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CITED: “NOBODY IN THE GAME OF FOOTBALL SHOULD BE CALLED A GENIUS. A GENIUS IS SOME- BODY LIKE NORMAN EINSTEIN..” —JOE THEISMANN, FORMER QUARTERBACK GIVING VOICE TO THOSE WHO CREATE WORKPLACE DESIGN & FURNISHINGS 04.06.09 Putting My Money Where My Mouth Is: Showers Interior Designers are an odd lot; we nd excitement in the strangest things. Case in point: my heart is all autter over the channel drain in my shower. I consider it to be the most exciting product in my house and it is the crowing achievement in my quest to create the perfect solution to the conuence of sustainability, universal design, function and aesthetics. FULL STORY ON PG.24 Allsteel Stride Today’s workplace is in constant ux and evolution. Allsteel is addressing it with the development of Stride, a new furniture solution designed to satisfy every possible need of a facility’s interior landscape – keeping pace with the changes of business today, meeting the hierarchal and genera- tional demands, fullling varying business model criteria, while assuring the creation of a highly sustainable environment. FULL STORY ON PG.21 Coalescense The coalescing of Steelcase’s Brayton, Metro, and Vectra companies into Coalesse continues apace and appears to be gathering momentum. We recently visited the company’s home base in San Francisco to get a rst- hand look at the company’s new headquarters and to attend one of its traveling satellite events. Creative Director Robert Arko and Design Direc- tor John Hamilton were on hand to to talk about the company’s direction. FULL STORY ON PG.13 Vitra: A New Work Spirit for a New Ofce Culture Vitra, the chair company – and much more – is on to a new phase in its extended venture in the Americas. We have seen the company evolve from a chair company, to a chair and systems company, and on to even greater renements as it continues to explore in an effort to discover its optimum position in North America. Through it all, Vitra has maintained its reputation for high design and high quality. FULL STORY ON PG.3 Haworth: The Stream Newaygo, the small lumber town located about an hour north of Grand Rapids, has become a sleepy recreational area noted for trout fishing and second homes. Now, Haworth’s Global Vice President for Marketing, Mabel Casey, has a new initiative there that is making us think about the future and a new way to go forward. FULL STORY ON PG.18 Compliments of Dan DeClercq and dog, DeClercq Ofce Group

Transcript of 04.06.09 GIVING VOICE TO THOSE WHO CREATE...

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CITED:“NOBODY IN THE GAME OF FOOTBALL SHOULD BE CALLED A GENIUS. A GENIUS IS SOME-BODY LIKE NORMAN EINSTEIN..” —JOE THEISMANN, FORMER QUARTERBACK

GIVING VOICE TO THOSE WHO CREATE WORKPLACE DESIGN & FURNISHINGS04.06.09

Putting My Money Where My Mouth Is: Showers

Interior Designers are an odd lot; we fi nd excitement in the strangest things. Case in point: my heart is all afl utter over the channel drain in my shower. I consider it to be the most exciting product in my house and it is the crowing achievement in my quest to create the perfect solution to the confl uence of sustainability, universal design, function and aesthetics. FULL STORY ON PG.24

Allsteel Stride

Today’s workplace is in constant fl ux and evolution. Allsteel is addressing it with the development of Stride, a new furniture solution designed to satisfy every possible need of a facility’s interior landscape – keeping pace with the changes of business today, meeting the hierarchal and genera-tional demands, fulfi lling varying business model criteria, while assuring the creation of a highly sustainable environment.FULL STORY ON PG.21

Coalescense

The coalescing of Steelcase’s Brayton, Metro, and Vectra companies into Coalesse continues apace and appears to be gathering momentum. We recently visited the company’s home base in San Francisco to get a fi rst-hand look at the company’s new headquarters and to attend one of its traveling satellite events. Creative Director Robert Arko and Design Direc-tor John Hamilton were on hand to to talk about the company’s direction.FULL STORY ON PG.13

Vitra: A New Work Spirit for a New Offi ce Culture

Vitra, the chair company – and much more – is on to a new phase in its extended venture in the Americas. We have seen the company evolve from a chair company, to a chair and systems company, and on to even greater refi nements as it continues to explore in an effort to discover its optimum position in North America. Through it all, Vitra has maintained its reputation for high design and high quality.FULL STORY ON PG.3

