable Options Trex Signature® Railing is an aluminum system that is durable and made using 50% recycled material and, as a 100% recyclable, renewable resource, it can contribute valuable LEED points to commercial projects.

The railing is manufactured in-house to ensure quality control over each step of the

manufacturing process. It’s cost-effective and almost like a kit out of a box, Barnes says, in stark contrast to Trex Commercial Products’ more rigorous customizable products. However, Trex Signature Railing has the capacity to be customized upon request.

Future of Safe Railing The future of safe railing construction will require more design and engineering rigor to meet the demands of stricter building codes and more complex architectural schemes. From design to delivery, a knowledgeable fabricator with in-house engineering capabilities can prove to be an invaluable resource by fostering greater communication, assuring code compliance, and overseeing quality control. With a good supplier partner, glaziers, architects, and general contractors can confidently take advantage of the increased demand for safe railing in today’s commercial arena to grow their business. g ISSUE 64

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DO MORE Decorative window film and custom vinyl graphics can be used to increase privacy and add a design factor to any space.

WINDOW FILMS

Cool Comfort How Solar Art retrofits, revives, and improves commercial spaces

BY JESSICA ZUNIGA

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Energy-efficient windows save money, reduce carbon footprints, and increase comfort inside buildings. But despite advancements in technology, many buildings are operating with low-performance windows that come at a high cost to the bottom line and the environment. “Most US buildings have inefficient

PHOTO COURTESY OF SOLAR ART

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glass because the buildings were built years ago,” says Matthew Darienzo, CEO of Solar Art. “Outside of taking all the glass out to replace, window films are the only option to really improve efficiency.”

Industry leader Solar Art has been providing simple, inexpensive alternatives to re-

placing out-of-date windows for more than 35 years. In the last decade Solar Art has worked hard to share more information about the most effective way to retrofit pre-existing glass—in particular enhancing buildings across the West Coast to make them more energy-efficient and modern.

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99% OF UVA AND UVB RAYS ARE BLOCKED WITH SOLAR FILM. CHOOSE FROM VARIOUS TINTS AND SHADES.

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Did You Know?

WHILE MOST FILMS ARE HEAT-BLOCKING WINDOW FILM AND DO REDUCE HEAT, REDUCE GLARE, AND BLOCK 99% OF UVA AND UVB RAYS, WINDOW FILM CAN ALSO DO A LOT MORE—FROM BEAUTIFY TO PROTECT.

Commercial Window Film Window film is a sheet of polyester laminate that is primarily placed on the inside of glass.

Other materials are included inside the film depending on its objective. Solar window film is used to keep an interior space cool by reducing the heat transfer caused by UV rays entering through a building’s glass. The film blocks heat by reflecting it back to the exterior or by absorbing it in the film and glass to keep the inside cool.

Commercial window films come in varying shades from lightest to darkest. If your primary objective is to keep interiCASE STUDY or temperatures cool and block Solar Art glare, you will likely want to installed 3M choose a darker film or a ceramRE35 for this ic window film. Reducing glare project. The is especially useful in an office commercial window film space with many computers. blocks 99% of Solar film will also help reduce the UVA and fading on any furniture or prodUVB rays. As a ucts that are kept inside near heat-blocking window film, windows because it blocks 99% it will help of ultraviolet rays. to lower your Films come on large rolls and electricity are cut to match any shape and bill, making your windows size. A liner is peeled away to more energyreveal the adhesive layer that is efficient. carefully placed on the window.

A detail-oriented eye positions the film perfectly and is careful not to leave any bubbles or dirt underneath. “On the surface it’s a simple process, but it’s a skilled trade,” Darienzo says.

“It’s difficult to learn and to install window film the right way.” When you work with Solar Art, their expert team installs the films for you. With years of practice and expert training, they make the job look easy.

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an ex per t ’s guide

Window films are an appealing option for residential and commercial buildings alike. The Solar Art team has applied films everywhere from small business storefronts to high-rise office buildings. Window films have the greatest impact on buildings that are exposed to the sun during the day with large windows and inefficient glass.

glass around your conference room, but a beautiful mural of flowers, a modern geometric design, or an ombre blend of colors.

And why waste valuable space in your waiting room or retail storefront when you can use decorative films with your logo front and center?

Window film can bring indoor spaces to life while they also keep temperatures comfortable, reduce glare, and ensure a building is secure. “It’s such a great option,” Darienzo says. “People still don’t realize what all a window film can do.” g

What are the Benefits?

Installing solar window films saves money.

In sunny months heat transfers inside from outside primarily through glass. “Logically, when a building gets hot inside, you turn on the air conditioning, which uses electricity to cool the space,” Darienzo says. A window film that blocks and rejects heat, keeping a space naturally cool, will save building owners money by lowering electricity bills.

DID YOU While solar window films cut KNOW? costs and keep interior spaces comfortable, other films are deWindow films signed to upgrade buildings in qualify for LEED credits. different ways. Security window Learn more films are also offered in shades at solarart. from light to dark but are made com/hc/leedto be much thicker than solar certification. films. Because one of the easiest break-in points on any building is its windows, keeping them secure is important. And while the film itself strengthens the glass, an attachment system is also put in place for additional strength, and liquid silicone is used on the edge of the film and the window frame so the glass won’t fall in after breaking. “If you hit the window film it might shatter, but the whole piece is going to stay together,” Darienzo says.

Solar Art also installs anti-graffiti films that act as a layer of protection in the event of any vandalism like etching or painting. Rather than having to replace the glass, which is costly, a building owner just needs to call up Solar Art to remove the damaged graffiti film and replace it with a fresh new layer.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SOLAR ART

What about Overall Design?

While solar film, security film, and anti-graffiti film make spaces energy-efficient and safer, decorative window films and custom graphics are other types of window film that update the design of a space. Frosted or patterned films may be used to revive a storefront or offer more privacy in a busy office. When you work with Solar Art’s creative in-house graphics team, they help you explore all of the ways decorative window films can transform a space. Imagine not just an opaque

6 BENEFITS OF COMMERCIAL WINDOW TINT • REDUCE HEAT

• INCREASE SECURITY

• BLOCK UV RAYS

• PROTECT PROPERTY

• REDUCE GLARE

• INCREASE PRIVACY

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BENEATH IT ALL, MAXXON DELIVERS. For almost 50 years, we’ve been the innovators in multifamily subfloor prep. With our new line of products for commercial builds, we’re offering more ways than ever to help you get the job done right. Every time.

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PHOTO PHOTOS

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MADE RIGHT HERE. FROM THE START.

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ONE FAMILY. THREE GENERATIONS. ONE HUNDRED YEARS. Manufactured to the exacting standards established in 1921 – with performance and quality in mind. Innovative lighting solutions. Still Made Right Here, and still the best.

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Rethinking How We Build

PHOTO BY MICHAEL MARSLAND

Yale’s sustainability plan for 2025 goes beyond gold.

By Laura Rote

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commitment of Yale, who established sustainable design requirements in 2010 for all of its projects—from small renovations to large new construction. Among these requirements, it was agreed that all comprehensive new construction and renovation project designs must meet LEED Gold status or higher.

“As we learn more about embodied carbon, healthy materials, and the increasing need for high-performance buildings that reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, we update our standards and sustainability ambitions,” says Ginger Chapman, director of the office of sustainability at Yale.

Buildings account for 40% of global energy use and 25% of water consumption, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The built environment already accounts for one-third of greenhouse gas emissions, the UNEP estimates, even as urbanization accelerates all over the world.

Before 2010 Yale experimented with applying LEED standards to achieve various sustainable attributes across building projects, but in 2010 the sustainable design requirements were integrated into Yale Design Standards. As of 2020 Yale had completed 23 LEED Gold, three LEED Platinum, and two LEED Silver building projects. Currently one project is targeting LEED Platinum and 13 more are targeting LEED Gold.

Chapman says the pandemic has furthered

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PHOTO BY PAUL COCO

The Yale Science Building (left) features highperformance air distribution and heat recovery.

Above, the Yale Divinity School is expected to be the largest academic Living Building Challenge project.

Yale’s desire to commit to green building and push the envelope in a way that’s measurable. “We are working on a new standard to ensure resilience is part of all of our construction and renovation projects in a way that we can measure and track,” she says.

Yale has developed a sustainability plan that’s broken into nine “ambitions” intended to be aspirational but achievable by 2025.

These are in areas like health and well-being, climate action, built environment, and materials, among others, which are further broken down into 20 objectives and 38 goals.

From developing national rankings for resource use to improving air quality in rural developing country homes, Yale has already accomplished many of its sustainable goals toward a greener world. Yale committed in 2005 to reduce its GHG emissions by 43% by 2020. As part of the Yale Sustainability Plan 2025, Yale committed to achieve carbon neutrality by or before 2050. “We met the target in 2020 and are now in the process of setting the next interim targets over the next 29 years,” Chapman says. “Yale sets required EUIs for each project that exceed the energy requirements of LEED standards as part of the campus-wide effort to reduce emissions.”

From campus buildings and grounds to transportation, food, and energy, Yale is working to make a better environment while improving the health of people on-campus as part of its health and well-being initiative.

Studies around biophilic design have long RENDERING COURTESY OF YALE

proven that experiences with nature can improve the mental and physical well-being of individuals, and green spaces can build community. The EPA reports that the average American spends nearly 90% of his or her lifetime indoors. Yale is committed to high standards for all new construction and renovations to ensure healthy living and working environments for building occupants.

In addition to energy and water efficiency, this includes access to natural light and use of nontoxic materials. “We have a disclosure requirement for materials that have Red List ingredients so we can opt for those without, and our furniture standards specifically address chemicals of concern. We continue to investigate standards for healthy building materials,” Chapman says.

Indoor air quality is also of top concern in Yale’s sustainability planning. “IAQ is crucial to the health and well-being of building occupants,” Chapman says. “Our standards ensure the use of materials with low VOCs, nontoxic materials, healthy furniture, and appropriate air changes and filtration.”

But work isn’t just happening by Yale leadership. Yale encourages broad behavioral change among students, staff, faculty, and visitors—all in an effort to make a positive impact on the environment. A series of learning modules for building occupants are aimed at increasing awareness and empowering sustainable behavior.

Students at Yale are getting hands-on experience in green building, too. First-year students in the Yale School of Architecture design and build a structure as part of their graduate education. The program is required for all students in the department, and the class results in the construction of an affordable and efficient single-family home in a low-income neighborhood.

As for a few of the many other green projects on-campus, the Yale Science Building opened in 2019 with an energy use intensity target of 200 KBTU—half of what comparable lab spaces on-campus consume, Chapman says. The Yale Science Building was designed to meet LEED Gold (certification pending) standards and includes high-performance air distribution, heat recovery, and lighting systems. It also has a rooftop greenhouse.

A project planned for the Yale Divinity School is expected to be the world’s largest academic Living Building Challenge (LBC) project when it’s completed. It will produce zero waste, using only the water that falls on the site and capturing all the energy it needs from the sun. It will become an international model for sustainable living, especially on college and university campuses.

The 127,000-square-foot Living Village will house 155 students at the Divinity School at below-market rental rates, helping enhance the spirit of community at YDS while providing financial relief for students. g ISSUE 64

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Designing Safe Environments with By Laura Rote

HVLS Fans

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PHOTO COURTESY OF EPIC FAN

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FROM DAIRY CATTLE IN BARNS TO EMPLOYEES in warehouses to students in classrooms,

the HVLS fans of today are everywhere—and for good reason. More and more projects are incorporating HVLS (aka high-volume, lowspeed) fans into their designs, as people turn to them for everything from occupant comfort to general airflow.

“There are not many industries anymore where these don’t exist or where they have not been applied by architects or engineers,” says Dan Linder, who’s been in the industry for more than 15 years, now as sales manager at EPIC Fans.

As the demand for HVLS fans has evolved so, too, has the technology. Linder has seen that evolution firsthand at EPIC, an engineering leader whose solutions include loading dock products, industrial and commercial doors, high-performance doors, and entrance automation. “We expanded into HVLS fans after seeing our warehouse customers’ need for better control over their air systems,” Linder says. “Our engineers set out to create a better, more efficient fan that would make airflow easier to control and save on energy costs.”

Using high-volume, low-speed technology, EPIC engineers built the first iteration of the company’s Colossus industrial fan. “Since then EPIC has improved the aerodynamics with patent-pending design features and added sophisticated touchscreen controls and networking software solutions like iFAN for even greater efficiency. As our customers have clamored for even more options, we developed a quieter, sleeker version for commercial use: the Apex model. EPIC continues to leverage our significant experience with customers of all industries as we advance fan performance and controls.”

The Evolution

HVLS fans were first developed to cool dairy cattle in California. “A hot and bothered cow produces less milk,” Linder laughs. With more airflow, cows felt more comfortable, and milk production increased. “So these fans go to dairies across the world, but then this morphed into people comfort.”

EPIC Fans are manufactured by 4Front Engineered solutions, who also manufactures HVLS fans under the Kelley and Serco Brand.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF EPIC FANS

Employees working in hot warehouses also benefited, and as you might imagine, so did production. Today we’re seeing more and more businesses turn to HVLS fans for help in supplementing traditional HVAC, moving around conditioned air in warehouses, manufacturing, and even schools.

“It went from targeting one or two industries to now all of these different style applications—putting in HVLS fans to help move the air within the environment.”

Today’s Technology

Today there are many HVLS fan manufacturers, but one big differentiator between them are their controls. “How can we make the controls automated, make them smart, and allow the building engineers or the customers to gain the benefit of their investment?”

Linder says.

He points to the large warehouse example, where you have many employees—all with different temperature preferences—working on the floor. Allowing complete access to the fans when you have a lot of employees can be a nightmare, and continually changing the speed of the fans prohibits it from doing its best work.

EPIC’s solutions include controls that allow you to automate for the best environment for both occupant comfort and air quality, with temperature sensors that speed the fans up or slow them down depending on set points. You can do the same with humidity. You can also lock the master control stations in a control room or supervisor’s office for added security.

With EPIC’s iFAN you have a lot more flexibility in design, too. While 10 years ago most manufacturers offered an option with a simple on/off switch and a 1 to 10 speed knob, today’s fans offer a lot more opportunity for user control. Linder says they’re also easier to integrate into building management systems, which allows them to be used in conjunction with other equipment—be that exhaust fans, HVAC systems, heaters, or a variety of other options depending on the functionality of the facility. “The controls evolution ensures the person who has the fan is able to realize the benefits of the fan,” he says.

