10.10.08 | Washington, DC | ASID certified interior designers design commercial space with energy efficiency and the reduction of energy costs as a primary goal. They employ a strategy of efficiency and convenient conservation, including the use of low wattage LED Lamps to lower energy consumption and extend the life of the lamp for up to 30,000 hrs/ lamp (as long as 5 years). Motion sensors that turn lights on and off when certain spaces are in use, dimming controls that extend the lamp-life saves time, money, and resources by reducing the number of burnt out lamps and the cost of new bulbs. 

10.10.08 | San Diego, CA | AVRPStudios is expanding its practice to formalize the sustainable studio, AVRPGreen. Additionally, Tomasz Anielski, AIA will join Doug Austin, FAIA, Chris Veum, AAIA/IIDA and Randy Robbins, AIA as owners/Principals of AVRPStudios. Richard Moren, AIA will oversee the company's global projects group, RedEight. avrpstudios.com

10.10.08 | New York, NY | Carnegie introduced the Dance of Light Collection. Part of the Philosophy Collection, Dance of Light is a privacy fabric collection for healthcare and wellness environments. Created by Louise Russell, a longtime proponent of mind/body connection healing, the collection is offered in three patterns: Blossom, Joy, and Radiance. 

10.10.08 | Zeeland, MI | Herman Miller was named "Corporation of the Year" by the Michigan Minority Business Development Council (MMBDC). Finalists for the award included Steelcase, Inc., and Xerox Corporation. Herman Miller was recognized at the MMBDC's annual awards dinner on October 8, 2008. 

10.10.08 | Ontario, Canada | Dauphin's  Riola and Conte chairs are up for an Interior Design "Best of the Year Award". The company invites you to show your support for either chair by going online and voting at Interior Design: http://boyawards.interiordesign.net

10.10.08 | New York, NY | Humanscale opened its first Asian showroom in Hong Kong. Sales figures show that 23% of the company's total sales were international.  Located on Central, the showroom has many industry neighbors including Steelcase, HOK and the American Institute of Architects. The showroom highlights the company’s ergonomic seating and office tools which work together to promote healthy and comfortable work environments for computer users.

10.10.08 | Minneapolis, MN | InformeDesign released a  study on "Factors Affecting the Development of Flexible Workplace Facilities" by Mohammad A. Hassanain. The study explored design factors contributing to successful flexible office workspaces. Mr. Hassanain concluded:

• Understanding strategies that result in successful workspaces will aid building professionals in creating facilities that meet present and future organizational needs.
• Office design has evolved as new management strategies have emerged.
• Change in the office environment has occurred due to external changes and internal pressures.
  

10.10.08 | Holland, MI | Haworth, Inc. opened its newest showroom in Seattle, WA. The Haworth space showcases the company's products and presents new ideas in sustainable design and organic workspaces. The showroom was designed with two-story, 180 degree windows to view Seattle's waterfront and with moveable walls, raised access floors and modular furniture, all reused from Haworth's Chicago showroom.

10.10.08 | Minneapolis, MN | InformeDesign released a study titled Architects' Conceptions of the Human Body by Rob Imrie. The study investigated to what extent and with what consequences contemporary architects and architectural educators consider the human body in design process and instruction. The key conclusions were:

• Architectural curriculum rarely incorporated material about the interrelationships between design and the human body.
• Architects in practice seldom considered the human body as an expressed or implied reference for design.
• Practicing architects consistently used the size of their own bodies as a reference for understanding the human body and frequently overlooked body differences
• Architectural drawings and photographs often did not include a human body

10.10.08 | New York, NY | Humanscale's Switch Mouse was highlighted by New York Time's technology reporter John R. Quain. The award-winning Switch Mouse is lauded for its unique, health-conscious design. Switch Mouse is about 30 percent bigger than a typical mouse. The size is intended to prevent wrist injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome by incorporating a built-in palm rest and encouraging users to move the mouse with arm motions rather than the more vulnerable wrist muscles.

10.9.08 | Green Bay, WI | KI and D2 Solutions collaborated with Iberdrola for its new office in Philadelphia, PA. Iberdrola, a private energy group with headquarters in Madrid, Spain, used KI's Genius architectural walls to create a space plan featuring a combination of workstations, offices and conference rooms. 

10.10.08 | New York, NY | The  Moroso Showroom is exhibiting the works of Nipa Doshi and Jonathan Levien. "Myth and Material" will be on display until October 18 at 146 Greene Street, NYC. The colorful installation explores the influence of Indian visual culture on their work and will include three furniture collections for Moroso: Charpoy, My Beautiful Backside and Principessa. 

