9.07.2007

new office upfit

So, as I mentioned before, the office my firm is currently using is, and has always been known to be, somewhat make-shift while they shopped around / re-built an office for themselves in the city. Well, now they've found a space they / we REALLY like off 5th street, and it's time to work on the interiors. Yay!

Currently there's just a concrete subfloor, I think, but it's got these exposed brick walls and wood columns and an exposed rafter ceiling, skylights, and a really great feel inside. This firm, as opposed to my previous employer, actually CARES about sustainability- who knew?- and has been asking me for my input in that sense, especially in terms of flooring, to find a way we can afford to do something for Mother Earth.
We've looked at some reclaimed wood- GORGEOUS- here are three varieties. The darkest is alright... not my favorite...then the middle is by far my favorite option we've come up with across the board. It's taken from some old mills around here, so it's in the area- we're using a supplier in Southend- and I don't know what kind of mills it was taken from, but it's got years and years of oils soaked into it that bring out the colors that are so rich. It comes in these 6" wide planks, T&G, and is sealed to keep all of that character. I want that.
I was looking at some carpeting options because chances are, because of the cost of the wood, that we'd have to go half & half throughout the space. Have you seen Mohawk's encycle backing? It's their answer to getting their feet wet in sustainability- I haven't paid a lot of attention to the product, but I really like the website. check it out.

I'm having a little bit of trouble thinking outside the box- hopefully I'll know more after some research, but I'm REALLY sick of seeing bamboo, cork and rubber. We need something that won't make us look like a bunch of bark-eating tree-huggers, but that still doesn't make me lose sleep at night over killing the environment around me.

Suggestions? (ps: there's a lot of glass being used... can't wait till it's built and I can show you. Going to be GORGEOUS!)

1 comment:

traphic signs said...

love it! can't wait to see the new office.