VOLUME 22 JULY 2008
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT / / 01 DESIGNER FORUM / / 02 DESIGN / / 04 CULTURE / / 06 TRENDS / / 07 BUILDINGS / / 08 FURNITURE / / 09
10 / / HEALTH 12 / / SOHO 13 / / GREEN OFFICES 14 / / TECHNOLOGY 16 / / OFFICE MANAGEMENT 17 / / CASE STUDY
From the President
Opening our second Business-to-Business Retail Showroom in Minneapolis has been an exciting experience. We have looked forward to this - operating directly in the heart of the downtown shopping area in the midst of a large concentration of small, medium and large professional and business organizations – precisely the customers we want to serve.
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In preparing for the opening we have analyzed everything that‘s involved in store performance – design, merchandise mix, customer service and store personnel – this time to fine tune the model we created and opened in Bloomington. We sincerely hope everyone in our specialized community – clients, architects, and designers, professionals, real estate and construction professionals – will visit and let us know what you think. We value your suggestions and comments. We have more stores in our future plans and we’re dedicated to improving with every one of them. David Graham from ESG Architects has graciously accepted our invitation to address our readers in this issue’s Designer Forum. Remember to contact Megan.Sciera@target.com if you want full text for any of the articles included here. I hope to see you at the store!
Best regards,
Joe Perdew President, Target Commercial Interiors Retail Showroom 915 Nicollet Mall Minneapolis, MN 55402 Ph 612-343-7373
Sales Office / Showroom 1365 North Road, Suite C Green Bay, WI 54313 Ph 920-884-0265
Sales Office / Showroom 20024 87th Ave South Kent, WA 98031 Ph 253-796-3905
Retail Showroom 2470 West 79th Street Bloomington, MN 55431 Ph 952-885-7600
Sales Office / Showroom 1020 John Nolen Drive Madison, WI 53713 Ph 608-257-0521
Bangalore, India
Sales Office / Showroom 801 North Perryville Road Rockford, IL 61107 Ph 815-398-3300
Sales Office / Showroom 2804 Rib Mountain Drive, Ste. E Wausau, WI 54401 Ph 715-849-3131
CLIPS is a service provided by Target Commercial Interiors to help keep you informed of industry-relevant trends, issues and ideas. We survey the literature, summarize key articles and present them in a digest format for your convenience. Full text articles are available by contacting Megan.Sciera@target.com.
Corporate Headquarters 81 S. 9th St. Suite 350 Minneapolis, MN 55402 Ph 612-343-0868 Fx 612-332-5733 Toll Free 888-333-4664
© 2008 Target Commercial Interiors
David Graham, AIA Principal, Elness Swenson Graham Architects, Inc.
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As a founding Design Partner of Elness Swenson Graham Architects, Inc. (ESG), David Graham has innovated a city-building practice in which signature context-sensitive contemporary architecture serves to repair and expand urban fabric, shape civic public realm, and enhance the livability and vitality of neighborhoods. His built projects have significantly expanded the range of typologies for urban residential, infill structures and mixed-use developments that interweave an understanding of traditional urban patterns with contemporary vigor. Graham’s initiatives and inspired collaborations have created a firm culture whose work has been recognized with more than 120 awards, including four national AIA awards and 70 chapter awards for architecture and urban design. This commitment to vision, excellence and collaboration was recognized by the AIA Minnesota 2007 Firm Award, bestowed in part for the firm’s “tremendous impact they have had on the Twin Cities and the region in the area of urban design and infill architecture.” Graham received his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Minnesota School of Architecture and obtained his Master of Architecture from Harvard University, where he focused on the relationship between architecture and city-building.