10.9.08 | Houston, TX | A Green Practices 2008 Survey shows that more facility professionals are taking a strategic approach to green practices. Facility managers are increasingly following a master plan when implementing sustainable practices and are tying their efforts to measurable goals and business strategy.  It also shows that while recycling and energy conservation initiatives are being practiced by the vast majority of facility practitioners, financial challenges still present the biggest impediment to going green. Results of the new survey will be presented at the World Workplace 2008 Conference & Expo on Wednesday, Oct. 15. 

10.9.08 | Chicago, IL | Häfele Chicago Showroom is hosting a traveling exhibit, "Rising From Ashes: Furniture from Lost Trees." The Emerald Ash Borer beetle is expected to kill 96,000 ash trees and nearly one-fifth of all city street trees in Chicago. A group of furniture designers, artisans, and educators want to show the community how to make use of the wood from these trees. The collection will be on view at the Häfele showroom, 154 W. Hubbard Street, Chicago, IL until Nov. 7. On October 20, 6-7:00 pm, there will be discussion panel discussion on the Ash tree followed by bidding on a child's rocking chair made from Ash wood .

10.9.08 | New York, NY | The Center for Architecture, 536 La Guardia Place is hosting a symposium on NYC's most innovative new housing developments on October 11, 11:00 am-5:00 pm. The daylong +Housing symposium includes designers as well as key developers who will discuss the trend toward mixed use of public amenities and housing projects. +Housing focuses on eight current examples which illustrate this phenomenon: public uses combined with, and often financed by housing.

10.9.08 | Zeeland, MI | Herman Miller, Inc. received a Spark Award for the Teneo storage furniture collection. Designed by Ayse Birsel and Bibi Seck, Teneo was recognized with Spark silver for the Storage Furniture and Systems category. The core products, for a variety of configurations, include single islands, side-by-side islands, presentation units, wall units, individual storage, and surfaces. 

10.9.08 | Irvine, CA | David Obitz will participate in the 2008 Multifamily Executive Conference in Las Vegas, NV. Mr. Obitz, a principal with KTGY Group, will speak on "Born Again: Cost-Effective Ways to Revive Stale Apartment Stock." The lecture is at the Bellagio Hotel on Monday, October 13, 1:30-2:30 pm. www.ktgy.com

10.9.08 | Chicago, IL | DeStefano + Partners leased the 32nd floor at 330 N. Wabash Ave, Chicago, IL. Prime Group Realty Trust is collaborating with the firm in renovating the floor. The architecture and design firm signed a 10 year lease for the entire floor, to begin in 2009.

10.39.08 | Miami, FL | Art Miami returns to the Miami Arts District December 3-7, 2008. The 19th edition of the fair will feature more than 115 art galleries, with works by European, American and Asian artists. BlackRock, an investment management firm, will be the fair’s main sponsor. Art Miami also formed a partnership with Sundari Foundation, a Miami based public charity. Entitled Heart Miami, it will highlight the spiritual “heart of art” and the profound ways in which art has the capacity to touch and uplift those most in need. 

10.9.08 | Houston, TX | The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers and the International Facility Management Association will sign a memorandum of understanding on October 16 to increase cooperation between the two groups.The memorandum of understanding, to be signed at IFMA’s World Workplace 2008 Conference & Expo at 2:30 pm will call for sharing resources and collaborating on projects, publications, sustainability research and educational offerings. 

10.9.08 | Muscatine, IA | Rob Dahlke joined Allsteel Inc. as a Business Development Manager. He will work on generating sales opportunities with the government and post-secondary markets for the greater Charlotte, NC area. Mr. Dahlke has over 13 years of experience in the contract office furniture industry on both the dealer and manufacturer levels. 

10.9.08 | New York, NY | Gerner Kronick + Valcarcel, Architects completed the design of El Diario’s new office space. El Diario, the leading Spanish language newspaper in New York, moved to 1 MetroTech. The office space is designed for a media company on the verge of moving from paper-based to digital distribution.

10.9.08 | New York, NY | The Arch School Exhibition will open on October 18. The fourth annual exhibition, at the Center for Architecture, 536 La Guardia Place, NYC, features the most promising student work coming out of 14 of the country's best architecture and design schools.  The participating schools are:

• The City College of New York, Columbia University, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, Cornell University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, New York Institute of Technology, Parsons The New School for Design, Pratt Institute, Princeton University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Syracuse University, University at Buffalo (SUNY), University of Pennsylvania, and Yale University.

The exhibition will remain on view from October 18- December 19, 2008.

10.9.08 | Bridgeport, CT | Q-Tran named Illuminations, Inc for further lighting expansion. The lighting sales agency will cover Southeastern PA, southern NJ and Delaware. Illuminations, Inc. is a commercial lighting sales agency that works with the specification community, including lighting designers, architects, engineers and distributors.  Illuminations, Inc. is based at 5062 West Chester Pike in Newtown Square, PA. 