Haworth: The Stream

Newaygo, the small lumber town located about an hour north of Grand Rapids, has become a sleepy recreational area noted for trout fishing and second homes. Now, Haworth’s Global Vice President for Marketing, Mabel Casey, has a new initiative there that is making us think about the future and a new way to go forward.FULL STORY ON PG.18

Compliments of Dan DeClercq and dog, DeClercq Offi ce Group

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companies

this is one of those instances where the cake may have more long-term effect than the tasty cream. “We see a change in management of the offi ce from administration to effi ciency,” said Mr. Cohn, which he attributed to a result of three key megatrends:>digitalization>globalization>environmental challenge

O.K., but how do these manifest themselves in the workplace? The offi ce comprises technology, organiza-tion, and space, all of which seem to be evolving nicely. But, alas, in the middle of it all, there are people.

So, when dealing with the work-place, a good place to start is with what Vitra refers to as the spirit of the worker. Mr. Cohn cited a Gallup study in Europe that found that only 15% of workers are working in an entrepre-neurial way. Even if it were 20-25%, he said, you have 45-69% disengaged employees and 16% actively disen-gaged. That’s a lot potential lying in waste. What to do?

My understanding of Vitra’s new model for the U.S. is somewhat along the lines of Unifor, a few high-design projects with a fair degree of customi-

its Work Spirit philosophy. Later, Vitra CEO Hanns-Peter Cohn fl ew in from Switzerland and joined with Managing Director for Vitra USA, Josef Kaiser, to tell us what this means for the Vitra audience in the United States.

MegatrendsVitra introduced several interesting new products at Orgatec 08, but, according to Mr. Cohn, these are the cream on the cake. It turned out that

Vitra: A New Work Spirit for a New Offi ce Cultureby Brad Powell

Vitra, the chair company – and much more – is on to a new phase in its extended venture in the Americas. We have seen the company evolve as Vitra went from a chair company, to a chair and systems company, and on to even greater refi nements as it continues to explore in an effort to discover its optimum position in North America. Through it all, Vitra has maintained its reputation for high design and high quality, innovative products, and stimulating offi ces and showroom environments. We need only cite the various Meda and Citterio chairs and systems/desks and various products of the Bouroullec brothers, including the trend setting Joyn Bench. (Is there anyone left who doesn’t have a version of this?)

Being a Swiss/German company, Vitra has a prominence in Europe that it has yet to match in North America, and it is not surprising that Orgatec is a show where this company takes center stage. This year, Vitra exhibited Net’n’Nest, the latest incantation of

JOSEF KAISER HANNS-PETER COHN

ORGATEC 2008

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companieszation for those who have the need, sensibilities and budgets for this type of thing. But, Vitra is going further and seeks to bring the workplace and design knowledge that it has gained in Europe to the A&D community for the benefi t of end users. This accords with the trend in the U.S. of contract furniture manufacturers earnestly seeking ways to help and support the A&D community in the practice of its profession in ways that augment the traditional development of workplace products.

On average, said Mr. Cohn, offi ce costs are 11% offi ce space, 5% infra-structure, 1-2% furniture, and 80% people. If it’s possible to change the spirit in the offi ce, similar to motivat-ing a sports team, you should be able to measure the result. Interestingly, as most businessmen and economist know, if you can increase effi ciency by only a small percentage, say 3-4%, you will get a huge payback. Improve

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companiesselling,” said Mr. Cohn, “then I would say good spirit. And, we are selling a third skin. Skin number one is our own skin, the second skin is our clothes, and our third skin is our surround-ings.”

Well, we’ve all heard that message many times before, but what does that have to do with Vitra, other than it sells desking and other systems that create highly attractive open work environments? Vitra, more known as a design and product company, wants to participate in creating the new offi ce culture, optimizing processes and communication and encouraging collective intelligence, and not just by selling its very attractive products. It’s message:>Prepare for a New Offi ce Culture>Reduce Costs (Space Effi ciency, CO2>Start with Process Optimization>Optimize Communication>Encourage collective IntelligenceResult: 30% Effi ciency Increase

your workflow, for example, you might reap overall gains of 30% or more.