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Lumen on Lagoon Photographer: George Heinrich Photography
Reflections at Bloomington Central Station Photographer: George Heinrich Photography
The New Washington Boulevard Vision: ESG Architects
Midtown Lofts Photographer: Albert Vecerka at ESTO Photographics
301 Kenwood Photographer: George Heinrich Photography
St. Anthony Mills Apartments Photographer: George Heinrich Photography
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Bridging the Gap between Architecture, Urban Design and Livable Cities
David Graham, AIA
With the issues facing us today, including a reliance on skyrocketing oil; unsustainable sprawl and auto dependency in the US; and runaway, megalomaniacal “urbanization” in developing global economies, it is more important now than ever to revitalize our cities through innovative urban and architectural design. The following are three examples of key Design Principles that guide our work at ESG: Enhancing the Public Realm: The variety of streets, parks, sidewalks and civic spaces that form the soul of our cities need to be shaped and enhanced by high quality private and public architecture. Key architectural features in our urban buildings include active and transparent glass streetfronts, multiple entry doors and street level terraces, all of which shape and connect with the street. The private and public sectors must work in partnership in the creation and maintenance of this enhanced Public Realm, shaped by and developed around high quality architecture. Democratic Design Within a Clear Vision: Our starting point for urban architecture is to consider how each new “piece” will fit within a vision for the city as a whole, the broader surrounding community and the immediate neighborhood. The design of urban architecture starts as a dialog to meld the desires of internal users and the building’s role in creating beautiful urban fabric and shaping a vibrant public realm. Contemporary Sensibility: Our design approach to urban architecture builds on the foundation of modernism and is grounded in city-building urban design principles. Our urban architecture is characterized by contextually inspired materials used within contemporary compositions, emphasizing transparency, layering and proportion, and green building practices. This approach allows buildings to be individually expressive as objects, while also contributing to a larger civic vision.
East Bank Mills Masterplan: ESG Architects
design
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Extra Investment In Offices Will Pay Off Anonymous The Bangkok Post; February 25, 2008, p1 Summary: A strong argument is made here for investing in higher upfront energy-saving design costs in order to enjoy large and continuing returns from lower utility and maintenance costs. The article notes that most major office expenses involve electricity that runs lighting, air-conditioning and equipment such as PCs, printers and copiers. Some of the latest environmentally sustainable design (ESD) elements that have emerged to control these expenses, are discussed, including:
• Glass walls, double glazed with special laminates to let in light and keep out heat and sound;
• New lighting designs including the use of motion sensors that automatically dim or switch on or off; and • A trend away from dropped-ceilings with companies opting instead for higher ceilings that bring in more natural light and proudly expose colorful ceiling pipes.
Designing Light And Air: How The New Bank Of America Building Will Save Energy And Let Its Occupants Breathe Easy Cathleen McGuigan. Newsweek (New York); March 17, 2008, v151 i11 p58 Summary: This article is based on an interview with the architect of Manhattan’s new Bank of America Tower, which is expected to earn a platinum LEED rating from the U.S Green Building Council when it opens later this year. While the building’s low energy profile has generated a great deal of publicity – it uses about half the energy of most buildings its size – the focus of this article is on what E.O. Wilson terms “biophilia,” the health, light and productivity story. Since people feel better when they feel connected to nature, the architect designed naturally lit environments with underfloor air-delivery systems that allow workers to control the air at their workstations. Among the other design elements discussed are air filtration, waterless urinals and “green roofs.”
5 Bank of America Tower, Manhattan
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“...the architect designed naturally lit environments with underfloor air-delivery systems that allow workers to control the air at their workstations.”
culture
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Start An Execution Revolution
Anonymous Healthcare Executive (Chicago); March/April, 2008, v23 i2 p74
Summary: According to this article, top-performing companies can be characterized by corporate cultures that are flexible, adaptive, participative and innovative. They achieve these attributes through the leadership behavior of their executives and through the development of effective corporate structure and operational systems. The bulk of this article is devoted to an examination of leadership behavior, including the need of corporate leaders to excel in managing paradoxes, leading change, developing participative leadership and leading by example. Advice is given on how CEO’s can encourage their leaders to develop their skills in these areas, including how “to understand (and use) the five keys to managing change.” The article also includes corporate structure and operational system goals.
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10 Really Big Trends
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Rebecca Harris Marketing (Toronto); January 28, 2008, v113 i1 p21 Summary: This article provides readers with Marketing magazine’s third annual “Pop Culture Forecast” of trends to watch for in 2008. Among the more interesting:
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Blue is the New Green: with consumers focusing on clean water and clean air and governments and corporations putting water conservation higher up on their agendas; Informal versus Formal: as the formality of top-down hierarchy and bureaucracy gives way to informal networks and peer-to-peer collaboration to achieve efficiencies and innovation; and Podcasting is still hot: as portable content on demand begins to make PVRs look archaic and audio and video in smaller and smaller niche topics takes off.
Scutting Scut Work
Arianne Cohen Fast Company (Boston); February, 2008, i122 p42
Summary: An analysis of the activities of Pfizer’s MBA staff three years ago revealed that they spent 20-40% of their time doing support work – creating documents, analyzing spreadsheets, researching and scheduling – rather than their actual jobs. Having just gone through a downsizing, company execs contacted outsourcing companies in India and worked with them to give them the capacity to provide these support services to Pfizer staff. This article describes the process by which Pfizer and its Indian service provider break down project steps, clarify expectations and interface to define the purpose, price and procedure for each project. The results have been impressive enough that other large companies are now experimenting with support outsourcing within individual departments, while several U.S. conglomerates, perhaps sensing a coming thing, have started to buy up the service providers themselves.