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Air Quality

Linder says the best air quality happens when you properly exchange the air, but in doing so properly filter the air with either the proper-rated filters.

“Right now we are in a time when everybody’s very concerned about air quality inside buildings,” he says. And while many companies are jumping in to say they offer technology to clean the air, architects should really be considering the complete package.

And Linder says HVLS fans are an important part of that package.

“Fans are moving air within the environment. That’s the reality. We don’t bring air in or exhaust air out,” he says. “One of the big conversations now is: How do we properly clean and have a better interior quality?

That all comes into the air you’re bringing into a space.”

But it’s not just about bringing air in, he says. It’s also how fast that air moves and how it circulates. “We’re taking in clean air and distributing it much faster. It’s getting to people faster and throughout the space faster because of how much air the fans move,” Linder says. “It’s basically a big blender of air, distributing the clean air, and then something has to exhaust it out.”

He says HVLS fans are a piece of a really large equation to bring safe and clean air to buildings. “HVLS fans will help eliminate air stagnancy if properly applied in applications, so when using with other air movement equipment, we help those systems become more efficient. Different applications have different requirements for air turnover, air exchanges, and the amount of fresh air to be brought into the buildings and exhausted out and the fans assist with moving the air within the building.”

EPIC’s Apex fan has a five-blade design and downturned winglets that promote airflow efficiency, funneling away turbulent air that can cause drag. It’s also designed to be so quiet you probably won’t even notice it—unless, of course, the architect wants you to, as APEX comes with many color and design options. It can be designed to blend in or stand out, and its integrated electronics and wired touch screen remote functional allow for easy operation, too.

An EPIC fan is seen here in Faith Baptist Gym. HVLS fans help improve indoor air quality while keeping spaces comfortable.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF EPIC FANS

Choosing the Best Fan

When it comes to school settings like classrooms or even libraries with air conditioned air, Linder says you want a consistent airflow at a low sound level. “The Apex gives you an aesthetic look up to 14 feet where you can modify color easily at no extra cost. But if want to go more industrial and still want

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quiet, you’ve got Summit—our direct drive fan that will provide you with subtle airflow or maximum airflow that could blow papers off desks. It comes with an industrial look.”

While EPIC offers the options to get you whatever look and feel you want, Linder says it’s important to consider the real goal. Then ask yourself: What are the dimensions of the space? Will the fans be installed in the entire building or just sections of the building? Is the roof sloped? EPIC offers up an easy to follow HVLS application guide that suggests these questions and more before choosing a fan.

EPIC’s commercial fan, Apex, uses a gearless direct drive AC motor for premium efficiency, low dBA level, high-end design features, and a color package. Some application examples are restaurants, bars, car showrooms, schools, office environments, airport terminals, and many other conditioned spaces. Their industrial fan uses an AC induction premium IE3 motor with a gearbox. It’s great in warehouses, gyms, maintenance shops, aquatic facilities, dairy barns, agricultural buildings, and any other space that needs a large volume of air moved. And the direct drive fan uses a DC brushless premium efficiency motor that maximizes performance along with decreasing dBA levels. It can be applied in both commercial and industrial applications.

The most common issue Linder sees is misuse, or misapplication, of fans. “It’s important to understand the goal you’re trying to accomplish within the project and then select your fan, not selecting your fan based on appearance and then fitting it into an application that won’t work,” he says. g

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Safe Haven

PHOTOS COURTESY OF LOWE’S

Home renovations are in high demand since the start of the pandemic, from outdoor spaces to the creation of home offices.

By Laura Rote

PHOTOS BY TK TK

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HOME PROJECTS WERE ON THE RISE IN 2020,

according to HomeAdvisor, and they don’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon. A 2020 HomeAdvisor survey indicated the average US household spending on home services rose to $13,138 in 2020; that’s a $4,000 increase year over year.

The rush to renovate has been clear at home improvement giant Lowe’s. “We have definitely seen a surge in home projects,” says Michael Albrecht, Lowe’s vice president of pro sales and services. “Initially many customers realized the need for home office spaces or ways to better define areas in the home, like their kitchens, that can typically be the gathering place for family meals, but now also a workstation or second office space.”

He says paint, new flooring, and window projects to enhance energy savings were also prevalent, and outdoor spaces continue to be a major focus. “Customers see their homes as a safe haven and even as COVID restrictions lighten, many will share their new spaces with their close circle of friends and family.”

According to HomeAdvisor, total projects in 2020 (including landscaping and cleaning) rose to 11 projects from an average of 8.1 projects in 2019. Bathroom remodels, interior painting, and new flooring were the top three.

As warmer weather approached in spring 2021, the experts at Lowe’s noticed a predictable shift toward outdoor projects. “Backyard entertaining space is huge right now with customers wanting to leverage discretionary spending to enhance their patios, grills, and landscape to further enjoy being at home.

We are seeing increased interest in sheds, installed fencing, decking, and more as families gather at home,” Albrecht says.

Of those HomeAdvisor surveyed, 41% of respondents said their top reason for home improvement spending was to make the home better suit their lifestyle needs. That stands in stark contrast to responses in 2019, when consumers indicated that the number one home project was to replace or repair a damage, defect, or decay.

Albrecht says recent Lowe’s customers appear to be spending a lot more time researching and evaluating the products and projects they choose to take on. The company

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has responded with simplified selling and visualization tools like My Kitchen Planner on Lowes.com, which allows professionals and DIYers alike to envision and plan their own dream kitchen.

New this year for Lowe’s is a centralized design team that can help with kitchen, countertop, and appliance projects. “It’s easy to get started on Lowes.com, as so many customers may still prefer a professional coming to them at home,” Albrecht says. “We offer that as well for windows, doors, roofing, siding, sheds, fencing, decking, and whole house generator systems. Lowe’s also has a great initiative called Generation T, which aims to inspire, educate, and connect skilled tradespeople to apprenticeships and job opportunities with local providers in carpentry, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and appliance repair.”

Indoor air quality is top of mind more than ever, too, and Albrecht says IAQ solutions and overall HVAC improvements continue to be

PHOTO COURTESY OF LOWE’S

BATHROOM REMODELS, INTERIOR PAINTING, AND NEW FLOORING WERE 2020’S TOP HOME IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS.

Many Lowe’s customers are “energy-minded” and look to the home improvement company for solutions to meet needs like efficiency, HVAC systems, or new windows to save on energy, all while enhancing curb appeal and safety.

a top concern for Lowe’s customers. “We have several products in our stores and as part of our HVAC Installation offerings and products that can be added to any of your existing HVAC/cooling systems in your home and are really quite affordable. Most of these products leverage UV lighting to kill airborne germs and bacteria and have enhanced filtration that can also help capture allergens.”

Albrecht says overall project cost and product affordability are often customers’ biggest questions. Lowe’s still sees a large population of DIY customers, but there’s been a growing demand for installation services, too. “Our Baby Boomers are one of our largest customer segments, and they appreciate having many of those projects done for them.”

Like many experts in the industry, Albrecht expects the current trends of maximizing space and functionality to remain as many of us continue to find ways to optimize our homes for work, school, and family life.

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Smart

By Lark Breen

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Solutions

DuPont offers innovative home redesign solutions.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF DUPONT

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IN THE LAST YEAR WE’VE ALL PROBABLY FELT TRAPPED IN OUR HOUSES AT ONE POINT OR ANOTHER. ONE WAY MANY HOMEOWNERS ARE COPING WITH AND TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THEIR INCREASED TIME AT HOME IS THROUGH RENOVATION AND CLEANING PROJECTS, FINALLY MAKING THEIR SPACES THE SANCTUARIES THEY’VE ALWAYS DREAMED OF.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DUPONT

Froth-Pak is an all-in-one kit for contractors to quickly and efficiently seal out moisture, dust, and allergens and improve energy efficiency, building resilience, and comfort.

“Prior to COVID-19 there was a trend of homeowners shifting away from larger home renovation and home improvement projects to smaller projects,” says Devika Varsani, DuPont retail marketing leader. “DIY projects were certainly on the rise during the pandemic, but after the first and second waves of COVID, larger projects started to make a comeback.”

Now Varsani sees projects like painting, adding decks and patios, upgrading floors and windows, and even complete overhauls of kitchens and bathrooms in high demand.

Noting such trends is par for the course for DuPont when it comes to providing innovations in building products and safety solutions. “We have scientists, engineers, visionaries, and all of our partners every day working to turn possibilities into real world solutions to help communities thrive. Together we’re transforming industries, improving everyday quality of life and creating essential innovations,” says Amy Radka, DuPont’s retail marketing director.

Products to Help at Home

Among those innovations, DuPont offers Great Stuff™ and Great Stuff Pro™ one-component spray foam to fill, seal, and insulate gaps in a variety of interior and exterior applications—most commonly in air sealing and

home retrofit applications. DuPont’s FrothPak Spray Foam, on the other hand, is helpful in larger scale renovations with larger gaps and full cavities where a chemical cure product has an advantage over one-component foam. According to the US Department of Energy, homeowners can save an average of 30% on heating and cooling costs with complete insulation using products like Froth-Pak. “Froth-Pak is an all-in-one, self-contained, easily portable kit for our professional contractors to quickly and efficiently fill larger gaps and penetrations to seal out moisture, dust, and allergens while improving energy efficiency, building resilience, and comfort for homeowners. It’s a simple solution to for contractors to accomplish that air sealing goal in a residential structure,” Radka says.

In the past five to 10 years DuPont has leaned into a sustainable mindset with its innovation and business processes. Froth-Pak Foam’s delivery of a high-performing building envelope and all the energy savings, improved air quality, and longevity of structure that go with it add up to help propel DuPont in a more sustainable direction.

The Benefits

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Properly installed sealing and foam insulating products like Froth-Pak or Great Stuff Pro can help to reduce homeowners’ heating and cooling bills.

building resilience, energy savings, and green building compatibility. DuPont’s products are compatible with LEED and support green building practices by sealing and insulating with a formulation that reduces the product’s Global Warming Potential (GWP).

By controlling moisture intrusion, FrothPak prevents rot, decay, and mold. Properly installed sealing and foam insulating products like Froth-Pak or Great Stuff Pro can help save homeowners by reducing heating and cooling bills. Plus, airtight sealing reduces infiltration of dust and allergens to improve indoor air quality.

On top of it all, Froth-Pak strives to be as environmentally conscious as possible. DuPont is inspired in part by changing customer expectations as well as the United Nations’ sustainable development goals. The DuPont team says they are committed to creating products that help mitigate climate change and deliver high-performing solutions to consumers.

Froth-Pak has a 99%-reduced GWP with its patent-pending blowing agent solution.

Patent-pending dispensing nozzles, which come in the self-contained, portable application kit, reduce over-spray and optimize the blending and spray pattern during application to make using the product as easy as possible for contractors. The foam sets in under

a minute to provide an impressive, building code–approved solution with an R-value of 12.2 at 2 inches thick.

The End Goal

According to the American Chemistry Council, using spray foam in place of other products could lower total US GHG emissions by 3.5% annually and reduce emissions related to home heating and cooling by 41%. DuPont’s research and development team has worked aggressively to reduce the GWP of Froth-Pak all while maintaining its ability to deliver a high-performing building envelope.

“The result of this is an HFC (Hydrofluorocarbon)-free, low-GWP product line that meets the US and Canada regulatory requirements,” says Jeff Hansbro, DuPont’s global advocacy and strategic partnerships director. DuPont’s ultimate goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from DuPont Performance Building Solutions by 75% compared to 2019 levels.

“The innovation spans from materials that are available for substitution of the HFCs—evaluating those materials specific to our product lines on our manufacturing processes, making sure that it is safe to produce, and ensuring they have equal or better performance as the current product,” Hansbro says. g ISSUE 64

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How to Create a Healthy Classroom Through Furniture

By Colleen DeHart

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Furniture and classroom design can play a big role in a child’s ability to learn. Multiple studies (one from the

University of Salford in England) show that classroom furniture and design can impact learning up to 25%. Add to that concerns over spreading illness, and there is a lot to consider when designing a healthy classroom.

For children’s educational furniture manufacturer Jonti-Craft, meeting pandemic demands has been relatively easy. That’s because the company has been in the business of designing healthy classrooms—and exceeding industry standards—for more than 40 years. “In children’s furniture, you really need to cross your t’s and dot your i’s. Jonti-Craft has been doing that since the beginning, which is well before my time,” says Matt Hinkle, national sales manager.

Jonti-Craft’s unmatched durability, quality, flexibility, and reasonable price has kept classroom designer Susan Pinckney of TSKP Studio coming back for more than a decade. “Their products are durable, easy to keep clean, and the teachers love them,” she says. “Where other manufacturers tend to limit themselves, Jonti-Craft doesn’t. They have a really broad selection. You know everything will work together, coordinate, and last.”

The company started when Don and Cathy Schwarz purchased Rapid Sash and Millwork, a manufacturer of wooden toys where Don himself had interned in Minnesota in 1979.

The couple saw the opportunity to apply the same strict standards and hard work used to create toys to deliver safe, quality children’s furniture to last a lifetime of learning—even if that meant surviving a pandemic.

Safety First: All of Jonti-Craft’s products

have rounded corners and edges. “Kids are still working on coordination so we don’t want sharp corners and edges where students can fall and hurt themselves,” Hinkle says.

The company follows strict stability and safety standards to ensure furniture will not tip over if installed correctly. “Kids will climb and stand on things and we need to make sure our furniture is stable enough to handle them and reduce the risk of injury,” Hinkle says.

All cabinet doors have piano hinges, removing the opportunity for pinched fingers.

Jonti-Craft products are GREENGUARD Gold–certified, a standard the company met

Jonti-Craft’s Dramatic Play furniture encourages kids to get creative and explore different skills. Their Montessori products, like the one pictured at bottom left, give kids a comfortable nook to expand their reading proficiency while building social skills.

before it even existed. “We went through the testing the first time and didn’t have to make a single change. We have always been prioritizing children’s safety in the materials we are using,” Hinkle says.

Clean and Separated: Portable sinks

bring handwashing into the classroom and other spaces without additional plumbing.

The sinks have gained popularity since the pandemic and are now offered in 10 variations—including touchless, electric, non-electric, heated, and non-heated. “We feel washing hands is really the safest way to remove germs.