Moreover, and perhaps more impor-tant, said Mr. Cohn, modern offi ces are centers of communication where new products, strategies, plans, ideas, analyses, and concepts are created. People are always working together. But, he said, “in conservative compa-nies, they are working in cubicles and they die in cubicles.”

On the fl ip side, added Mr. Kaiser citing an MIT study, “80% of innova-tive ideas originate through personal communication. The fi rst message is: Break the walls. If you have a conser-vative company with a hierarchic orga-nization, you won’t change anything. But if you have a teamwork-oriented organization where people work to-gether, the offi ce looks different. And, after all, with all the mobile working tools, what other reason is there for having an offi ce?”

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companiesderived from Jane Jacobs’s great work, The Death and Life in the Great American Cities, many of whose concepts were later refl ected in the community-based planning approach-es explored by Steelcase and Herman Miller. These ideas could be among the most profound regarding the creation of interior environments and their relationship with external environ-ments, including the urban environ-ment. They indicate that Vitra is on the right track and is another contract furniture manufacturer with something substantial to offer to architects and interior designers as they develop their knowledge base and practices.

What is unusual here is not what Vitra hopes to do, but that this ap-proach is being adopted by a company with such a small presence in the U.S. marketplace. But sometimes we forget that Vitra is, according to its fi gures, one of the largest contract furniture manufacturers in Europe. And, while it has abandoned an approach that would bring it head-to-head with the major U.S. players, its new strategy keeps it in the game at the highest level, playing into Vitra’s historical strengths and reputation as a darling of the A&D community, while avoid-ing the strongest areas of the largest contract vendors.

Part of this strategy is the welcome realization that, in many cases, archi-tects and designers appreciate the in-put of how a manufacturer’s furniture has been, and can be, most effectively used. Another part is an attempt of Vitra to capitalize on the trust-relation-ships it has developed over the years by bringing its practical knowledge to a receptive audience.

But now for the cream.

Net ‘n’ Nest at Orgatec“Orgatec 2008 had a 10% increase in visitors. “It was an artifi cial world,” said Mr. Cohn. “We were all fully aware of the problems in the world surrounding

to adopt them. “Then they ask how to create such an offi ce. We work with their interior architecture/design fi rm, to show how they can use our furni-ture to do that.”

Driving home this point, when HQ magazine conducted a national poll in the U.S. of employees in an attempt to identify the top 20 best places to work, Vitra furnished or contributed to seven of these companies, including Saatchi & Saatchi and Edmunds.COM.

Describing some of Vitra’s lessons-learned, Mr. Cohn continued, “There are many typical offi ce forms, each affecting performance and motivation according to offi ce tasks. You have the single offi ce, the two-person offi ce, the crew offi ce, the open space, and the offi ce mix. In terms of performance and work motivation, the highest value comes from the offi ce mix.

“We don’t stand only for open space, he said. “We stand for that mix like the landscape of a city. In a city you have a cinema, a hotel, a residential building, an offi ce building. We see the offi ce as a landscape with different ar-eas, but all in one room where people are together.”

This thinking, many will recognize, stems from conceptual framework

. . . in Europe we are doing the whole job. We analyze the organiza-tion, and then we conduct “Index Workshops” followed by interior design and interior architecture plan-ning.

“We are not just selling offi ce furniture,” said Mr. Cohn. “Showing new products is not enough. In the U.S., we work with design fi rms, but in Europe we are doing the whole job. We analyze the organization, and then we conduct ‘Index Workshops’ followed by interior design and interior architecture planning. The fourth step is furniture.”

Undoubtedly, Vitra, through its experiences, has gained valuable lessons in workplace design. The same holds true for many American contract furniture manufacturers. But Vitra has also created an offi ce effi ciency indicator, a computer-based system that it says creates an overview analysis of a workplace to determine, well, effi ciency. “We present results of critical areas and project solutions,” said Mr. Cohn. At subsequent workshops, solutions are studied and clients decide whether

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companiesus, but this Orgatec was like an oasis in the desert. Startups fi lled with young people tend to furnish their surround-ings differently from other types of com-panies. The idea this year was to show our different ‘Net ‘n’ Nest’ concepts appropriate for a typical young offi ce.”