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Historic Main Street, Placerville
Downtown Office Project Links History, Green Design Cathy Locke. The Sacramento Bee; March 27, 2008 pH1 Summary: This article shows how historic preservation and the latest in environmentally friendly technology can combine to serve as a workplace and as an educational center “where people can view the workings of ‘green’ building technology.” The author tells of the efforts taken to match the structure to the character of Placerville’s historic main street business district as well as the designs that the developers hope will make this building the first one of its type to be registered and certified under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program. Windows are placed so that no indoor lighting should be required in work areas during daylight hours. Mechanical systems were designed to draw in fresh air, while furnishings and flooring were chosen for their low emissions. Many structural features were opened up to viewing while courtyards were stocked with native plants and drainage runoff that tumbles over rocks and grass before flowing into the city’s storm drain system.
Lose Weight At Work Cora Daniels Men’s Fitness, March, 2008, p70 Summary: Office furniture manufacturer Steelcase teamed its designers with obesity experts from the Mayo Clinic to develop a mobile office they call the Walkstation. Readers are asked to imagine an office desk attached to a treadmill, enabling the fitness-focused to walk while they work. The article assures readers that the pace is slow enough to minimize interference with productivity, while the super-quiet motor allows normal telephone conversations during its use. The purpose of this equipment is not to provide the user with a heart-pounding workout. Rather, the slow pace allows increased movement while working, which research shows improves acuity and productivity. Nonetheless, those using the no-impact Walkstation seven hours a day for five days a week can expect to lose a full pound of fat per week.
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Machine Design (Chicago); February 7, 2008, p35 Summary: This article informs readers about the green choices made by one company, Applied Robotics, when acquiring new furniture for its offices. It focuses on the new cubicle panels installed throughout the company that are manufactured by the HON company. Instead of using the usual fiberglass variants, these panels are made from a new composite material called “Nature Core” that is made primarily of a natural fiber called “kenaf.” Kenaf is an annually renewable crop with roots based in Africa that is now second only to cotton in the volume grown around the world. One acre of this product produces up to 11 tons of useable fiber, three times the fiber yielded by an acre of U.S. forest. It is durable, possesses excellent soundblocking qualities and emits no fumes. This article and a related one titled “Cubicles Go Green” provide additional information and links, including www. honthinksgreen.com. Cubicle panels, manufactured by HON, made primarily of a natural fiber called “kenaf.”
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Applied Robotics Inc. Recently Made Some Green Choices With New Office Furniture That Includes Cubicle Panels Made With Plant Fiber Instead Of Fiberglass
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health
Office Ergonomics In The 21st Century Mark Rowh Office Solutions (Mt. Airy); January, 2008, v25 i1 p22
“...an impressive array of products have been designed to limit the stress of working long hours at desks and workstations...”
Summary: Ergonomic concerns have become a routine consideration when it comes to designing workspaces and purchasing equipment, and an impressive array of products have been designed to limit the stress of working long hours at desks and workstations. It is little wonder, therefore, that there has been real progress in alleviating problems ranging from eye strain and back pain to carpal tunnel syndrome. This article offers an overview of ergonomic progress in the traditional office and notes a trend toward closer examination of ergonomics in nontraditional settings. It points out the role of company ergonomic programs in helping employees internalize ergonomics and foment improvements in health and productivity. The article provides readers with a list of guidelines and best practices when considering ergonomics, gives an insider’s view of one company’s ergonomic efforts, and finishes with four tips for selecting ergonomic products.
Breathe Easier With Houseplants Amy Coombs National Wildlife, February/March 2008, v46 i2 p20
Summary: This article provides a brief overview of scientific efforts to determine whether common houseplants can help filter toxins from the air. After nearly a quarter century of debate, a new study from researchers at the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia, shows startling results. The study, published in the journal Water, Air and Soil Pollution, tested the impact of plants on air quality in 60 different offices and found that as few as six small potted plants reduced overall toxin levels by 75 percent. Even more startling, the houseplants tested were better filters during weeks when pollution levels were high, and performance waned when the air was purer. The author notes that office ventilation systems can introduce pollution faster than a plant can remove it, and critics note that if clean air is pumped into a room, it’s hard to gauge the actual contribution of the plants. According to the article the consensus seems to be that plants alone are limited in their ability to reduce toxins indoors “unless a large amount of plantings are dispersed throughout a building … although two or three plants will make a big difference for the average room.” Palms, ferns, dracaena, rubber plants and peace lilies are particularly hard workers.