10.9.08 | Round Rock, TX | Dell Inc. is switching to mercury-free light-emitting diodes, or LEDs. Starting in mid-December, two-thirds of its Latitude E family of notebooks will be delivered with mercury-free LED backlighting as a standard feature.  In addition to the Latitude E4200, E4300, E6400, E6400 ATG and E6500,
Dell will also be shipping LED backlighting as a standard display for its Precision M2400 and M4400 mobile workstations.

10.9.08 |  New York, NY | The New Practices New York 2008 Competition winners will present and discuss their work on October 15.  The symposium, at the Center for Architecture, 536 La Guardia Place, NYC, 6-8 pm, looks at how the these projects are altering the landscape for architectural practice in New York. 

10.8.08 | Norwalk, CT | EMCOR Group, Inc. launched the Safety & Productivity Program (SPP). The program mirrors some aspects of the OSHA Voluntary Protection Program, but EMCOR SPP expands beyond safety and health to incorporate other features of business operation. The first operating company designated an EMCOR Safety & Productivity Partner is University Mechanical & Engineering Contractors in Arizona (UMEC).

10.8.08 | Sarasota, FL | Vista System International offers a better solution against vandalism. The design team at Vista System modified the side channel on it's extrusions to add a special mechanism designed to grip and hold the insert in place. 

10.8.08 | Miami, FL | TEAM 7 will celebrate the opening of its flagship Miami showroom on November 8.  To celebrate the arrival of Sustainable Style, a cocktail party and presentation will be held at the Buena Vista Building, 180 NE 39th Street, Miami, FL, from 7:30-10:00.  A presentation on South Florida Sustainable Interiors will be made at 8:00. 

10.8.08 | New York, NY | The Center for Architecture, will host a discussion on the Cooperative Movement. The informal talk with David Burney and Anthony Schuman, takes place October 10, 6 pm, 536 La Guardia Place, NYC.  The theme of the talk, "Place and Progress," looks at how community centers within cooperative housing can serve as a way of associating place with progress.

10.8.08 | Boston, MA | Elkus Manfredi received an AS&U Design Award for College Row at Franklin & Marshall. The award winning project created a new main street for college students and established a connection between the campus and downtown Lancaster, PA. The design included retail space and 100 units for students.

10.8.08 | Washington, DC | R. Wayne Stocks and Mark Tamaro were promoted at Thornton Tomasetti, Washington, DC.  Mr. Stocks was named senior vice president/principal. He joined the company with the acquisition of James Madison Cutts in 2000 and currently manages the DC office. Mr. Tamaro, appointed to principal, began at Thornton Tomasetti in New York and later joined James Madison Cutts. 

10.8.08 | Muscatine, IA | The HON Company offers REPREVE, a 100% recycled fiber for two of its seating fabrics. Glo uses 44% REPREVE fiber and Charged uses 51%. These fabrics are available on more than 90% of HON’s seating line including Versant, Cambia, Pillow-Soft, Park Avenue, Alaris, and Unanimous. REPREVE yarns, made by Unifi, are made from pre-consumer polyester fiber waste and post-consumer plastics, including PET water and soda bottles.

10.8.08 | Phoenix, AZ | Burt Hill opened an office in  Phoenix, AZ. It is the 11th for the design firm and first in the region. The Phoenix office is working with Education Management Corporation (EDMC), a client from the Company's Pittsburgh office. The team will be led by Annette M. Zacherson, AIA, and senior interior designer and project manager Timothy Benson, NCIDQ Certified.

10.8.08 | Litchfield, CT | Ronald C. Budny was named  Cambridge Who's Who Entrepreneur of the Year in Interior Design. Mr. Budny is owner and president of Ron Budny/Interior Design. The selection is based on accomplishments, academic achievements, leadership, and service. Mr. Budny, with more than 40 years of professional experience, is a published author, is a guest on radio and television shows, and lectures nationally. 

10.8.08 | Toronto, ON | Teknion Corporation announced that three of its products are part of the Good Design Show in Athens, Greece. The District modular furniture system, Marketplace worktable and Metrix task chair received Good Design Awards and are on display alongside the best new international designs at the Contemporary Space Athens, 46-48 Megalou Vassiliou. 

10.8.08 | Jasper, IN | National Office Furniture introduced the Swift modular lounge collection. Swift offers versatile seating options with a wide selection in contrasting fabrics. Swift lounges earned the SCS Indoor Advantage Gold mark and the tables from the modular collection received SCS Indoor Advantage certification.