These sinks can be added to spaces where hand sanitizers would not sufficient,” Hinkle says. The company also offers sanitation carts so hand sanitizer, gloves, and cleaners can easily be moved to wherever needed.

Student separation has become a big factor in designing a healthy school, too. Divider shields—a different take on the plexiglass module panel system Jonti-Craft already produced—allow schools the ability to separate students where space is limited. The company recently developed shields specifically to be used on activity tables in early-education classrooms. “Not every school can retrofit or replace the furniture they have, so we made a version that is easy to add on. We want things to be as cost-effective as possible,” Hinkle says.

Separation of supplies and take-home items is also important. Jonti-Craft offers not only shared storage options but also solutions that give each student their own storage bin.

Optimal Comfort: Next to safety, com-

fort is a top priority when designing a healthy classroom. “Making sure it is optimal in helping them to focus on learning,” Hinkle says. “If it is built right it can really positively impact

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student learning.” The classroom should be appropriate for the age of children using it, he adds. That means items like chairs and tables should be at the correct height.

Overstimulation is another factor to consider. In the 1980s most children’s educational furniture was designed to have bright, bold primary colors. Jonti-Craft’s furniture pieces are designed in natural tones. “Our belief is: Let the kids’ artwork be the show of the classroom, and let the furniture blend into the room,” Hinkle says. Clutter can also be overstimulating, which is why Jonti-Craft’s storage units are quick and easy to access.

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Design Flexibility: Every inch of space

JONTI-CRAFT’S EXPANSIVE COLLECTION OF EDUCATIONAL FURNITURE— FROM COLORFUL LAMINATE OPTIONS TO STURDY BALTIC BIRCH AND MODULAR LINES—MEANS THERE IS AN OPTION FOR EVERY LEARNING SPACE.

matters in today’s pandemic classroom. JontiCraft’s furniture is stable yet easy to move around, with most items featuring casters.

The furniture gives teachers the flexibility to separate spaces and students. Quiet reading areas can be separated from active play areas.

Many products are multi-use, too. Desks can be nested together for a group activity and come apart quickly. “Our multi-use solutions maximize return, so there is no wasted space,” Hinkle says.

Items like the Activity Tables with dry erase tops allow students to write on the table. “They have the whole table as a canvas,” Hinkle says. Optional back options on storage units, like dry erase or magnetic surfaces, provide teachers with additional instructional surfaces, while a plexiglass back option allows for better line-of-sight.

Jonti-Craft’s free design service can also help customers design and arrange educational spaces, factoring in space and age restrictions, activity needs, and curriculum requirements to create rooms that make students feel comfortable, confident, and free to learn. g ISSUE 64

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Ground

By Hilary Daninhirsch PHOTO COURTESY OF WESTERN FOREST PRODUCTS

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WHEN SHANNON JANZEN BEGINS WORK EACH DAY AT Western

Forest Products, she knows her efforts will have ripple effects for centuries.

In her current role as vice president partnerships, sustainability and chief forester, Janzen works to implement sustainability initiatives and set environmental standards for the company’s operations. She sets standards for a 100-person forestry team and spends as much time in the forest as she can, but it’s never as much as she likes.

“When I decided to pursue my degree in natural resource management and become a forester my family thought I was crazy,” she says. “Shortly after university when I went to work in a remote logging camp, it didn’t alleviate concerns about my sanity.” But in a more than two-decade career, she has no regrets.

Forestry operations on the coast of British Columbia date back to the 1850s. Western Forest Products began its operations in 2004 on the coast of British Columbia and now has operations in both coastal British Columbia and Washington State. As a large supplier of sustainable specialty building materials, Western Forest Products is quite literally sowing the seeds for future generations with its 250-year plan forecasting its sustainable forest management to ensure the company doesn’t harvest more than forests grow.

Western Forest Products has a long history of sustainability, which includes a detailed biodiversity plan and proven steps to conserve the forest. “British Columbia has some of the most stringent forest regulations on the planet, and from this starting point Western Forest Products has developed a science-based approach to managing forests,” Janzen says. “This includes investing in leading edge technology and developing management systems that are utilized in our decision-making. We plan the land base first, then consider what trees to harvest. We include retention of ecosystems and habitats to sustain biodiversity in managed forests all through a comprehensive plan that has been developed over decades.”

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) also supports sustainable forest management as a global climate change solution, as it helps prevent deforestation and emissions and works to achieve a net reduction in atmospheric carbon.

As per the IPCC’s findings, Western Forest Products plays a large role in helping to mitigate climate change.

“The 250-year plan developed for our harvesting ensures we can continue to grow renewable forests in the future; that is the definition of sustainable forest management,” Janzen says. “We have carried out and completed a sophisticated model of how we manage the life cycle of our products and value the carbon benefit.”

Through this work Western Forest Products has determined that there is a net carbon benefit from its management. This means that through replanting and growing trees that sequester carbon and storing harvested carbon in long-lived forest products, more carbon is removed from the atmosphere than is emitted.

Western Forest Products takes its responsibility for sustainable forest management seriously, with third-party certifications to back it up, according to Erik Ostensen,

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director of marketing and product management for the company. “The IPCC has been clear that forestry is a global climate change solution—and we are committed to getting it right,” he says.

Western Forest Products manages diverse and widespread forests over 5,000 square miles in British Columbia, and the company also has an impressive seedling nursery and orchard. The Saanich Forestry Centre—the oldest continuously operated seed orchard in Canada—is spread across 65 acres. The forestry center produces seeds for close to seven million seedlings from 4,000 cone-bearing trees.

Twenty-one greenhouses in an accompanying tree nursery (added in 1981) grow an average of 3.5 million seedlings annually, representing 10 species of native trees, including Douglas fir, western red cedar, yellow cypress, western hemlock, and Sitka spruce. This variety ensures the company is sustaining the natural genetic diversity found in British Columbia’s natural forests. This diversity of species helps protect the forests from insects and diseases while making sure they’re well adapted to a changing climate, Janzen says.

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In addition to climate change mitigation, Western Forest Products also helps protect habitats for many types of animals. On the coast of British Columbia, where Western Forest Products–managed forests are located, just 25% of the forest land is available for timber production, while the other 75% is set aside to provide habitats to indigenous species like black bears, grizzly bears, marbled murrelets, and northern goshawks. To date, through its site level retention, the company has also conserved more than 1,000 bear dens, 500 nesting trees, and hundreds of big trees. They’ve set aside areas to provide deer, elk, and mountain goats refuge in winter habitat range as well as riparian habitats that sustain fish.

The company’s lumber products are focused on specialty high-value products tailored from the unique characteristics and qualities of the diverse British Columbia coastal forest profile. Ostensen says their products are beautiful, natural, versatile, and durable, and architects all over the world turn to Western Forest Products’ products for aesthetic solutions, structural performance, and environmental and economic benefits.

“As trees are harvested the new forests sequester carbon at a much higher rate and the wood products produced from the forest are used in buildings that store harvested carbon, reducing their footprint and avoiding the use of less sustainable materials,” Janzen says. “There is no better, more natural choice than wood when sourced from regions of the world like British Columbia, who ensure those forests will continue to grow in perpetuity.” g

WESTERN FOREST PRODUCTS’ SOLUTIONS PROVIDE A RENEWABLE AND ENVIRONMENTALLY LOWIMPACT GREEN ALTERNATIVE TO ENERGY AND CARBONINTENSIVE BUILDING MATERIALS LIKE CONCRETE, ALUMINUM, AND STEEL.

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PHOTO BY JASPER SANIDAD, COURTESY OF BCCI CONSTRUCTION COMPANY

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As the world acclimates to its new normal, Tarkett is helping the office shift to a healthier future.

By Sophia Conforti

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THE ALARM BUZZES SOMETIME BETWEEN 6 AND 7AM. YOU GET UP, SHOWER, MAKE A POT OF COFFEE, MENTALLY PREPARE FOR THE MEETINGS AND TASKS AHEAD.

Then you’re out the door, headed to the office, where you’ll work all day until it’s time to go home, relax, and repeat. It’s the rhythmic workweek dance, a routine so ingrained in our culture that it rarely skips a beat—that is, until a global pandemic happens.

Consistent work routines are no more; once bustling workplaces of innovation and collaboration have sat empty for more than a year, some abandoned entirely. Now as the world shifts away from work from home and back into the office, employers and employees alike are asking: Where do we go from here?

What does the future workplace look like?

Flooring and surface manufacturer Tarkett has been studying just that, interviewing 207,000 people across six continents as part of its research to find out how to build up the office to what it once was but better—a place people go to be productive, collaborate, and focus, yes, but also a place where everyone belongs and feels safe.

It’s a lofty task in an age where, as we’ve learned, life can change very quickly. So Tarkett started from the beginning. What do people actually miss about the office?

“The printer,” Leslie Thompson, director of workplace strategy at Tarkett, says with a laugh. “But also social connection. The past year has given a different look at ourselves, and attitudes have changed toward sustainability, diversity and inclusivity, and how the

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workplace supports that. You want the office to be that anchor where they can use the printer but also create that sense of belonging.”

What Tarkett’s research also uncovered is that working from home—while it can give people a sense of independence and strengthen trust among teams—has also caused a sharp decline in employee wellness.

“This past year has had a really interesting impact on people. People are working 33% more and are 41% more stressed than when they went to the office,” Thompson says. “It’s not just work when you have to work from your kitchen; there are distractions, and it’s hard to juggle both. Because of that, a third of people said their mental health has suffered the most, and 35% felt work-life balance had shifted—but not for the better.”

Like the “new normal,” the “new office” should be grounded in health-prioritizing design. “We as designers need to create spaces that are more dynamic, fluid, and provide better care to people’s wants and work modes,” Thompson says. Fluidity being key.

Current office environments are too locked down, Thompson says, and as a result people are restricted to working one particular way, which may not be conducive to their productivity. Open offices, in particular, are a barrier to allowing employees the space to really think about deep work. When this type of work is necessary, 42% said they would opt to work offsite or had to put headphones in to really focus.

The design fix goes back to fluidity. People need flexible workplaces that offer spaces to connect and collaborate and also areas outside of private meeting rooms where they can work alone in peace.

For office elements that are more static, like flooring, it’s about providing comfort and encouraging movement. “If I was going to create something really flexible, I’d use a surface with underfoot comfort that supports movement and helps in flow of space,” Thompson says. “Flooring can designate collaborative spaces easily, with a change in surface material, color, or design.”

This wellness-driven design lens is what Tarkett calls “human-conscious design,” where spaces, and all of the products within PHOTO BY JASPER SANIDAD, COURTESY OF BCCI CONSTRUCTION COMPANY

PHOTOS BY TK TK

“Employers need to look at what they are putting in spaces, and if they are encouraging health and wellness,” says Roxane Spears, vice president of sustainability at Tarkett.

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them, are made with special emphasis on the people who inhabit or use them. Yet too often employers use offices as purely a branding ploy rather than thinking of the workplace as a healthy, usable space for the people inside.

In fact, Tarkett’s research found that only 17% of employees thought their employers took their experiences into consideration when designing the office, with 44% saying the companies they worked for prioritized how their offices appeared to the outside world versus their own internal teams.

It’s a discouraging statistic, which is why Tarkett takes human-conscious design in its own products seriously, from beginning product development to installation. “We want to understand how people are going to use each product in a space. We want to promote health and wellness, healthy materials, and create a positive impact on people and the environment,” Thompson says.

Take Tarkett’s new Modern Refinement collection. Building on the comfort and coziness that was available when employees were working from home, the collection features three new flooring products in a muted, relaxing color palette that emphasize tactile textures and positive mental health. “We do a lot of research on how the space is going to support people and how flooring is going to support the spaces,” says Tommy Keener, senior design director at Tarkett. “We look at the type of materials and how they make people feel. Modern Refinement is all about warmth, taking the concept of comfort from home.”

The collection is also carbon-neutral and its ethos® Modular tile designs achieved Cradle to Cradle Silver accreditation, which is right on target with another employee concern: sustainability. Not only do 50% of em-

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IT’S A BALANCE BETWEEN GOOD DESIGN AND SUSTAINABILITY, JUST AS THIS NEW ployees want more sustainable workplaces but 44% also say employers need to do a betjob educating employees about the strides WORKPLACE ter they’re taking to go green, both as a compaand in the office environment. In other IS A BALANCE nywords, what are brands doing to combat climate change? How are they designing their BETWEEN workplaces sustainably, and what impact does that have on the environment at large?

PRE-COVID “If an employer is making sure employees know the office has low VOCs, that it requires OFFICES AND a neutral cleaner, and so on—it shows employees they care about their health and wellness,” says Roxane Spears, vice president of A TOTAL sustainability at Tarkett. “Whether it’s at the grocery shop or looking at our clothing, all of RESET. us are looking for transparency in our lives.

Now that’s spilling over to the workplace.”

For employers, that means taking a hard look at the materials and objects that outfit a space and thinking about how they impact employee wellness, Spears says. It’s the same thing Tarkett does for their own product development.

“No matter what we do, we make sure the products that go out into the world will be able to be reused in 10 or 15 years,” Spears says. “For example, can we separate it and use the fibers and backing in different ways? Can they be ground up and reused in the backing of a future product? If we can’t reuse it, we actually take those products to a partner to use the old product as a filler. And if we can’t do that, then we need to rethink the product.”

It’s a balance between good design and sustainability, just as this new workplace is a balance between pre-COVID offices and a total reset. Yet both are equally important. “We use a lot of recycled content in our products because we can’t keep pulling new from the earth. We need to learn to reuse and repair,” Spears says. “People are becoming more aware of sustainability, more cognizant of climate change and what kind of products they are using. The research shows people want to go back into the workplace, and have those relationships in the office, but they also want to feel safe there.” g PHOTO, THIS PAGE: COURTESY OF TARKETT; PHOTO, RIGHT: BRIAN GASSEL PHOTOGRAPHY

Tarkett’s research found that 43% of employees go to the office for connection and positive mental well-being.

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DESIGNING

HEALTHY W O R K SPACES

BY RUSS KLETTKE

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PHOTO COURTESY OF CONDAIR

HOW OPTIMAL HUMIDITY LEVELS REDUCE ABSENTEEISM FROM RESPIRATORY INFECTIONS AND INCREASE EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY

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W WHEN DR. STEPHANIE TAYLOR STUDIED THE EFFECTS OF

indoor humidity on hospital patients in 2016, she found something startling. Patients in single rooms with low indoor air humidity suffered from “health care–associated infections,” otherwise known as HAIs, to a greater degree than patients in rooms with optimal relative humidity.