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Summary: Clogged roadways, rising gas prices and climate change worries are just some of the reasons that this article advocates a renewed push toward telecommuting for government and private employers. Unfortunately, notes the author, while many states have laws or state agency policies, there is usually little teeth and even less follow through.
It’s Time To Telework Joe Kolman State Legislatures (Denver); March, 2008, v34 i3 p16
Virginia is one state that is serious about cutting commuting whenever possible. Officials there are using legislation, executive orders and agency rules to boost the number of people working from home. They have set targets, established tax breaks for employers who implement telework programs and are considering budget cuts for agencies that fail to meet telework goals. Telework advocates note that solving traffic congestion and fighting environmental concerns aren’t the only benefits to telecommuting. Increased productivity and employee retention, decreased absenteeism and real estate costs, and improved work opportunities for rural, elderly and disabled citizens all result from increased telecommuting.
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Successful state telework programs in Arizona and Virginia are discussed, as is the need to judge employees by results, not by supervision.
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green offices
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What Stays In Las Vegas Is Green
Summary: Long viewed as an environmental renegade, Las Vegas created the first big splash in the green building market a few years ago with the announcement of MGM Mirage’s $7.4 billion City Center that will include a casino, a 500,000 square-foot retail and entertainment district and thousands of hotel rooms and condominiums while “pursuing a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver certification. This article notes that much of the sprawling Las Vegas Valley is now following suit, with many jurisdictions there requiring a green label on most new construction and having their planners educate developers and contractors on LEED standards. The article includes a discussion of the environmentally-focused designs, materials (including energyefficient glass and reused wood, stone and steel), geothermal wells connected to high-efficiency heat pumps and other sustainable practices. It ends with an overview of the $250 million Springs Preserve park and educational center that teaches people how to live “with the environment instead of in it.” Among the innovative products and approaches taking place there:
• Carpeting made from recycled soda bottles;
• Biofiltration ponds for reclaiming wastewater;
• Rammed earth and straw bale walls; and
• Evaporative cooling systems.
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Brian Sodoma, Kimberly Reinhart Planning (Chicago), February, 2008, v74 i2 p40
Heather Havenstein Computerworld (Framingham); March 10, 2008, v42 i11 p14 Summary: Companies are turning to video technology to improve internal training and collaboration, and to expand external marketing programs. Examples in this article range from businesses that post internally created videos on YouTube and other social networking sites to large companies like manufacturer Rohn and Haas Company. They launched their own video site – called Prime Time – to provide its 15,000 employees access to training videos and a wide variety of topics supplied by their peers, while reducing travel and its attendant productivity costs. Rohn’s videos are created and run using the Studio hosted webcasting service from Interactive Video Technologies, Inc. The Studio tools “combine and synchronize audio and video, PowerPoint presentations and screen captures” with “one-click publishing” on the desktop and track the use of those videos once they are made. This article talks about the video efforts and sites of a number of companies, all of which are launching videos to take advantage of the massive increase in traffic to video sites over the past few years – one survey found 48% of Internet users visited a video sharing site in 2007. The article also provides production and marketing tips.
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With free video distribution on sites like YouTube and lower production costs – people don’t expect high production quality on these sites – even smaller companies are finding that the return on investment from video marketing is 10 times higher than the return from printed advertising.
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Online Video Expands Role In Training, Collaboration
The Grill Sophie Vandebroek Computerworld (Framingham); March 17, 2008, v42 i12 p19 Summary: This article is the outcome of an interview with Xerox innovation chief Sophie Vandebroek. She talks about coming technological change as seen from the vantage point of a company known for technological innovation, “defined by our collaborations,” and a champion of “open innovation.” Some of the more interesting things to look for: • Reusable paper that doesn’t use physical inks, but rather resembles sunglasses that darken when taken outside and become clear when taken back inside. It can be used over and over again. •
The use of 3-D virtual worlds on the Internet will increase dramatically. In fact, the notion of an office might not exist in 10 years since everything will be connected and one can communicate and collaborate with the right experts and partners from anywhere.
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The U.S. is in danger of losing its leadership in technological innovation because (1) fewer students are interested in science and technology, (2) it’s harder since 9/11 for foreign students to get green cards and come to study in the U.S. and (3) these foreign students now have growing opportunities in their own countries.
The article ends with some advice for young women who want to make a career in technology.