10.8.08 | High Point, NC | L. Paul Brayton made a gift of real estate to High Point University, NC. Mr. Brayton is the president of Paul Brayton Designs and a member of the university's Board of Trustees. The property is a light industrial building valued at $2.3 million. 

10.8.08 | New York, NY | The Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum will present "Fashioning Felt." The exhibition runs from March 6-Sept. 7, 2009 in the first floor galleries of the museum, located at 91st Street at Fifth Ave., NYC. "Fashioning Felt" is a comprehensive overview of the varied uses of felt in contemporary design and will feature more than 70 felt works in a range of fields, including fashion, architecture, product design and home furnishings. 

10.7.08 | Seattle, WA | David Kutsunai was honored at the inaugural Leaders Breakfast in Seattle, WA by the IIDA Northern Pacific Chapter. Mr. Kutsunai is a Principal and Director of Design at the Seattle office of IA Interior Architects.  He was recognized for his professional accomplishments and contributions to the Seattle business and design communities. 

10.7.08| Washington, DC | Perkins+Will was one of the winners of the 2008 American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) BEST Award. Established in 1993, the awards recognize organizations that have demonstrated enterprise-wide success as a result of employee learning and development. All winners are recognized in a special section of the October 2008 issue of Training + Development (T+D), ASTD's monthly magazine.

10.7.08 | Louisville, CO | Citron Work Spaces moved into its new facility at 197 S. 104th Street, Louisville, CO. The facility is being evaluated for LEED certification for commercial interiors. The showroom displays environmentally friendly features including fluorsecent lights, recycled street lamps from New Orleans, water conserving fixtures, large windows and non-toxic paint.  

10.87.08 | Edmonton, Canada | Kasian was selected to lead the design of the Federal Building and Centennial Plaza project in Edmonton, Canada. The existing landmark building, unoccupied since 1989, will undergo a contemporary transformation to give it new purpose and reconnect it with the city. The design will focus on preservation and sustainability. The project is scheduled for completion at the end of 2011. www.kasian.com

10.7.08 | Navasota, TX | ErgoGenesis, introduced the 2600 Series chair for ergonomic comfort. Known for the BodyBilt chair, the company's newest series offers a mesh back with the contoured BodyBilt seatpan. All of the ergonomic advantages have been retained, yet allows for ample shoulder room and elbow movement that is lacking in other mesh back chairs. The hand constructed seat is made with soy-based BioFoam and the seatpan may be upholstered in any fabric.

10.7.08| Toronto, ON | Teknion Corporation became a sponsor for the Applied Brilliance Conference on October 14-16 at the Sagamore Hotel, 110 Sagamore Rd, Bolton Landing, NY. To develop young industry talent, Teknion is offering Junior Fellows Sponsorships to bring architects and designers under the age of 35 to the conference. 

10.7.08 | Cincinnati, OH | Hope Roadcap was hired as Vice President of Business Development for WorkPlace Furnishings. Ms.Roadcap comes to WPF from The Phillips Group, Middletown, PA, where she served most recently as Director of Sales and Design.

10.7.08 | Norwalk, CT | EMCOR Group subsidiary, Welsbach Electric will install the electrical systems at the Newtown Creek Water Treatment Plant, Brooklyn, NY. Welsbach Electric is responsible for the demolition and electrical installation, including power, lighting and sub systems, associated with re-construction of the South Battery Grit, Aeration and Settlement tanks at the Treatment Plant, which is currently in the midst of a 10 year, $2.5 billion dollar, capital upgrade.

10.6.08 | Houston, TX | IFMA announced the 2008 class of IFMA Fellows. The new class will be honored during the association's Awards of Excellence banquet on October 17 at World Workplace 2008 Conference & Expo in Dallas, TX. Being named an IFMA Fellow is the highest honor the association can bestow on a member. To date, 75 other facility professionals have received the distinction. The newest members are:

• Bruce Kenneth Forbes, founder, president and CEO of ARCHIBUS.
  
• Jon Eldon Martens, facilities operations division manager for Sonoma County, CA, General Services and founder and president of JEMCOR.
  
• W.Kirtley Miller Jr, program/project consultant at Himes Associates and program manager for the facility management certificate program at George Mason University. 
• Michael K. Schley, founder and CEO of FM:Systems.  

10.6.08 | Dallas, TX | G. Frank Mills joined Ellerbe Becket in its Dallas, TX office.  He will serve as Senior Project Manager. Previously he worked as Director of Operations for an architectural practice in Arlington, TX where he worked primarily in the medical and higher education field.  Mr. Mills also served as a staff architect with  Baylor College of Dentistry in Dallas and was national director of design & construction for American Healthcare Management, Inc.