This matters quite a bit as new infections resulting from exposure to pathogens—including MRSA, E. coli, salmonella, and cytomegalovirus—in hospitals result in 100,000 deaths per year in the US. The study’s findings are instructive as we emerge from the worst pandemic in a century. The coronavirus that causes Covid-19 is almost entirely transmitted by airborne droplets and aerosols. Since the first outbreaks, the trans-

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mission routes of the virus through the indoor environment have been the focus of much study—and will likely inform much of what we think about other airborne-infectious agent transmission for years to come.

Taylor’s study (“Is low indoor humidity a driver for health care–associated infections?,” Indoor Air 2016 conference) correlates other research that finds similar risks from low indoor humidity. Several studies specifically implicate low humidity in disease transmission in workplaces. In purely economic terms, a large study of office employees in Germany from the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health showed an annual loss of about $1,420 US from lost productivity (absenteeism plus under-productivity due to working while impaired by irritation of mucous membranes) per worker per year due to excessively dry office air.

Taylor is an active member of ASHRAE, serving on the Epidemic Task Force, Environmental Health Committee, and as a distinguished lecturer. She is an InciteHealth fellow at Harvard Medical School, president of Building 4 Health, Inc., and a medical advisor to Condair Group, the makers of humidity control devices used in health care, manufacturing, museum, office, residential, and other indoor environments.

Considering the cost of employee illness and absenteeism, employers should be aware that low indoor humidity levels foster respiratory infections among coworkers.

The corollary is, of course, the ability to keep employees healthier by maintaining the optimal relative humidity of 40 to 60%.

THE GOLDILOCKS INDOOR HUMIDITY ZONE Much of this challenges laypersons’ perceptions about indoor humidity. The most common association with humidity management is to employ dehumidifiers to reduce dampness to suppress mold, and to allegedly increase occupant comfort. For generations people relocated to dry desert regions like Arizona to alleviate respiratory problems, and therefore assumed that low indoor humidity is beneficial.

In truth relative humidity—a measurement of the amount of water vapor in air at a given temperature, maintained in the mid-range zone of 40 to 60%—has powerfully protective effects on our health. Conversely, low ambient humidity (less than 40% humidity) creates conditions that are bad for humans. In dry air, exhaled aerosol droplets shrink rapidly and concentrate any infectious microbes contained within. These tiny droplets remain airborne, traveling far and wide while maintaining their

infectivity over time and distance. Even worse is the fact that low relative humidity impairs the natural immunity of our airways and skin, weakening the body’s defenses against viruses, bacteria, and fungi.

There is, however, an upper limit to the 40 to 60% Goldilocks humidity range. When humidity is greater than 60% expired droplets shrink less quickly, settling onto surfaces where any contained infectious microbes can be spread through contact routes. The solution to this is to clean surfaces—a much easier task than removing infectious droplets from the air. Another reason to avoid humidity over 60% is that in warm temperatures, people can feel too warm because of decreased cooling from sweat evaporation from skin.

A humidity range of 40 to 60% is the “just right” zone.

In this not-too-much, not-too-little range, pathogens are less transmissible and room occupants are less prone to infection. “There are lots of misconceptions around humidity,” explains Marlee Spiegelberg, application engineering manager at Condair USA/CA. “We find that even HVAC specialists need some education on this.”

FIGHTING PATHOGENS WITH MID-RANGE

PHOTO COURTESY OF CONDAIR

HUMIDITY

Condair humidifiers provide precise humidity control for workplaces looking to create healthy environments.

Spiegelberg details how the building industry’s march toward tighter building envelopes, which laudably enables energy efficiency, also changed the equation on humidity and occupant health. Where caves, grass huts, drafty castles, and humble farmhouses once had lots of atmospheric humidity in them—and less protection from seasonal temperature extremes—today’s inflow of air and humidity are tightly blocked.

In other words, what enables building sustainability isn’t an automatic plus for human health.

So how is the just-right degree of humidity achieved?

With the right controls and smart system design, managing humidity with Condair products meets both objectives. The company provides steam humidifiers, in-duct adiabatic humidifiers, direct room spray humidifiers, and mobile humidifiers, among other related products.

Hitting that ideal 40 to 60% humidity range can be achieved in some climates without reducing energy efficiency. In fact, relative humidity affects perceptions of both heat and cooling: In both winter and summer, comfort levels are more easily achieved with the right amount of moisture in the air—lessening the need to ramp up the thermostat up in the winter or the air conditioning in summer.

“The idea that mid-range indoor humidity is a powerful protector of our health is a revolutionary concept for

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Microbe Transmission Vectors

Room Layout

Microbe Concentration

(light is low; dark is high)

O or one or a few persons

Open-plan areas

building engineers,” says Taylor. “It’s incredibly exciting that maintaining relative humidity indoors is now being recognized as ‘building medicine.’ Covid-19 has raised awareness of the importance of indoor environments and viral diseases in general.”

But to be clear, every region and every season has unique variables to consider when maintaining healthy indoor humidity levels. Ottawa, Canada (where Condair’s North American operations are based) and Phoenix, Arizona both have dry air, albeit in different seasons and with different outdoor conditions. When Indianapolis hits 87% outdoor relative humidity in summer, air-conditioned buildings many need indoor dehumidification to stay below 60%; Condair offers desiccant dehumidifiers to serve such purposes.

PUT RELATIVE HUMIDITY PHOTO BY PEXELS

TO WORK

Increasingly, workplace managers are searching for ways to address worker comfort, productivity, and health. Put Mother Nature to work in the form of healthy indoor relative humidity. The easiest way to measure humidity levels is with a desktop hygrometer, which provides a reading as easily as a thermometer tells the temperature.

Identifying solutions for individual buildings requires assessment of a host of factors. Condair agents are experienced in determining the most cost-effective and low-energy humidification solutions for all building types in all climates.

In addition to protecting human health, the right amount of humidity is necessary for maintaining materials and keeping equipment functioning in a number of industries and applications. Pharmaceutical manufacturing, printing facilities, art museums, and data centers are all affected by relative humidity. Condair products are found in buildings serving all these types of commercial needs and purposes.

The company’s long history of working with commercial applications prepared it for the rising interest in healthy workplaces. In a white paper the company published in 2020, Condair Group CEO Oliver Zimmermann discussed how the company accumulated its expertise.

“For years we’ve collaborated with scientists and health care experts to understand and promote the importance of optimal humidity for health,” he says.

“Through this research we appreciate that humidity control is just one, but a decisive, weapon that can be used in the fight against respiratory infections,” Zimmerman adds. It’s certainly nothing to sneeze at. g

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T H U R S DAY

IS THE N E W

MONDAY

BY LAURA ROTE

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IN LATE SPRING 2021 Salesforce Tower

San Francisco reopened. It’s one of 26 major Salesforce offices to reopen since the pandemic closed things down in early 2020, and it opened using what the Salesforce team calls its “Success from Anywhere” return-to-work model.

In Sydney, Australia Salesforce welcomed back hundreds of employees safely and productively starting in August 2020. That experience taught the team a lot about this new way of working, including—somewhat surprisingly at first—that Thursday is the new Monday. Thursday was quickly seen as the most popular day for Salesforce Sydney employees to go into the office. Their findings showed that employees prefer to start the week from home with only about half of collaboration space being used. By Wednesday and Thursday, that jumped to 80%.

Salesforce reports that more flexibility leads to more productivity and balance. They say employees are 16%

PHOTO COURTESY OF SALESFORCE

TEAMS AT SALESFORCE ARE GETTING BACK TO WORK IN NEW WAYS ALL OVER THE GLOBE.

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WHILE BREAKOUT AND COLLABORATION SPACES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AT THE CORE OF SALESFORCE’S DESIGN PHILOSOPHY, THEY ARE REDUCING THE NUMBER OF DESKS BY 40% AND ADDING MORE BOOTHS, COMMUNAL TABLES, COUCHES, WHITEBOARDS, MOBILE AUDIOVISUAL EQUIPMENT, AND MORE.

Salesforce’s large-scale reopening plan (they’ve reopened 26 offices as of June 2021) has found that the most popular day for employees to come to the office is Thursday. Employees prefer to start the week from home with only about half of collaboration space being used.

By Wednesday and Thursday, that jumps to 80%.

is giving employees flexibility in how, when, and where they work.

In order to accommodate new physical distancing protocols and a more hybrid workstyle, they’re reducing the number of desks, adding plexiglass dividers between them, and expanding “neighborhood seating”—Salesforce’s unassigned seating program—across all of their offices.

Biophilic design continues to play a key role in Salesforce’s design standard, too. “We know the importance of bringing the outside in and creating a harmonizing environment for all who enter our space. We also recognize that it goes much more beyond adding copious amounts of plants to the space,” Von Almen says.

Some of the resources Salesforce used to guide their biophilic design criteria include data-driven elements outlined in 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design—an in-depth paper on biophilia supported by Terrapin Bright Green. It looks at how visual connection with nature, the presence of water, airflow variability, and more all contribute to improving health and well-being in the built environment.

“We even started conducting our own biophilic design research with key thought leaders and partners,” Von Almen says. “Through this partnership we are evaluating (volunteer) employee heart response when in the workplace as well as other indicators. We paused the study due to the pandemic last year but look forward to continuing our work and releasing the results when it’s safe to do so.” g

PHOTO COURTESY OF SALESFORCE

more likely to agree that they are more productive at home, and 13% more likely to agree their teams are more productive at home than in the office. And they have more balance while they do it—20% of employees at home say they’re more likely to integrate well-being breaks into their day than employees in the office.

The Salesforce team has found that the office continues to be a place for human connection and collaboration. In the Sydney office, 64% of collaboration spaces like lounges and conference rooms were utilized; whereas only 24% of desk space was used (see what the folks at Perkins&Will are saying about unused desks on pg. 80).

But how are leaders at Salesforce making sure their employees are safe at work? The Salesforce Design Standard focuses on collaboration, fun, sustainability, and employee wellness. It includes specific guidance on materials used throughout their building projects, from flooring to HVAC. “For most materials in our design standard, they first must be scored using our Healthy and Sustainable Materials Scoring Tool, holistically evaluating products across six categories—health, carbon, circularity, water, waste, and social attributes. We created an initial baseline for our entire design standard and then set out to find improvements either through alternative suppliers or by working with suppliers to improve scores,” says Amanda Von Almen, head of Sustainable Built Environment at Salesforce.

As part of Salesforce’s design strategy, they build all of their spaces to meet LEED Gold or Platinum certification as well as ASHRAE standards for proper fresh air ventilation per occupant. “Alongside our health and safety team, medical experts, and third-party consultants we’re instituting a full HVAC system plan in all possible locations. The plan covers increased fresh air for improved circulation, including opening windows where applicable, filtration of recirculated air, 24-hour system run-times as well as checklists and ongoing reviews with landlords to ensure optimal air quality,” Von Almen says.

The company’s comprehensive Healthy and Sustainable Materials Program measures indoor air quality using professional testing and continuous monitoring, though Von Almen says that’s been happening for quite some time now. “For our office reopening strategy we’ve increased our IAQ monitoring efforts and achieved our first Fitwel VRM certification,” she says.

Early in the pandemic the team realized just how much new data and information they’d have to oversee as part of any reopening plan. Tracking all of that data for every single office, many of them in very different places across the globe, would also be challenging. They had to track and manage building health and safety measures, daily wellness checks by employees, staggered arrival times, shift scheduling, reduced floor capacities, and more.

The right technology was a must, and these findings led Salesforce to launch Work.com. The new tool handles things like shift scheduling for employees to manage floor capacities and avoid bottlenecks (like elevator backups), digital wellness assessments to ensure employees are healthy enough to come into work, and manual contact tracing solutions.

Throughout its reopening process the Salesforce team says they’ve found that nearly half of their employees want to come in only a few times per month but that 80% want to maintain a connection to a physical space, so Salesforce

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projects

PHOTO BY YU-CHEN CHAO

THE SHAPE OF THE TAINAN PUBLIC LIBRARY STAIRS ARE INSPIRED BY THE HISTORIC RELIGIOUS TEMPLES IN TAINAN.

prac t ice

The Art of the Modern Library Two international architects tell a story inside and outside of this Taiwan project.

WORDS BY JESSICA ZUNIGA

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projec t s

Tainan’s new public library is more than three times the size of the city’s previous one. While the original building was located in the city center, the new library is in an up-and-coming residential area.

It is expected to act as a catalyst for new neighboring developments as this attractive new area grows.

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The first thing you may notice when you visit the Tainan Public Library is its unique shape, as an inverted stairstep design makes it look as though the smallest base level bears the weight of three larger levels. Slender white columns, designed to give the feeling of a modern bamboo forest, support the cantilever. It’s a cool contrast against the champagne-colored structure with tall glass windows on three levels.

The newest public library in Tainan (the oldest city on the island of Taiwan) is rich with history and built with modern ingenuity. It is more than three times the size of the city’s previous library and houses more than a million books along with film, music, and modern art.

“A library is not just a place to hold books; it’s more of a social building where people meet, learn, and share experiences,” says Rodrigo Louro, an associate architect with Netherlands-based Mecanoo, who designed the building alongside Taiwan partner MAYU. ISSUE 64

“We’ve seen the people of Tainan are becoming regular users of the space and creating community in the building.”

The finished project took more than five years to actualize, and the result is a thoughtful design full of intent, where local influence is abundant and the design works with the tropical climate. The top level is surrounded by vertical aluminum slats carved into a charming floral design that is reminiscent of a graphical pattern you see often around the island on decorated latticed shop windows. “We wanted to create a bit of a story with the facade, something with a strong meaning for the people,” Louro says.

“Included in the story and the meaning are practical solutions.”

The building’s design is the outcome of a lot of creative problem-solving. Tainan is on the south of the island of Taiwan, where it’s very hot, humid, and rains often. Louro says the design team wanted a building that was transparent so anyone could look inside and

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PHOTOS THIS SPREAD AND NEXT: ETHAN LEE; DRAWING COURTESY OF MECANOO

While the exterior reminds us of ancient temples, the interior is playfully modern with imaginative bookcases, contemporary

light fixtures, and contrasting color schemes. A bright red staircase connects each level and is visible from anywhere in the library as it stands

out against wood paneling. 1% of the project’s total budget was set aside for artwork inside, including this Paul Cocksedge art installation below.