”’Net’ is teamwork, project man-agement, bringing people together to increase productivity, creating a space effi ciency that means net for network-ers,” said Mr. Kaiser. “’Nesting’ gives something back to the people, creating areas for informal conversations, reset areas very close to the work areas, to relax for a moment, drink a cappuccino or whatever.“

“The key message for Net ‘n’ Nest, from our point of view,” said Mr. Cohn, “is a measurable increase in effi ciency through a more balanced and condu-cive workplace. We introduced Net ‘n’ Nest at Orgatec 2006, and it is now a very successful concept in Europe. As a European company, we are selling between 70,000 and 80,000 worksta-tions per year with that concept.”

Lowe Worldwide, a London-based advertising agency who recently moved from their mid-town Manhattan offi ces to Tribecca, used Net ‘n’ Nest to move 225 employees from a 75,000 sq. ft. space to a 44,000 sq. ft. space.

HUG AG, an industrial baker in Zurich, is a conservative company that wanted to modernize to increase effi ciency. They chose an open space landscape, owners sitting with employ-ees in that landscape. If you show that offi ce to people from Switzerland, they don’t believe it because HUG is a typi-cal conservative company.

Accenture, an American company, for its European headquarters (in Kro-nberg, near Frankfurt), has an offi ce for around 1,600 people, but they have only half the workstations. They use a hoteling concept that is, from their point of view, extremely effi cient for the team spirit and also for the space effi ciency. VITRA: ACCENTURE NET N’ NEST

VITRA: HUG AG NET N’ NEST

VITRA: HUG AG NET N’ NEST

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companiesNew ProductsWorKit, designed by Arik Levy, is a construction kit, a highly fl exible sys-tem with a low number of parts. This makes it ideal for facility managers to easily change the number of worksta-tions from two to four to six to eight and back. Vitra notes that WorKit’s cost is at the low end of it’s workplace solutions and says that WorKit is about 25% less expensive than comparable solutions of its competitors. Addition-ally, it is marked at a lower price compared to other Vitra offerings for the offi ce, increasing its availability.

From designer Antonio Citterio, Vitra has a new chair, AC4, and the ex-ecutive system, ACE, using a new ar-tifi cial material, it has a very soft touch and is moldable making it possible to create much more than a tabletop

Skape, also by Mr. Citterio, is a new chair for executives and managers. It is designed “like a baseball glove,” providing a “protected” impression with a very soft feeling because of the high quality of the leather. The me-chanics of the chair are invisible and integrated. The concept is to provide a level of comfort more like a normal offi ce chair, which in most cases are more comfortable than the executive chairs. This then, according to Vitra, provides image and ergonomics.

Playns, a height-adjustable worksta-tion designed by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, enables workers to work in either an upright or seating posture. In the seating position, you are less likely to be disturbed; users can quickly, and without noise, move to the upright position, for health and posture rea-sons, or to have a short conversation. You can cluster 2-4-6-8-10 worksta-tions with clean cable management and stability so that two desks placed in opposition need only four legs. An integrated beam frame connects display screens, accommodating the trend toward more than one screen per station.

VITRA: WORKIT

VITRA: AC4

VITRA: ACE EXECUTIVE SYSTEME AND SCAPE EXECUTIVE CHAIR

VITRA: PLAYNS

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companiesAlso from the Bouroullecs is Soft

Shell, a surprisingly comfortable multi-purpose chair that could be used for conference and visitor areas, for tempo-rary workstations, home offi ces and for the dining table.

Alberto Meda’s Archimeda, a new table for quick meetings in an upright position. People stand around and get brought up to date. It all aims for the target of increased effi ciency. The mo-tor changes positions in seconds.

Caddy, designed by Chrisoph Ingen-hoven, was inspired by airplane service carts. [Please don’t remind us about that!] This is a moveable storage work-station for hoteling use. It could also be used for a cappuccino machine [now you’re talking] or multimedia unit.

Novartis CampusIn Basel the head of well-known phar-maceutical fi rm Novartis, CEO Daniel Vasella, has a vision, and it’s the right vision. He is convinced that “Work Time is Life Time,” and that he will win the race against all the other companies in the world by attracting the best people. He doesn’t talk about employees; he talks about guests.

The master plan for the new Novartis campus under development in Basel calls for 35 buildings, all open space and a club atmosphere. Ten buildings are now complete, all designed by re-nowned international architects, among them fi ve Pritzker Prize laureates. Vitra has furnished fi ve buildings, includ-ing the Human Resources building by Frank O. Gehry.