Running An Office By Wiki And E-Mail; Low-Cost Tools Leverage The Power Of Groups At Work Kirk Shinkle U.S. News & World Report (Washington), Mar 10, 2008, v144 i7 p50 Summary: E-mails, wikis, blogs and other new technologies are reshaping how companies, workers and customers interact – and are making it easier and cheaper to stay in touch. This article consists of excerpts from an interview given by Clay Shirky, author of Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations (Penguin). A key ingredient to getting groups working together is to avoid creating a complicated structure. Shirky advises companies to set up a mailing list to connect the players and then sit back to see what the groups discover in talking to one another. Once groups are set for collaboration, he advises setting up a wiki, which produces a convergent opinion through the simultaneous editing process members go through, “reflecting a kind of state-ofthe-art meeting consensus.” This article includes additional insights from the book and ends with the author’s warning against burying mistakes rather than learning from them.
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Are You A Pyromaniac? Patricia B. Gray FSB: Fortune Small Business (New York); July/August , 2007, v17 i6 p70 Summary: “Pyromaniacs” are bosses who compulsively light fires in their organizations. For them every project becomes a crisis, every meeting becomes a fire drill and every e-mail is marked URGENT. Time and resources are wasted and attention is diverted from important long-term threats because of the focus on day-to-day minutiae. This article points out that technology is making pyro behavior easier and hence more prevalent. Pyro impulses that were once dampened by the effort needed to create a memo or pick up a phone are now freed up by the ease of broadcasting e-mails and instant messages. This article is replete with examples of pyro behavior and its consequences. It discusses the psychological underpinnings of pyromania behavior as well as the types of corporate cultures that foster it. In the end, the cure is impulse control and the author provides a number of steps pyros can take to rein in their behavior. Think you may be a pyro? The article ends with a short quiz to help readers determine if they have the [fire] bug.
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SHHH: Men At Work
Kate Lunau Maclean’s (Toronto); January 21, 2008, v121 i2 p38
Summary: Sir Isaac Newton discovered the law of gravity as he reclined against an apple tree in quiet contemplation. In today’s world of back-to-back meetings and overflowing e-mail boxes such uninterrupted moments are rare. Around the world, roughly 196 billion e-mails were sent and received daily in 2007, up from 5.1 billion in 2001. The relentless barrage of communications and information overload adversely affects worker productivity and personal well-being to the tune of an estimated $1 billion per year for a typical knowledge-intensive company of 50,000 employees. Recent research from the University of California (Irvine) reveals that ‘today’s knowledge workers can expect just three minutes of uninterrupted work on any given task.” The author notes that ADD experts have found office workers increasingly showing signs of “culturally induced attention deficit disorder,” leading to restless, distracted, irritable behavior. This article examines this issue and explores a program begun by computer giant Intel to determine if creative thought could be stimulated by a daily period when workers could be freed of all distractions. In a six-month project dubbed “Quiet Time,” 300 engineers and managers in two undisclosed locations spend each Tuesday from 8am to noon with their e-mail and instant messaging in off-line mode and “do not disturb” signs hung on their cubicle entrances. The “Quiet Time” study is not completed as yet but Intel officials voice their hope that the lessons learned can eventually be implemented companywide. In the meantime company officials have seen their own quiet time reduced as they field questions about their research from everyone from the U.S. Army to the Salvation Army.
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The Samuels Group As their website states, The Samuels Group comprises Contractors. Innovators. and Over Achievers. It is not surprising therefore, when it came time to build a facility for themselves, they committed to making it memorable. With the collaborative help of Target Commercial Interiors, they achieved their goal. One of their objectives was to create a highly sustainable office environment. They worked diligently for LEED certification. Among the significant contributors to sustainability was the beautiful and environmentally friendly DIRTT products chosen as an integral part of the plan. Selection of furniture, floor covering, walls and every other aspect of the building process factored all issues “Green” in the decision-making. The Samuels Group represents the best kind of TCI Client – they are true collaborators. The project began in April 2007 and together we created the remarkable Great Space that now exists. And this is a company that walks the walk. The Green Scene - a Samuels Group program - goes beyond the traditional role of commercial contractors and makes a difference in the future of our planet. “In the last few months since implementing recycling on all jobs, The Samuels Group has recycled: 148,944lbs. That’s 74.47 tons of materials that won’t be going into local landfills due to our onsite-recycling program.”
CLIPS is printed on Green Seal速 certified paper that contains 30% recycled post-consumer fiber which meets the Executive Order governing recycled content in printing/writing grades.
Target gives back over $3 million a week to education, the arts and social services.