SITE PLAN PROJECT: Tainan Public Library ARCHITECT: Mecanoo & MAYU Architects LOCATION: Tainan City, Taiwan

1m 3m

5m

9m

Scale 1:300 Transverse elevation

Completion: January 2021 Size: 344,445 square feet Cost: $67.7 million Contractor: Fu Tsu Construction, Shing Tai Hydro-Power Engineering Construction: Envision Engineering Consultants Installation Advisor: Frontier Tech Institute of Engineering Design & Consultant Wayfinding: Path & Landforms

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see the beautiful space, but glass walls let in too much sun that would degrade the furniture while raising the electricity to keep the space cool. The building’s shape was a perfect solution. The large top level not only creates a canopy around the building to guide patrons and protect people during rainy days, but it also shades the walls of windows on the three levels beneath it on sunny ones.

The aluminum slats also filter out the harsh sun and keep the interior cool naturally.

The interior space is impressive, too.

When you first walk in, a stunning Paul Cocksedge art installation greets you. The dynamic piece hangs from the ceiling and resembles papers blowing in the wind; it sets the tone for a place that is as creative and dreamy as it is inspirational. A bright red staircase takes you up to the next two levels, where you’ll find an expansive book collection alongside multifunctional spaces, accessible study rooms, a theater, and art gallery. g

Tainan’s Public Library now houses over one million books—some of which are rare, and many of which were written by Taiwanese authors.

More than 16,000 of those books are from the Japanese occupation period. There is also an extensive braille library.

PHOTOS BY ETHAN LEE

The library’s inverted staircase design keeps the interior naturally cool in a tropical climate without compromising the large glass windows that make it beautiful and transparent in the evening. The shape is inspired by the historic religious temples in Tainan.

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The Hybrid Work Experiment Leading experts at Perkins&Will on unassigned seating and redefining office culture

WORDS BY L AUR A ROTE PHOTOS BY GARRET T ROWL AND

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A living wall anchors the division between the client and practice side of the office and is visible from nearly anywhere on the floor. “Not only do we want green in the space, we want people to see green at any point in the day no matter where they’re working.”

Flexible planters in

furniture-like spaces can easily be moved around. As for the living wall, Principal and Interior Design Director Brent Capron says, “This wasn’t just a visual. We wanted something growing in our space. It visually makes people happier, and it is a natural air refresher.”

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Designed to LEED Gold standards, this project, like all of Perkins&Will’s projects, emphasizes sustainable building materials with high performance and low VOCs. “It’s an exposed structure, and we used a lot of polished

concrete where we could,” Capron says. Elements like the raised floor system—a 2-inch thick raised demountable modular floor system that you can run wires through—were used almost like Legos that can be stacked up and reused in a

new space in the future, too. “Even our terrazzo floor tile, which typically you would build on wood substrate, we put that over the system. We tried to look for materials that could be removed and reused when our lease is over, too.”

No one could have predicted in 2019 just how different the workplace would be in 2020 and beyond. At the time Perkins&Will was deep in planning for its new office in NYC’s Nomad Tower. It would be a living lab.

Little did these architects know then just how needed that would be.

The project aimed to predict and react to behavioral, cultural, and technological change in the workplace. Today the Perkins&Will team is testing its design concepts in real time. “A big part of my involvement has been around understanding the human side of all of this and what this will mean when we get back to work,” says Mariana Giraldo, part of the planning and strategies team at Perkins&Will. Giraldo has been going into the office sporadically since it opened to limited capacity in fall 2020.

As part of the new hybrid work model and phased reopening Perkins&Will is studying the behaviors of its own office. How many people are coming in? When? What activities are they coming in for? Utilization sensors track movement as well as measure light levels, temperature, and CO2—part of the firm’s commitment to sustainability, as the data allows them to optimize the use of things like AC and lighting.

“Even before the pandemic this space was set up to be a continually evolving learning lab,” Giraldo says. “Flexibility was at the core of the design. That doesn’t mean it was planned to be a white canvas, but that we would be able to adjust certain things as we went along.”

Most infrastructure inside the office is not fixed, so spaces can be reconfigured easily, Giraldo says. “We have flexible furniture, a raised floor, and this together with sensors that are measuring how we’re using our space allows us to understand if any adjustments need to be made, like if a space should be used for something else.”

It’s important to note that, while spaces are flexible, they are intentional, says Brent Capron, principal and interior design director.

“We didn’t build a space where all our furniture is on casters—come in and do what you want. That’s not the flexibility we’re talking about.” He points to a public area near the

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front of the office as an example. That space can be intentionally set up to work as an interview space with great lighting for on-camera interviews, or it can be a place to break out and review things digitally, or post work on the wall.

Capron says their new home in Nomad Tower is fitting, considering their own nomadic style and agile working strategy. “Early on we knew we wanted to focus on the process and the work. Our old space did not allow enough of that—not physically allowing enough discourse, not enough live work on the walls. We wanted to make sure we were highlighting that,” he says. “What came out of that was to have a space that was central to the studio, visible from everywhere where people were actively working but working in multiple ways.”

Giraldo says the firm’s commitment to technology makes the hybrid model stronger and more inclusive, whether people are in the studio or working from home. Perkins&Will has wall cameras, ceiling cameras that zoom

in and out, speakers, and a teleconferencing service hub on wheels you can take where you want and share a touchscreen. “The office is going to be there to support our culture, but we want to make sure people who cannot come in still feel that they are part of the process. Same with our clients. There are ways we can make them feel immersed in the idea or in the essense of our culture and our office.”

A willingness to experiment and commitment to gathering and studying data is in keeping with the firm’s creative mission, Giraldo says, and it will benefit their clients, too. “Design is constantly informed by research,” she says. “Understanding our behaviors and the way we work and what’s at the core of what we do has allowed us to be more resilient.”

Giraldo says the team’s early research showed them they could use real estate more efficiently, and there was a strong argument for unassigned seating. “Initially that felt like a really strong challenge to our culture because we’re used to collaborating and dealing

Even before “social distancing” became the norm, Perkins&Will explored a studio design that could both preserve human connection and provide places for more isolated and focused work in the absence of a traditional

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office setting.

Their robust IT/AV infrastructure and resources support agile working while in-studio, and seamlessly transition to enable continued productivity when working remotely.

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Custom workstations from Innovant and carpet from Mohawk are among the finishing touches in Perkins&Will’s new office.

with samples. We’re used to having a lot of stuff, which in a way seemed misaligned with this idea of being agile,” she says.

The team studied what it meant for their processes and their creativity if people didn’t have their own seats. They looked at their natural behaviors, and how often people weren’t using their desks. They asked: What would agile look like for us? What would other spaces look like? How could we be more efficient?

Where can we store materials? Personal belongings? “We ended up finding that it’s really the social areas and the collaborative areas that are the bigger part of our work and that the focused areas—the desks—didn’t need to be assigned. What needed to be assigned were the projects.”

They started to rethink space and give projects a home instead of people. The current office has huddle areas where projects can take over for a period of time, with plentiful work boards and pinup walls. The team moves around the projects depending on their activities.

“There’s this balance we’re going to need to figure out in the future between us feeling comfortable sharing space again, like sharing desks, versus what we are coming to the office for, and whether it still makes sense to have an assigned seat,” Giraldo says. “I don’t think we have an answer for that, but what we do have is a model that allows us to test things out, increase our capacity, adjust our schedule, adjust our policies, and adjust the way we’re using those work desks as we move forward.”

Perkins&Will is committed to looking ahead, predicting what the future workplace may look like and how people will use space.

Data from sensors and utilization studies is all part of the ongoing research that will con-

tinue to inform their new office, and likely many other offices.

“Is having an assigned seat the best use of real estate? Are there other types of spaces that would better support the way we work?” Giraldo asks. “For the way we work, even though having an unassigned seat was a challenge at the beginning, it made more sense to have more variety in work settings, to have collaboration areas that would allow teams to come together. What is the best use of the space, and how does that end up supporting our culture and our work? That is really what we’re focusing on.”

While the way we work together may change, the office isn’t going anywhere, Capron says. “We’re always going to find new ways to work together, but we feel the strength of the culture of an office will be even more important,” he says. Daily tasks can be done anywhere, but culture is hard to re-create from home. Perkins&Will is asking what makes company culture different, and how are companies building spaces that support that? How do you support the emotional bond between colleagues?

“Space will focus even more on the culture, the socialization, and the communication between people and the identity of the company,” Capron says. “I think what’s going to go away are back-of-house offices. If you can do work digitally, why build a space for it? But if you want to commit to being a Googler or you want to commit to being part of a certain law firm, you want to come in and experience that life,” he says. “There’s also something to be said about separating life and work. The workplace isn’t going away. It’s just maybe the 9 to 5 that’s going to continue to erode.” g

FLOORPLAN

DRAWING COURTESY OF PERKINS&WILL

PROJECT: Perkins&Will New York studio ARCHITECT: Perkins&Will LOCATION: New York City Completion Date: August 2020 Size: 12,000 square feet Living Wall: Sempergreen Glass Walls: Tecno Folding Wall Partitions: Modernfold Raised Flooring: FreeAxez

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Building for Chile’s Future A Chilean fishing industry innovator teamed up with a local design team to create a boundary-pushing workspace in Puerto Varas.

WORDS BY K ATE GRIFFITH PHOTOS BY NICOL ÁS SAIEH

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“We found a neutral language with the barn,” architect Andrés Laborde says.

“Around the river is houses. The forest can hide the barn, and if you visit you’ll see this clean building

that invites you to discover from the inside to be respectful of place and nature.

While we generated mystery with a building that is black, one facade is more transparent.”

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Keepex sits on a lot next to the Maullín River, 4 kilometers from the urban center of Puerto Varas, among the trees, protected from the wind, and oriented to the sun.

“Keepex develops technology for problems the fishing industry hasn’t seen yet. They started as a salmon industry supplier, but they wanted to make a

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difference and stop great damage the industry has done to the country,” says Laborde, one of two minds responsible for creating Keepex’s stage for innovation.

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Just outside the Chilean city of Puerto Varas, Keepex’s new headquarters sits tucked against a forest. The building is unassuming.

It’s built to resemble a large metal barn—it is a barn—but, inside, Keepex solves Chile’s fishing industry puzzles in a serene playhouse of sustainable innovation.

The 8,600-square-foot barn, a skeleton of certified laminated wood encased by black Isopol prefabricated panels, has a low energy consumption thanks to the placement of windows and shades that can be adjusted to reflect light into the building. Nearly 18% of the building surface is open to light, combining mainly north-facing windows and skylights, to achieve even and continuous illumination with low electric demands. Inside, the black surface of the barn gives way to an inviting workspace built by local artisans in keeping with Puerto Varas’ history of wooden architecture. Keepex staff maneuver through and work in a warm and open but modular space, with room to expand and collaborate as needed and work hours limited to the times natural light is available.

Andrés Laborde and Constanza Garcia are the husband and wife duo of Puerto Varas and Santiago-based LAGAR architecture and the minds behind Keepex’s new space. Both

are familiar with Puerto Varas and its local history of architecture and building, and they offered fresh ideas more competitive than the more typical design firms in Keepex’s rolodex. “Keepex called us because we work with local materials and because of the flexibility of our office,” Garcia says. “Exciting ideas move us to work and collaborate.”

The duo’s first big idea came along when resiting the project’s location. Keepex originally planned to build in a space near the local highway, but the site didn’t connect with Keepex’s goal of giving employees a space where their creativity could thrive. “They wanted new ideas, green ideas, and to work with water,” Garcia says. “We started to look for a new place for the building to connect with nature and the development of ideas.

They wanted to put their feet in the mud and take care of the river.” The new site was much closer to the Maullín River, surrounded by ancient trees that create an oasis for native and migratory fauna and flora.

The barn design came as a natural extension of proximity to nature, fitting in with the local landscape as unobtrusively as possible. The barn style blends well with the farming neighborhoods in the surrounding area, and it gave the architects the ability to orient

BUILDING MODEL

PROJECT: Keepex Lab ARCHITECT: LAGAR LOCATION: Puerto Varas, Chile Completion: October 2019 Size: 8,611 square feet Cost: $1.1 million Engineer: Ingebau Contractor: LAHUEN Interior Designer: SURDECO Civil Engineer: Reinaldo Cerna Landscape Architect: Paula Bravo Water Features Consultant: Reinaldo Cerna Specifications: Ceruti & Associates

“Keepex wanted a space to create new ideas—industry often asks employees to be efficient or to create, but the environment doesn’t allow you to do that,” Garcia says.

“Keepex started with ‘How do we create places to give people new ideas?’”

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Chile typically imports much of its materials from long distances, but Keepex wanted its workspace to be as efficient, green, and sustainable as possible. Material decisions were made even more difficult because Puerto Varas’ weather can be harsh with long winters, lots of rain, and heavy winds. To withstand such conditions architects Laborde and Garcia chose to wrap their building in a solid coat of metal, encasing a strucure that is predominantly

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wooden and built in the local style.

While the locality sometimes has issues with building fires, in which buildings fail at their joints, Laborde installed metal connectors between the building’s metal outer coat and the structure of laminated wood inside as well as between the wood beams themselves.

“They are hidden inside the wood so they still hold up the building even in the case of a fire,” he says, creating efficiencies even in emergency.

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the space for expansion inside or future additions outside.

Keepex is focused on the future, with an ever larger staff of bright, nimble minds.

“They are growing, and growing very quickly,” Laborde says. But his client didn’t know exactly what it needed the size of its new building to be two or three years from now.

“Our challenge was, ‘How can we give them these spaces that are creative and how can we be flexible and adapt to a growing industry that is every day asking for more?”

Inside, the space is bright and welcoming but also large and flexible. Employees store their work and projects in large lockers that can be pulled out or put away as needed.

A dining space doubles as a team meeting space, with doors and a full wall of windows that flow into the main work space. Above the dining and meeting space are more flexible rest and work areas that connect to the bustle below.