For the Gehry building Vitra produced 142 workstations, called FOG, designed by Mr. Gehry, an invitation for the best people. [Interesting, Mr. Gehry loves the fog; he did a table and chair for Knoll with the same name.] “Mr. Vasella owns the rights for the product,” said Mr. Cohn, “but Vitra was able to display it as a study at Orgatec. It demonstrates that Vitra can create a furniture system for a single project.”

VITRA: NOVARTIS NET N’ NEST

VITRA: NOVARTIS NET N’ NEST

VITRA: ARCHIMEDIA

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companiesVitra has a long history with Mr.

Gehry. His fi rst European commission was the design for Vitra’s Design Mu-seum in Weil am Rhein, Germany, and Vitra’s headquarters building in Birs-felden, Switzerland. “Today companies are aware that the best people don’t accept work in a bad environment be-cause they lose time,” said Mr. Cohn. “The highest performance comes from people who feel good and are working together in a team.”

ResetVitra has also created ideas of how to reset in an offi ce landscape. This is more or less the same as nesting. A study by Jurgen Bey is a box where you can sit inside to relax two, three, four minutes.

“l’ll give you a personal impression,” said Mr. Cohn. Working in the Middle East, after one hour or an hour and a half, people go to pray for three or four minutes, and come back fresh. These are areas maybe to pray, but you don’t need to pray. You can even take a one- or two-minute power nap. It’s a study; not a product. We show it because we can do it in Europe.”

Another reset area, inspired by the classic Hollywood swing and designed by Werner Aisslinger, is called Basket, and could be close to workstations.

Vitra intends to have an expanded presence at ICFF (the International Contemporary Furniture Fair) in New York City, May 16-19, including a second space at its offi ce/showroom at 29 9th Avenue. (T: 212-463-5700) “We have worked with Parsons School of Design tol create vignettes to dem-onstrate how Vitra home products can be used in residential settings of different styles,” said Mr. Kaiser. (80% of its U.S. sales are for commercial installation, but Vitra also has signifi -cant residential products.) Mr. Kaiser added that the company is eager to expand its share of the market. With its business this year in the contract area

VITRA: FOG

VITRA: BASKET

VITRA: SPECTRASEIS NET N’ NEST

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companieswell exceeding BIFMA projections, and with an increased emphasis on its residential sales, Vitra appears to be doing just that.

Vitra will also expand its activities at this year’s NeoCon WTF, June 15-17. In addition to its showroom at 10-124 in the Merchandise Mart, it will create a small echo of its magnifi cent year at Orgatec by bringing a miniature Geodesic Dome to the Mart’s south entrance, well furbished with Vitra products, and the august presence of Antonio Citterio, who will also be in the Vitra showroom. (Not at the same time, of course; he is not that great.) VITRA: 360 ARCHITECTS

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companies

locations. We started out in Denver, and we’ve done Grand Rapids, Port-land, Mexico City, San Francisco, Dallas, Atlanta, Miami, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. Still to come in April, we’ll have Boston, Toronto, and New York. We attended the event in San Francisco, at the Rucker Fuller offices, a Steelcase dealership which had a street-level facility, and furnished with Coalesse products, it didn’t look contract at all. In fact, we were ready to move in, walk-in visitors notwithstanding. (They had Wegner Wing chairs in leather!) This was just an informal gathering with A&D folks, sprinkled with Coalesse staff wearing the becoming-familiar company logo. Good company, very nice furniture and setting, food and drink, and Mr. Arko and Mr. Hamilton spinning their vision over anyone who was interested. What’s not to like?

Official rollout of the company’s Denizen product line is scheduled for next month at ICFF (the Interna-tional Contemporary Furniture Fair) in New York City, May 16-19). “We’ll

The coalescing of Steelcase’s Bray-ton, Metro, and Vecta companies into Coalesse continues apace and appears to be gathering momentum. We recently visited the company’s home base in San Francisco to get a first-hand look at the company’s new headquarters and to attend one of its traveling satellite events. Defying the economic downturn – this was one project not put on hold, – a new 6,400-square-foot, state-of-the-art design center was under construction in a former warehouse space, where Coalesse Creative Director Robert Arko and Design Director John Hamilton were on hand to offer some hints as to the direction that the new company is taking.

