When Haworth, a global leader in the design and manufacture of adaptable workspaces, made the final carpet specifications for the renovation of its 300,000 square-foot headquarters in Holland, Michigan, the design team asked the carpet manufacturer to switch the standard fiber specification for the carpet style to Antron® carpet fiber. Because the new headquarters serves as a showroom for Haworth’s clients, its facilities and design team wanted Antron® carpet fiber to ensure the carpet would stay newer-looking longer.
With the renovation now complete, clients who visit Haworth’s headquarters walk away with more than an impressive presentation on Haworth’s innovative products for the commercial interiors industry. They also see firsthand how a renovation and redesign can reflect a corporate image, achieve aggressive sustainability goals and improve a facility’s performance.
The Perkins + Will / Eva Maddox Branded EnvironmentsTM team began the project by initiating a “Discovery Phase” to learn more about Haworth’s design objectives. “Participating in the ‘discovery phase’ enabled us to achieve Dick Haworth’s vision to not just build another building, but to build a usable space defining who we are and where we are going, all while focusing on sustainable building practices,” said Ken Brandsen, Haworth’s manager of facilities design & management.
Going for LEED
The goal to achieve LEED-NC Gold certification went in tandem with the drive to demonstrate how interior renovations utilizing adaptable elements can suit the corporate needs of today, and enable businesses to evolve the space to meet future needs and work styles.
“Leading-edge sustainability initiatives were incorporated into just about every design decision, from deconstruction to interior finish selections,” said Brandsen. “Our success will be realized by an impressive facility performance statistic. Even though the total footprint of the facility increased by 20 percent, we are expecting a 10 percent reduction in energy use.”
Haworth didn’t just focus on collecting LEED points for their new construction – they also focused on responsible disposal and recycling of old building materials during the deconstruction. The LEED® certification system awards up to 2 points for recycling or salvaging up to 75 percent of the construction waste generated. Haworth surpassed this goal by diverting 97 percent of the old materials from landfills. Because carpet comprises nearly four percent of all landfill waste in North America, Haworth decided to divert all of its old carpet. It donated more than 58,240 pounds of usable carpet tiles to a local school, a local church and a local arts council and sent the rest to a carpet tile recycling company for either reuse or recycling.
The New Design
The new Haworth corporate headquarters incorporates many of the business and sustainability principles the company encourages its clients to adopt. By incorporating Haworth’s organic workspace solutions throughout, the fully renovated facility will function as a living laboratory for innovation and workplace research.
For Haworth, sustainability also begins with products and materials that last. “When it came to selecting carpet for the new facility, we wanted it all – functionality, aesthetics, performance, sustainability and maintenance – these were all key considerations,” said Jackie Neerken, interior design manager for Haworth. “We expect the traffic in our facility to increase, so we knew we needed a carpet that would perform well.”
One of the modular carpet styles selected for the majority of the 250,000 square feet of raised flooring was light in color and manufactured with type 6,6 nylon fiber. “As a designer who specialized in education and healthcare projects for most of my career, I knew how important it was to specify carpet with type 6,6 nylon fiber to ensure long-term performance and durability. To meet these goals, I recommended changing the fiber specification to Antron® carpet fiber,” said Neerken.
The end result is a collaborative environment that inspires creativity and productivity.
To learn more, view video testimonials and contact a mill representative visit www.antron.net.