Keepex is an open-door company inside and out. Nothing restricts locals and local fisherman from visiting the surrounding land, to walk through the thicket of native forest and access the river. “Inside the forest a pedestrian path lets you walk in the woods to get to the river. People have reunions and gatherings there,” Garcia says, adding that Keepex’s next project is to develop outdoor places to work and to take the Keepex office into nature, “always respecting what’s happening with the river.” g

“In Puerto Varas we have a history of woodworking in the southern German style. For Keepex, we made a bet to do the barn in wood,” Laborde says. “That was very exciting because we used local materials and workers and we learned together.”

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Downtown Connections Gensler improved a massive complex in Houston to give people more options to work and play.

WORDS BY JESSICA ZUNIGA PHOTOS BY GR ANT GAY

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The Houston Center’s original design was a part of a master plan that developer Texas Eastern embarked on in the mid-1970s.

They purchased 32 blocks of land with grand aspirations to design a downtown within downtown,

where central buildings would be linked together via sky bridges and separate from pedestrian and vehicular traffic. That contributed to the center’s disconnect and isolation from the city that Gensler worked to eradicate.

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The Houston Center, a collection of four buildings connected by sky bridges at the heart of downtown, has seen a major transformation in 2021. Three full office buildings and a two-level shopping mall with additional offices on top have been part of a repositioning project led by the Gensler architect team. For nearly 50 years, the complex has had a fortress-like and unwelcoming design, despite its premier location with pedestrian traffic on both sides. Today you would hardly recognize it.

Two years since groundbreaking, the complex has transformed into an inviting and more sustainably functioning place to work, shop, or lounge. “Our charge by Brookfield was to bring life and activity back to this area of town, and to create this new innovative district where people would really want to be,” says Dean Strombom, principal at Gensler.

The project’s renovations focused on the LyondellBasell Tower and the 2 Houston Center building, along with upgrades to the 4 Houston Center lobby and major changes to the plaza and green space outside. A modern three-story glass facade was added to 2 Houston Center along with elevator cabs, a fitness center overlooking the city, coworking spaces designed to inspire collaboration, and more. Sky bridges connecting offices to the shopping center have been completely reclad and a new spiral staircase now provides public access to the bridge system. Beyond its tenants, anyone downtown can benefit from what the complex now has to offer, inside and out.

Strombom says reconnecting with pedestrian traffic was a major part of renovations as the original design kept the building guarded. To make the complex more inviting, Gensler first brought the plaza down to street level—removing a large mound that once separated the two.

The team also introduced new native Texas landscaping, included a large artificial turf lawn as a flexible space for activities, and installed an eye-catching water feature—the digital water wall.

Improved landscaping and new uses of outdoor space bring the buildings together as a cohesive neighborhood and connects

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The Houston Center is the only complex downtown where the owner has buildings on both sides of the street. The repositioning project took advantage of foot traffic by making the

space more cohesive and connected with the street level.

Gensler was able to coordinate the closure of the four-lane road to expand pedestrian walkways and create safer crossways.

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While the center’s original design had dark tinted glass and a bronze metal facade, the renovated look is more modern and sleek with clear glass and cool tones. A grand spiral staircase leads to the sky bridge to connect buildings and act as a functional work of art while giving the complex an easily identified landmark.

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PROJECT: Houston Center ARCHITECT: Gensler LOCATION: Houston

them to the busy street level and nearby attractions. The complex is now an integrated part of downtown.

These outdoor features are also a way for Gensler to continue pushing the Houston Center to be more sustainable. “Part of the response to make this a much more eco-friendly environment is activating the use of the outdoor spaces,” Strombom says.

Besides the street level amenities, an outdoor skydeck is used as a space for tenants to work and mingle outside of the office. And attached to the fitness center is a mezzanine terrace with room for outdoor workouts. Outdated systems throughout the building were replaced to improve water conservation and energy usage and reduce carbon footprint.

Metal and glass were replaced with a highly energy-efficient clear glazing to create a sleek, transparent design and let in natural light. The original complex was LEED Gold–certified, and the new improvements exceed those status requirements even further. g

Size: 4.2 million square Completion: February 2021 Project Developer: Brookfield Properties Contractor: Harvey Builders Engineer: Thornton Tomasetti Interior Designer: Gensler Landscape Architect: Clark Condon

DRAWING COURTESY OF GENSLER

New green spaces at Houston Center allow for all sorts of entertainment and include furniture that’s easy to reconfigure.

Approximately 24,000 square feet of pedestrian and green space have been added since the repositioning project began.

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Photo Finish Nike’s flagship photography studio promotes efficiency indoors and out.

WORDS BY SOPHIA CONFORTI PHOTOS BY IWAN BA AN & PAUL VU

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Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects designed Nike Icon Studios LA as a space where artistry meets efficiency.

Murals of athletic icons like Kobe Bryant are scattered around creative zones that work in a conveyor

belt-like fashion.

Materiality also played a key role, as the space’s white color palette was used as a backdrop to celebrate Nike’s products—from sneakers to hoodies—as people move throughout the building.

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The photography bays were designed with flexibility in mind. They don’t have hard boundaries so that they can be configured to any creative setup or product shoot that Nike may need.

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Nike has long been heralded as an innovator in athletic wear, but behind the swoosh, Nike had a brand imaging problem—namely that all of its product photography processes were isolated in different locations. For a global brand with an extensive product line, the separation was cumbersome at best, highly inefficient at worst.

Enter Nike Icon Studios LA, the brand’s flagship photography and creative studio in Los Angeles. Completed in 2019, the space was designed by Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects (LOHA) to bring together all of the company’s brand imaging departments from pre- to post-production into one central hub where Nike’s creative team can, well, just do it—all right then and there.

“Essentially Nike streamlined all of these photography components into a new brand imaging operation for all of the Nike products you know—sneakers, hoodies, Jordans, everything,” says Lorcan O’Herlihy, founder and design principal at LOHA. “The building was designed to accommodate how the products are prepped, primed, dressed on models, photographed, edited, and marketed worldwide.”

Because the building itself—a core and shell building by Eric Owen Moss Architects—

is so linear, LOHA organized the building along its central spine similar to a conveyor belt. Starting on the ground floor, Nike products come into the building at the loading dock, where they then move throughout the various creative zones before ending up in the photography bays. Think of it as an assembly line: a continuous path from the beginning to end, though more principled and natural. “Given the linear building, there was an idea that we can take advantage of getting the product through each step efficiently,” O’Herlihy says. “Every single area has continuity, and the whole process is happening under one roof. So it’s all really about process in a sense, but there are loose boundaries.”

“Loose” being the operative word. As a way to increase creativity and flexibility, all of the photography bays are divided by movable black curtains rather than hard walls, with the intention being that Nike can arrange the studio space as needed. You can remove all of the curtains to create one large space, or keep them in place to designate up to 14 individual studios.

Above the photo bays on the mezzanine level is the post-production and editing hub, as well as various conference rooms, that overlook the studio happenings below. “We

Felt acoustic baffles separate the postproduction area on the mezzanine level from the photo studios, allowing employees working above to look down and remain connected to the people and projects happening below.

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SITE PLAN

PROJECT: Nike Icon Studios LA ARCHITECT: Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects LOCATION: Los Angeles Size: 50,000 square feet Completion: 2019 MEP Engineer: ARUP Structural Engineers: JRMA Contractor: Samitaur Constructs

DRAWING COURTESY OF LOHA

“We wanted to go with a lighter palette so light could bounce around,” O’Herlihy says. The stairwell is also perforated so light can filter through it.

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didn’t want to fully separate the photo bays; we wanted the opportunity for those working on the mezzanine level to be able to see the products being photographed,” O’Herlihy says. “If you’re upstairs and working, you can look down and see the production happening. You’re not separated completely from the workshops.”

The connectivity between spaces is a prime example of the space’s social agency, something O’Herlihy says is vital to architecture. “I’m convinced that the role of an architect is to create an environment and opportunities for people to gather and hang out,” he says. It’s why, outside of the more function-driven spaces, community was a core tenet of the project. Both levels have what is referred to as a hub, or a common area where employees can come together, eat, or take a break, in addition to the building’s large outdoor patio. “We celebrated gathering spaces and wanted to make sure they had a really nice experience and that we created an opportunity to gather.”

Sustainably speaking, LOHA focused the interiors on passive design with an emphasis on cross ventilation. They took advantage of existing operable windows and skylights and bifold exterior doors to promote natural ven-

tilation throughout.

Because light is crucial to photography, it was crucial to the building’s design. The space has abundant natural light filtered throughout the building so that does not disturb the space’s creative functions. Acoustic felt baffles separate the mezzanine level from the photo bays below, for instance, and are positioned to block southern light and bring in north light, promoting soft indirect sunlight rather than harsh direct rays.

Although the studio space is steeped in a need for improved functionality, O’Herlihy says its commitment to artistry is what makes the project successful. “Our work is about science and art. We produce architecture, recognizing that it has to work and function well and is about the culture of people, but we bring artistry to that experience,” O’Herlihy says. “Nike is similar: They create amazing products for athletes to excel in what they do, and they design extraordinary artistic components. In a sense, I felt that was a very interesting parallel in our work and perhaps why they hired us, because we could give them a robust space organized efficiently to distill the whole photographic process from product to print, but we never lost the artistry in that.” g

Like the studios inside, the outdoor space is flexible. All of the seating is movable and can be arranged to accommodate employees meeting outside for work or just hanging out and taking a break.

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Slowing Down with Sharp House Architect Marc Thorpe argues that less is more—and smarter.

WORDS BY J. LIV Y LI RENDERINGS COURTESY OF MARC THORPE DESIGN

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Sharp House was designed with an eye on materials and geometry. The NeoBrutalist approach to space is reflected as a byproduct in the building’s appearance. According to the architect, the

house is designed as a declaration against the gloss of mainstream architectural practice, which he says tends to focus on exterior “decorative” facades and arbitrary forms.

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Sharp House is a study of space, light, and shadow, and the design takes into serious consideration its ecological impact.

“When I was in architecture school at Parsons, I did all my drawings by hand,” Marc Thorpe says with a laugh. After getting his master’s in architecture, Thorpe moved to Europe to hone his craft, working with the likes of Cappellini and Moroso.

“I wanted to work with Italian brands that were of the highest quality but also the avant-garde ones that made dreams real,” he says. After an eventual breakthrough working with these brands, he established his namesake studio in 2010.

Thorpe’s circuitous route through the design world has most recently resulted in the design of Sharp House, a low-slung house just north of Santa Fe. Originally a concept for upstate New York, the design was picked out by client George Sharp and his wife for a retirement home.

“They’re longtime New Yorkers and quintessential minimalists,” Thorpe says.

“It’s about keeping it as tight as possible. It was more an execution of minimalism and trying to overemphasize the simplicity of what a space can be functionally.”

The Sharps’ ideals of reductivisim aligned well with Thorpe’s, resulting in a deceptively simple design that made the most of both its materiality and geometry.

“Economical design and minimalism go in tandem,” Thorpe says. Concrete is the star of the show here, providing thermal mass and natural insulation so as to keep the house warm at night and cool during the day. Thorpe recounts that the Sharps insisted on the material: “The design could easily be translated into wood or the like, but they wanted concrete. I personally thought concrete would be a nice material because of its tactility. And it’s an honest material, to communicate exactly what the building is.”

The design is reminiscent of tropical building tradition, with sweeping overhangs covering entryways and recessed ribbon windows cutting into the building’s monolithic concrete facade. The large glass windows to the north and south help mitigate the semi-arid Santa Fe climate, allowing natural cross ventilation. “That’s how the rest of the world builds,” Thorpe says, ISSUE 64

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ELEVATIONS

PROJECT: Sharp House ARCHITECT: Marc Thorpe Design LOCATION: Santa Fe

pointing to other recent projects in which he’s designed for climates in Africa using similar ventilation processes and earth brick instead of concrete.

To further keep the Sharp House economical, the roof has been layered with solar panels and areas for water collection that supply a non-potable system. The self-sustaining systems in place are a safeguard in the face of the climate change crisis. Thorpe sys, “Water is a huge issue and will become a great issue as our civilization evolves. You need to be able to harvest water and power your house.”

The roof serves a secondary, much dreamier purpose, too—stargazing. Technically the roof offers access to maintain the solar and water systems. “But you can totally just hang out on the roof and watch

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the stars,” he says. The use of every surface of the house is an intentional move on Thorpe’s part. “There isn’t really a front or a back,” he says. “In the tradition of Frank Lloyd Wright, he designed his houses with no real entry. It was more a work of art where you’re forced to engage with the house on all sides and explore it like you would explore a piece of sculpture.”

With Sharp House, Thorpe makes an argument for slowing down and appreciating the phenom of interacting with a space. His favorite part of the house? The long ribbon windows. “Those are really unique moments that, through the transition of the day, allow light to cut through the space and create lines that define. It’s a very beautiful moment where you have time to stop and reflect. Why not embrace those moments?” g

The minimalist Sharp House design is for a New Mexico escape on five acres. The house was designed to be as economical as possible in construction, with exposed cast-in-place concrete and large glass exposures to the north and south to allow for solar gain and cross ventilation.

DRAWING COURTESY OF MARC THORPE DESIGN

Size: 1,500 square feet Completion: Ongoing

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Visit www.condair.com/TESERIES to receive your FREE hygrometer to ensure the humidity in your workplace is between 40-60%RH. Humidification, dehumidification and evaporative cooling

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PHOTO BY CELSO ROJAS

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AN ACOUSTICAL SYSTEM INSIDE THE LECTURE HALL IS BASED ON THE GEOMETRY OF WOODEN COMPONENTS, LIKE PIANO BARS, TO CREATE A 3D FRAMEWORK ON THE VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL SURFACES.

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Lilian Asperin on Designing Higher Ed Spaces for All Diversity and wellness are built in to WRNS Studio.

BY LAURA ROTE

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in conver sat ion

affect justice, too. “My practice has to do with paying it forward and connecting as many dots as I can—architecture-based education, wellness, opportunity. All of those things to me are synchronous.”

A key goal of the UC Merced project was to offer students an engaging, inclusive campus experience that supports evolving learning modalities with flexible, mixed-use spaces that blend student life with education. The work is part of a Public Private Partnership (P3) delivery model and included a Triple Zero Commitment—zero net energy consumption, zero waste production, and zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. We talked to Asperin about this project and designing for wellness overall.

How does wellness and well-being fit into design?

Wellness, to me, is health. Being healthy, having opportunities, having an ability to see a future for yourself in a profession and a way for you and your family to have generational wealth and knowledge and wisdom is something that we should be all striving toward.

As architects we’re natural pattern-seekers and system-makers.