Coalesse’s launch at NeoCon ’08 “was a smart choice within our primary business channel, the contract industry,” said Mr. Arko, “But of course not everybody goes to NeoCon. As a way of reinforcing the introduction and taking Coa-lesse out to the world, we planned satellite events in all our primary

Coalescenseby Brad Powell

JASON HERIDIA BOB ARKO JOHN HAMILTON

FRANK MERLOTTI JR.

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companiesThe company’s much-touted fo-

cus on the “work-life” intersection is expected to appeal greatly to knowl-edge workers. “What’s consistent with Coalesse is that it really speaks to the changing nature of what life is today,” explained Mr. Arko. “Not everybody does knowledge work, but we do and many of our clients do, and those are the clients that we’re really thinking of when we talk about the shift and the blurring of the boundaries between work and life.”

In addition to offering products for ancillary settings such as lounges and reception areas, Coalesse is tar-geting the full range of work spaces, including back offices which are not client-facing and, as a result, are sometimes neglected in image-building and motivation-enhancing interior design plans. The goal here, said Mr. Hamilton, will be “effi-ciency and effectiveness,” which includes keeping people happy and inspired by their working environ-ment. He cites research findings by Steelcase in which “rogue divisions” in back offices of major corpora-tions have taken apart their systems

be launching a whole new series of things,” promised Mr. Arko. Al-though still keeping details “close to the vest,” he described Denizen as “a really provocative, truly unique offering for furniture” that combines the “culturally impactful, fashion-oriented design of our international competition with the innovative, insight-driven design of America.”

“What’s interesting about ICFF for us is that the audience includes a healthy mix of people that we should be talking to already,” he noted. “It’s an expansion of our approach to a number of designers that we haven’t reached before.”

“Our first mission is to comple-ment the Steelcase portfolio by cre-ating diversity of choices,” said Mr. Arko. “We’ve done things to bring in different craft levels through partnerships, and we’ve been working on raising our own level of execution, including expanding our materials palette.” One key partner-ship is with a New York-based OEM, a source of fine wood craftsman-ship, which is manufacturing for the Denizen line according to “very tight design specifications.”

A HAPPY PARTIER IN THE WEGNER WING CHAIR IN LEATHER

FACADE OF NEW COALESSE HQ

furniture and reassembled it in new ways that were against company policy; nevertheless, they were al-lowed to keep the new arrangements because “they proved that they were able to be more effective.”

Spending time on the road for Coalesse, the Arko/Hamilton team has also been inspired by work-ing out of hotel rooms and lobbies, which Mr. Arko describes as “third-place destinations” and additional opportunities for Coalesse. “They’re

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companiesnot interested in office furniture, but they’d be compelled by some of the things that we’re working on,” he noted.

Site selection criteria for the new San Francisco design center includ-ed a central location with easy ac-cess to transit lines as well as ample space to include a shop and studio, along with acoustically isolated en-claves for meetings or concentrated work. The ground-floor facility also includes a convenient loading dock; its storefront will be obscured be-cause the company isn’t seeking to attract walk-in traffic. “We’re going to be bringing people in selectively,” explained Mr. Arko.

While the space was designed pri-marily for Coalesse’s own work, the company also plans to host special events for designers and possibly even local community organizations. One multifunctional room includes a high-definition video conferencing system complete with support cam-eras that can zoom in on prototypes or other works in progress. The kitchen features a library setting as an alternative workspace in addition to an eating area.

Designs aren’t completed until they get specified, so in a very real sense, the A&D community finish-es the design work that we start.

Mr. Arko noted that many of Coalesse’s projects are prototypes for designers who are facing “the tyranny of billable hours” and have neither the time nor the tools to deviate far from “the safe choice” of reusing designs over and over. The prototyping service offers “an example that can be used as a source of information and ideas that can be used as a starting point for refining products for their own proj-ects,” he explained. “Designs aren’t completed until they get specified,

RUCKER FULLER

AT THE RUCKER FULLER SATELLITE EVENT

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companiesso in a very real sense, the A&D community finishes the design work that we start. Our company is set up as an enabling device to support an overall design intention within a company. It’s very different from the consumer business where you’re creating a finished object and sell-ing that.”