All of these things really have to do with how we nurture ourselves as humans and as networks of communities across generations. And now, making sure there’s justice, that all of these things are working together to elevate gaps where folks have not had the same level of opportunity.

With education it’s the same idea. The more you can turn information into data, data becomes knowledge, then knowledge becomes the reason for your activism. I see them as connected. When I think about higher education I think about: How are people learning? But I also think about how the faculty is teaching. What are people learning? How are campuses coming together, and how is an experience on-campus really building on all those smaller scales of education, like wellness and growing and becoming part of this world?

W When Lilian Asperin, partner at WRNS Studio, thinks about where she is today, she gets emotional. She’s been doing this work for nearly 25 years, but still it’s sometimes hard to believe. Today she plays a pivotal role in the designing, developing, and decision-making that results in some of the most groundbreaking designs happening in higher education—including the new UC Merced Arts and Computational Sciences Building in Merced, California.

“I come from a biracial background, born and raised in Puerto Rico, so I’ve always wanted to be of greatest service to the greater community, knowing not all of us are the same,” she says. “As a Latinx person, I was part of the 1%. There were not too many of us women going through architecture.”

Asperin is also co-chair of the AIA’s Equity

by Design Committee, a group that’s committed to thinking about how architects impact much more than the built environment. They

How do you build that into the design process?

LILIAN ASPERIN IS PARTNER AT WRNS STUDIO AND COCHAIR OF THE AIA’S EQUITY BE DESIGN COMMITTEE.

It starts with asking better questions at the beginning and then thinking, “Who else should we be asking?” Are we really engaging the broadest number of people to help us discover? Ask better questions and have a broader group of people to engage with. As architects we need to suspend thinking that we need to have the answer earlier. We need to train ourselves to listen longer and more attentively.

Yes, the physical space is the outcome, but do we have the right ingredients to reach that outcome? The process is a design opportunity.

How are we getting to the components? How are we listening? How are we playing things back? That also has to do with equity and diversity and inclusion. We need to create spaces that welcome everyone.

Buildings have a great impact on the environment. I can’t not feel enormous responsibility for healing the planet and making better decisions and, frankly, not building more if we can adaptively reuse space. That’s a better answer—thinking about materials and carbon footprints, thinking about daylight. Do we need energy to turn on the light when you can plan the building in a way that it has more natural daylight?

That whole campus is the youngest campus in the University of California system. By definition, it’s out there—in a town called Merced, which is in the valley. The demographics in the valley are primarily Latinx, and a lot of the students are first-generation. So this building exists as part of a campus that is creating enormous opportunity for generations. It’s exciting.

Thinking about the valley, it’s very hot out there. How do you create a building where people want to hang out? When you hang out on campus you meet people and you learn and you create this whole learning experience. But how do you create a community that has nothing else around it? And how do you create a building that doesn’t harm the landscape and also make sure students and their families have a positive experience?

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What about designing in a hot climate?

Because it’s super hot we designed exterior circulation. Our facade to the building envelope is called a brise-soleil, which is a shading device. We use the materials in the depth of the building to create a sheltered environment that’s outdoors. You’re not spending a lot of money conditioning the space, and you work with the natural environment and the winds to create a space where people feel comfortable hanging out in the shade. The brise-soleil is like a habitable space that creates shelter.

And every room has natural light?

Every single space in the building has access to natural daylight.

That was really hard to do because there are deep, long spaces and spaces that are simply storage rooms. But if a human goes in there, we were considering a day in the life, so every single room has access to daylight and views, which is a huge commitment to wellness. Why should the professors in the corner office be the only ones who have a pleasant space?

Tell me about the lecture hall.

We designed an acoustical system inside the lecture hall that is based on the geometry of wooden components, sort of like piano bars that create a three-dimensional framework on the vertical and horizontal surfaces. We worked with the local community to find wood that was regional to the valley, and we designed the lecture hall around that species, which celebrates community. We used poplar, a regional FSC-certified wood species, so we can keep the contract and the economic benefits in the region.

How was color important to the UC Merced Arts and Computational Sciences Building?

We talked a lot about the quality of light in the selection of colors.

Every color we considered we asked: Is it reflective of heat? The concrete itself is gray, and we left it natural because the lighter the color the more reflective it is, but also we didn’t want to spend any money on painting concrete. Concrete can be very beautiful.

The one color we picked was red; it’s in great contrast to the valley.

It’s a very agrarian landscape. In some ways red to us was like the color of energy, like student life and the joy of learning and growing.

This sort of celebrated life, and the red is really a good neighbor to green, or the agrarian landscape, and a simple alternative to the blue of the sky. The only dark elements you see are the shadows created by the light.

Talk to me more about your love of concrete.

We love concrete. It’s such an honest material. It’s very sculptural.

It’s very tactile. We actually built models to study how we were going to sculpt the concrete. When you look at the project from the front, it’s kind of like a lattice work. And the depth of the lattice work has to do with how much we want to use that to mitigate the sun. The deeper it is, the more shadow it creates, so the shadow is much more comfortable to be under.

We also varied the angle of those columns from floor to floor. As you’re walking down the brise-soleil, it’s a shaded walkway. We have a physical model of it, we reviewed the shop drawings, we looked at the concrete itself to make sure it was the right mix. Sometimes you can get concrete and it could be quite harmful for the environment.

We paid attention to what is this material doing? It doesn’t absorb a lot of heat or retain it. It’s a really good—a naturally occurring way of avoiding heat gains or heat loss.

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A BRISE-SOLEIL, WITH ANGLED CAST-IN-PLACE CONCRETE COLUMNS, RUNS ALONG THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE BUILDING, OFFERING STUDENTS AN OUTDOOR, SHELTERED GATHERING SPACE AND COMFORTABLE TRANSITION FROM THE QUAD TO THE INTERIOR.

PHOTOS, CLOCKWISE: JEREMY BITTERMAN, COURTESY OF WRNS STUDIO, JEREMY BITTERMAN, CELSO ROJAS

in conver sat ion

What is the future of design for higher ed spaces? What about indoor/outdoor space?

I’ll share a little from what’s in my head since a (SCUP, Society for College and University Planning) workshop I had this morning. We had a workshop with 60 people and 13 institutional leaders talking about what they’ve learned in the past year, what students need, and how are things changing after COVID. How are we thinking about campuses?

For me, I started thinking not just about indoor and outdoor space, but about designing through another lens. Of course we can design spaces, like a porch, or you can open doors or windows, but campuses are these incredible natural assets. Everybody remembers a beautiful tree they would go to after a class or a park where they used to talk to their professor. I think we should talk to the gardener and the groundskeeping crew. What do they know about the campus that we should be thinking about? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have class under a tree that’s 100 years old?

If you’re a commuter student and you’re on campus for eight hours, and you have class for three hours, what are you going to do in between? Let’s think about the fact that you’re learning in between classes; you’re learning outside of the classroom. That’s wellness, too, right? Being outside lowers your stress. You’re breathing clean air.

Especially after COVID we love parks again. I think there’s going to be a renaissance. It’s another reason to build less—shouldn’t there be more open landscapes on campuses? I want us to have healthy campuses. Just imagine; maybe there’s a migratory bird path. You wouldn’t see that unless you were sitting out in the yard. And maybe that’s what you want to learn. g

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Carol Ross Barney on Designing McDonald’s Flagship Restaurants How Ross Barney Architects combined sustainability and urbanism for the fast-food giant

BY CAROL ROSS BARNEY

public space that it would have and wanted to be a good citizen in their hometown. They also said that “sustainability was their everyday business and that notion was very attractive,” combining sustainability and urbanism.

The new Chicago Flagship celebrates the pure simplicity and enduring authenticity of McDonald’s, welcoming both residents and visitors to a sophisticated yet informal gathering place in the heart of the city.

Green Space The site is just steps from Michigan Avenue, occupied since 1983 by the iconic “Rock ’n’ Roll McDonalds” that emphasized drive-through services. The new design rebalances car-pedestrian traffic, creating a city oasis where people can eat, drink, and meet. Green space is expanded by more than 400%, producing a new park-like amenity for a dense area of Chicago.

Surrounding the restaurant is a park with an outdoor dining space and permeable pavement, topped with a solar pergola to provide shade and feed energy back into the building and to the grid. We felt that the sustainable aspects of the building had to tell a story—that if it was instructive, people would be more aware of their environment and would want to preserve and protect it.

The green roofs are planted with harvestable trees and native plants. The rooftop orchard contains Honeycrisp and Gala apple trees ranging from 8 to 9 feet tall as well as edible plants, including arugula, broccoli, and carrots—all living within the orchard’s canopy.

This food from the rooftop is harvested each fall.

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Sustainability Mission in Design McDonald’s corporate commitment to sustainability is at the core of the new restaurant design. The structural system cross-laminated timber (CLT) is the first commercial use in Chicago and has a lighter environmental footprint than concrete and steel. The solar pergola captures the sun’s energy, supplying part of the building’s consumption needs. Throughout the site, permeable paving is used to reduce stormwater runoff and the heat island effect. The building is designed to achieve LEED certification.

The customer experience upon entering to ordering and enjoying a meal is enhanced by sustainable design features all around, including an outside roof garden planted with ferns and white birch trees that is experienced inside a floating glass terrarium inside and above the dining room. This vantage provides guests an experience of viewing and feeling the landscape above and outside the restaurant.

Inside, tapestries of living plants improve indoor air quality and provide a backdrop of green. This 792-square-foot living tapestry is a functional visual amenity, improving indoor air quality, dampening noise, and increasing psychological comfort for employees and customers.

Chicago Flagship McDonald’s asked us to work with them on the new Chicago Flagship Restaurant because they were concerned about making an amenity for the city. The site is unusual—a full block in River North—and they were concerned about the

Resource-Efficient McDonald’s aims to have the most resource-efficient restaurants possible, using the minimum amounts of energy and water and maximizing the use of renewable energy and resource-efficient features.

A generous solar pergola made up of 1,062 panels generates approximately 60% of the building’s electrical energy used in a year.

This canopy visually unites the restaurant into a single volume, and beneath this “big roof” indoor dining areas, contained in a pure glass box, are seamlessly connected to outdoor spaces. The new kitchen reuses the footprint and structure of the previous store and comprises a second concrete clad box.

The carbon saved by using a CLT and Glulam structure instead of a non-wood structure is equal to removing more than 34,000 passenger vehicles from the road for one year.

While one-of-a-kind, the McDonald’s Chicago Flagship is generating valuable lessons that can be scaled, impacting communities around the world.

When McDonald’s came to Ross Barney Architects to design their new Chicago Flagship restaurant, they really didn’t talk about sustainability at all—they just wanted a refresh of the building. We started doing the research for the design and found that one of their corporate values is sustainability, but centered more on their supply chain and not on buildings. Because of this corporate commitment we suggested that we design the most sustainable restaurant and achieved a LEED Platinum–certified restaurant.

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drawing board

PHOTOS BY K ATE JOYCE; KENDALL MCCAUGHERT Y FOR HALL+MERRICK

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Walt Disney World Resort When McDonald’s approached us again to help them design their new flagship at Florida’s Walt Disney World Resort, the challenge was to take an all-out sustainable approach and design a net zero energy building certified by the International Living Future Institute.

The Disney Flagship aims to become the first net zero energy, quick-service restaurant and represents McDonald’s commitment to building a better future through “scale for good.”

Incorporating visible and impactful symbols of change, the restaurant arranges architecture and technology to firmly place itself in the future. Like the Chicago project, we began with an assessment of the existing building and ended up reusing and incorporated as much as we could from the existing building.

Saving Energy Quick-serve restaurants tend to be energy hogs—we needed to generate at least as much energy on-site from renewable sources as the building uses—so the team had to cut consumption significantly, which very much influenced the design. We designed the building to consume 35% less than baseline, or 666,454 kWh/year. We did this by optimizing kitchen equipment, which carries the biggest loads.

We designed a canopy with 18,700 square feet of standard photovoltaic solar panels and 5,000 square feet of BIPVs over an outdoor eating porch. The restaurant is a sustainable and healthy response to the Florida climate.

Taking advantage of the humid subtropical climate, the building is naturally ventilated for about 65% of the time. Jalousie windows operated by outdoor humidity and temperature sensors close automatically when air conditioning is required. An outdoor “porch” features wood louvered walls and fans to create an extension of the indoor dining room.

Green Design Strategies Additional sustainable strategies include paving materials that reduce the urban heat island effect, previous surfaces that redirect rainwater, 1,766 square feet of living green wall that increases biodiversity, new LED lighting, and low-flow plumbing fixtures.

A robust education strategy was also a goal of the project. The architecture itself becomes a narrative tool in addition to interior graphics, interactive video content, and gaming that is unique to this location. The restaurant teaches visitors of all ages to be more dedicated environmental stewards.

With design, you are constantly asking for clients’ trust as you lead them into unfamiliar territory. That’s not always comfortable, especially if you’re in the role of safeguarding a global brand like McDonald’s. They have been our partner in design of these two new forward-looking, sustainable flagship restaurants that we think are champions of environmental stewardship. g

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DESIGN DETAIL The new McDonald’s at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida was designed as a net zero energy building certified by the International Living Future Institute.

Inside you’ll find 27-foot ceilings and sustainable building materials.

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Meet the Architect THE WALT DISNEY FLAGSHIP LOCATION HAS NEARLY 6,000 SQUARE FEET OF EXTERIOR PATIO.

Carol Ross Barney is the founder and design principal of Ross Barney Architects. She founded Ross Barney Architects in 1981 and has made significant contributions to the built environment, the profession, and architectural education.

As an architect, urbanist, mentor, and educator, she has relentlessly advocated that excellent design is a right, not a privilege. Chicago is Ross Barney Architects’ home base.

PHOTO BY K ATE JOYCE

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Katelyn Chapin on Community and Equity in Architecture

of the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Young Architects Award.

It’s a testament to her design work, yes, but also her dedication to bettering the industry as a whole.

HOW SHE GOT HERE When Chapin graduated from Roger Williams University in 2009, the US was in the midst of a recession. Landing a job in architecture was difficult, so she started work as a package engineering drafter before later joining Svigals + Partners, where she’s worked for the past 10 years. Moving from Massachusetts to Connecticut for the job, Chapin didn’t know anyone in the area—so she got involved.

“I didn’t have any contacts in Connecticut; I was moving here blindly,” she says. “I was looking for a network to be involved with like-minded people. I was active in the [AIA’s] Emerging Professional Committee early on in my career and eventually that moved into other roles.”

In 2018 Chapin became the Young Architect Regional Director for New England and last year was selected as the Young Architects Forum Community Director, on top of her roles serving in two other national committees—the AIA’s Equity and the Future of Architecture Committee and Association of General Contractors Joint Committee.

“I have my foot in a little bit of everywhere,” she says. “I’m finding that my drive is really community-based and ensuring that there is equity and inclusion in our profession, and, especially with the recent recession, ensuring that we retain females in our industry.” Much of Chapin’s advocacy work centers on giving a voice to architects and improving visibility, “making sure young architects see other architects that look like them” while also providing resources to advance their careers.

This AIA Young Architect Award-winner is bringing inclusivity to the industry.

BY SOPHIA CONFORTI

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KATELYN CHAPIN STARTED HER CAREER DURING THE LAST RECESSION AND NOW DEVOTES HER TIME TO HELPING YOUNG ARCHITECTS NAVIGATE A SIMILAR JOB MARKET TODAY.

These roles are an added bonus to Chapin’s architecture work itself, which focuses on higher education and K-12 spaces. The Bergami Center for Science, Technology, and Innovation on the University of New Haven campus is a career highlight and a 2019 LEED Gold project.

Chapin recalls that the university needed a new academic building, but it wasn’t sure, exactly, what kind of building it really needed.

“We had a stakeholder group composed of the deans of each of the schools, professors, administration, the design team—a little bit of everyone from campus. We brainstormed what types of spaces would be required for their campus,” Chapin says. “Being a community-oriented person, this was my favorite part of the process.”

Those initial conversations were more of a space for faculty to air out their grievances about lack of storage. “Then we did a tour of campus, and what professors realized was, ‘Oh man, I was complaining about my storage, but this other department doesn’t have any storage, and I do.’ And so they started to sympathize with each other, and that helped define what the space was going to be.”

The result was a sustainable, interdisciplinary hub for students on campus. “It wasn’t meant to be just a spot where students went for class and then left,” Chapin says. “It was going to be an environment where students would come, go to class, grab a coffee, sit in the atrium space, hop to another class, go use the makerspace—it was really intended for a half-day or full-day experience as a student.”

GREEN BUILDING The site itself was an old parking lot, which was removed and replaced with plentiful green space to reduce the heat island effect and improve

PHOTO COURTESY OF SVIGALS + PARTNERS

At a recent visit to her parents’ home, Katelyn Chapin unearthed a childhood travel journal from her early family getaways.

Sprawled across its pages were not aimless doodles drawn in far-off places but floor plan sketches of the hotels they visited. “Growing up I don’t think I knew what the word architect meant,” Chapin says. “I can’t even recall seeing a floor plan. It was just how I expressed my ideas—through drawing.”

Chapin has always been a spatial thinker, going back to the first house footprints she ever made, drafted with LEGOs and wooden blocks. (They always included a driveway for her Barbies’ Corvette but were never quite built to the right scale.) Now an Associate at Svigals + Partners, Chapin is a 2021 recipient

PROJEC T PROCESS

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We wanted to pay attention to how sustainability was expressed and also use the building as a learning tool. stormwater runoff. Bioswales were also added along the main road in front of the building to filter the water.

From an architectural standpoint, one of the building’s most noticeable elements is its golden exterior sunshades, meant to reduce solar heat gain. Indoors the team ensured there was copious daylight and views to the outside. “We prioritized products that were in a 500-mile radius and used low-emitting adhesives, sealants, paints, coatings, and flooring. In the end about 22% of our building materials were manufactured using recycled materials,” Chapin says.

The project also incorporates high-efficiency boilers and chillers, on-demand controlled ventilation, and low-flow fixtures that reduce water consumption by 40%. By the end of construction more than 93% of construction waste was recycled or went to a salvage center.

“Because it’s an innovation center, we wanted to pay attention to how sustainability was expressed and also use building as a learning tool,” Chapin says. In the lower levels of the building, which include much of the building’s makerspaces, Chapin and the design team left parts of the structure exposed so students could see how the steel and the other materials formed the building.

Although students may not be able to see every single sustainable strategy up close, the university is doing its part to educate the community through green campus tours. It’s a tool not unlike those in Chapin’s own work, where education is key in uplifting and pushing the industry forward. She recently started a book club within the Svigals + Partners office to further dig into architectural topics that may not come up in the firm’s day-to-day work but are important to the future of the architecture. “I feel like there has been a little bit of a pivot in the industry where 10 years ago we were talking about sustainable design strategies and how to implement them, but now that’s really just good design,” Chapin says. “Sustainability strategies and different types of materials—they are always evolving. There is always an opportunity to share the knowledge you have.” g

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Project: Bergami Center for Science, Technology, and Innovation Location: West Haven, CT Completion: August 2020 Size: 45,500 square feet Cost: $35 million Architect: Svigals + Partners Structural Engineer: Michael Horton Associates MEP Engineer: BVH Integrated Services Civil Engineer: Westcott & Mapes Construction Manager: Consigli Construction Co. Landscape Architect: Richter & Cegan Interior Designer: Svigals + Partners Energy Analysis: Karpman Consulting

arc hi tec t t o wat ch

THE LEED GOLD BERGAMI CENTER WAS DESIGNED WITH COMMUNITY IN MIND, AS THE DESIGN TEAM SPOKE WITH STAKEHOLDERS ACROSS THE CAMPUS TO DEFINE THE FINAL PROJECT.

PHOTOS BY PETER AARON/OTTO

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EASILY DIVIDE EDUCATIONAL SPACES AND DISPLAY SCHOOL PROJECTS WITH SCREENFLEX.

How do portable dividers make educators’ lives easier?

RICH MAAS, VICE PRESIDENT

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For more than 30 years, Screenflex has been leading the industry with innovative portable room dividers. Easily divide and manage any space with these flexible solutions that are lightweight, sturdy, easy to store, and even help you get work done with seemingly endless options like tackable panels and (even) dry erase panels. We recently sat down with Screenflex Vice President Rich Maas to find out more about the scope of options and how these dividers lend themselves to flexible learning environments.

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF SCREENFLEX

SCREENFLEX PORTABLE DIVIDERS ARE QUICK AND EASY TO SET UP IN ANY DESIRED CONFIGURATION.

Administrators, teachers, and students alike benefit from our accordion-style portable room dividers. You can easily divide a space into multiple rooms or make a mix of temporary walls with our dividers. Partitions form an “L,” “U,” cross, or curve shapes around desks, and you can connect two or more dividers to make complex configurations or long continuous lengths.

Choose between vinyl or fabric-covered portable classroom dividers to match your room’s décor and even add a logo.

Listening to our customers’ needs is a big part of what we do. Take, for example, what we learned from our work with schools that happen to be in floodplains. While no floor is 100% level, those floors were the worst. Those experiences pushed us to develop our self-leveling casters and position control hinges to ensure our dividers stood straight even in unusual conditions. Our molded position control hinges help the divider remain in the desired configuration, and our full-length hinges

continuously connect each panel to adjacent panels for added stability. As a result we offer the only patented stabilized portable room divider.

Our solutions won’t scratch up the floor, either. You can easily roll our products into a gymnasium, for example, breaking that large space into many spaces. Lock the dividers in place and rest easy, as the self-leveling casters are hard rubber, non-marking casters. The spring mechanism we invented helps our dividers stay stable on ISSUE 64

even the most uneven floors.

Educators love our dividers for their honeycomb core, which knocks down sound and gives our dividers a tackable surface to display school projects and artwork. Many also turn to us for space planning. If you’re a principal needing to configure extra rooms in a cafeteria or library for after-school programs, just give us your dimensions and we’ll sketch up a plan.

Our products and services make managing facilities easier than ever. g GBDMAGA ZINE.COM

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Steam heat is not a new thing, but providing effective and efficient control is. Heating with steam radiators has been around for more than a century. Despite its old school function and design, it isn’t going away any time soon. That’s why engineers at HVAC design and manufacturer Salus have developed tools to help owners and end users have more control over their steam-heated environments. Christopher S. Robertson, director of sales for Salus North America, has traveled the world, getting up close and personal with heating control strategies.

In this column, he tells us how to tame wild steam so we no longer need to open the window to control comfort.

How do I tame wild steam in my building?

BY CHRISTOPHER S. ROBERTSON DIRECTOR SALUS NORTH AMERICA

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Anyone who’s ever been in a steam-heated building knows it can provide a great quality of heat but be challenging to control the

temperature. The steam boiler, usually in a basement, pumps out steam at approximately 212 degrees. Steam travels through the building, sending

temperatures in some spaces soaring while others stay low. For more than a century the only solution has been to open a window.

Steam heating systems were developed in the late 1800s. During the 1918 Spanish Flu opening the window to circulate air helped reduce illness transmission, similar to what we’ve done today. The goal was to have a heat source extreme enough to keep spaces warm even on the coldest days with the windows open. Nowadays, despite being in a pandemic, opening windows with the heat on is seen as wasteful— like throwing your dollars out.

Steam boilers may not be the most efficient way to heat a space, but they’re not going anywhere soon.

They’re common in buildings built before 1950. The Greener, Greater Buildings Plan reports most buildings above 50,000 square feet (81.9%

in New York City alone) use steambased heat. The cost to replace them would be astronomical. You’re better off demolishing the building and starting fresh. In recent years there have been a few solutions to help control radiator heat. Covers were invented to guide heat from one space to another. Yet few of these inventions meet today’s technology standards.

That’s why at Salus we’ve developed the technology to control steam heating systems, ultimately taming wild steam. Using thermostatic radiator valves and remote thermostats, our technology increases comfort and maximizes savings. Our wireless technology enables individual thermostat controls to be in each space. Occupants no longer need to worry about one space being 80 degrees and the other 60. It’s helping bring this older technology in line with modern times. g

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF PEXEL

SALUS’ TECHNOLOGY CAN INCREASE COMFORT WHILE MAXIMIZING EFFICIENCY. READ MORE IN THE NEXT ISSUE OF GB&D.

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Now on the cusp of its 50th anniversary, Maxxon®, the creator of Gyp-Crete® and the gypsum underlayment industry, has continued to be North America’s premiere manufacturer of gypsum underlayments, sound control systems, and moisture mitigation solutions. Backed by robust research and development and manufactured using top-quality raw materials, the innovative and ever-expanding line of subfloor prep products can be found in commercial and multifamily structures nationwide. When it comes to underlayments, however, the solution depends on the project. Erik Holmgreen, Maxxon’s vice president of research and development, explains how it all works.

How do I choose underlayment?

BY ERIK HOLMGREEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

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Our product line includes several solutions for different types of subfloors and construction. It’s never one size fits all. The eco-friendly

Gyp-Crete® line is perfect for use over wood subfloors and is the industry standard in multifamily construction.

Gyp-Crete products are available in

several formulas to meet the cost and floor strength requirements of any job. While often used in wood frame construction, our high strength underlayments are also excellent for smoothing concrete slabs or precast planks in new and renovation projects.

Our Gyp-Crete products are typically poured at one inch deep over our Acousti-Mat® line of sound control products.

This system provides excellent sound control as well as fire resistance.

Maxxon’s Gyp-Crete and Acousti-Mat system is listed in 140 UL fire rated designs and backed by hundreds of published sound tests.

These solutions are the core of what Maxxon has done for decades, and we always continue to improve their performance and cost.

Beyond our GypCrete line we are particularly excited about our highstrength self-levelers. These commercially targeted products, like Level EZ™, have very high flow, high strength,

and can be installed quite thin with little floor preparation.

Rather than the one inch of gypsum underlayment in the multifamily space, we can install these products down to a quarter-inch or less to smooth out rough subfloors and create a level surface for floor coverings.

These thin pours and very level surfaces can be ready for floor coverings in very little time.

These features are also useful in multifamily renovations, where old rough floors need repair and leveling with short turn around. The Maxxon® EZ Renovation System™ uses these levelers in conjunction with repair products such as Gyp-Fix EZ® patch and Maxxon Fortify™, a strengthening primer specifically developed for multifamily renovations.

And you can rest assured every product comes with Maxxon’s quality guarantee. With our constant innovation building on a half-century of success, some things never change. g

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF MAXXON

LEVEL EZ HAS VERY HIGH FLOW, HIGH STRENGTH, AND CAN BE INSTALLED QUITE THIN WITH LITTLE FLOOR PREPARATION. READ MORE WHEN MAXXON TACKLES SOUND IN THE NEXT ISSUE OF GB&D.

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Stay in the know with gb&dPRO Brought to you by gb&d magazine, gb&dPRO highlights the latest news, trends, and research straight from industry experts.

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PHOTOS BY TK TK

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CUSTOM RAILING SOLUTIONS ARCHITECTURAL RAILING • ALUMINUM RAILING • ORNAMENTAL METALS trexcommercial.com PHOTOS © BY2021 TK TKTrex

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Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Trex® is a federally registered trademark of Trex Company, Inc., Winchester, Virginia ISSUE 64 GBDMAGA ZINE.COM

at a glance

Skyscraper with a Twist

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With impressive views and access to open-air terraces, the Spiral is a new skyscraper designed by Danish powerhouse Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) that is set to change the Manhattan skyline. Positioned at the end of New York City’s beloved High Line, the design features a dramatic series of cascading terraces that reaches every tower floor—bringing

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light, fresh air, and access to outdoor space to building occupants. Towering at a height of 1,005 feet, the Spiral includes a continuous green pathway that connects to offices on every level. Terraces open up to double-height atriums, providing even more opportunity for people to connect. The chain of amenity spaces and terraces originates at the Spiral’s main

entrance on 34th street and Hudson Boulevard. The spiral wraps around the tower, which becomes gradually slimmer toward the top. The open-floor concept and sustainable design aims to change the way we think about interacting with our neighbors, all driving toward the goal of more people-centric design with flexible workspace in architecture.. —Sierra Joslin

RENDERING COURTESY OF BIG

Creating better flooring surfaces starts with understanding the needs of those on top of them. Tarkett Human-Conscious Design™ and our broad product portfolio support healthier indoor environments in all parts of a workplace—helping individuals thrive, and empowering teams to collaborate and succeed. commercial.tarkett.com/en_US Education • Healthcare • Retail • Workplace

© 2021, Tarkett North America

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