Retail will be an important aspect of the company’s marketing efforts, but details on retail partners have yet to be announced. A major target market is small businesses that don’t usually buy furniture through a contract dealer.

“We’re still very much in a transi-tion state,” said Mr. Arko, “and that will be the case for another 6-12 months before we fully realize the aspirations of what we’ve set out to do.

DAVOS BENCH

MEETING IN NEW HQ

MEETING ROOM IN NEW HQ CHATTING IT UP IN BIX

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companies

selected because of local government support and obvious needs of the local economy.

Haworth was instrumental in facilitating the visioning sessions dur-ing which ideas for the Center were discussed. “There were many visions from different vantage points,” said Ms. Casey, “and the visioning sessions were necessary to bring these ideas into harmony in a mutually supportive

ate The Stream Community Center, which broke ground last Friday. Visser Brothers Development and Paradigm Design are the construction and devel-opment partners on this project.

The Center is a mixed-use facility that Haworth hopes will become the model for a sprawling network across the country. “Imagine seeing the Stream logo as you drive from city to city, as a welcoming and hospitable oasis and place to work for those on the move,” said Ms. Casey. The facility in Newaygo will house a remote work site, a community business center, a training facility, offi ces for non-profi t organizations and retail businesses, as well as classes for the community college. The Newaygo community was

Haworth: The StreamWhere the Talent Flowsby Brad Powell

Chief Newaygo surely realized that his name was onomatopoetic, but prob-ably not the extent. The small lumber town located about an hour north of Grand Rapids and named for the Chief has become a sleepy recreational area noted for trout fi shing and second homes.

Now, Haworth’s Global Vice Presi-dent for Marketing, Mabel Casey, who wants to make this rising company an industry thought leader, has a new initiative that is making us and many others think about the future and a new way to go forward. Ha-worth has joined with the Michigan city of Newaygo (pop.<2000; median household income<$35,000) and Muskegon Community College to cre-

ANDREW HOWARD, JON DEWITTE, STATE REPRESENTATIVE GOEFF HANSEN, DIANA OSBORN, MABEL CASEY, MAYOR RON ARMSTRONG OF THE CITY OF NEWAYGO, LIBBY CHERIN, RICH BLACHFORD, STATE SENATOR GERALD VANWOERKOM, ANDY LOFGREN AND JEFF SCHUT

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companieshelp more remote areas grow and prosper when involving local institu-tions and supported by both commer-cial entities and municipal authori-ties? And we can only be heartened to see another example of the interiors community lifting its horizon to the broader environments that its work-place designs are beginning to more closely mirror.

“Newaygo values our population of second home community mem-bers and the business center will be a place where they can work for an hour or all day,” said Newaygo Mayor Ron Armstrong. “It is a place where you can network or work individually as you please,” added Rich Blachford, City Manager. “This business center is close enough to ride your bike to and we believe that this innovative project will help kick start the economy.”

“I am honored to join with the com-munity in celebrating a project that will create a 21st Century workplace and grow the local economy,” said Rep. Goeff Hansen (R-Hart). “I applaud the innovation and dedication of all those who have made this concept into a reality.”

It sounds like a good place for the summer offi ces of offi ceinsight.

enables easy reconfi guration. The spaces will be highly adaptable for the changing needs of the 21st century. Haworth will supply all of the walls and furniture and use this as a showcase for future development.

“This venture,” said David Fick, Se-nior Workplace Strategist, “is a natural outgrowth of Haworth’s ongoing study of the many issues impacting society, its efforts to better understand the strength of diverse relationships, and the effects of the products we make. We are particularly interested in the dynamics of the intergenerational relationships that develop in a setting such as the Center. So far, there have been many studies of this, but few usable conclusions.”

“We believe this project could become a model to the rest of the United States,” said Ms. Casey. “This is a unique, one-of-a-kind facility geared towards helping the environ-ment, helping create and maintain jobs and bringing family and commu-nity together.” The choice of a small exurban community seems especially astute, since this will create a decent opportunity for evaluation of the ef-fects of the Center. For example, will the addition of the latest technology

way to gain the support of the many stakeholders.”

In part, the idea for the Center came out of research that showed Newaygo has a high percentage of people who work outside the county. The re-mote work site will allow members to telecommute from a very professional building with all required amenities. In addition, the intended mixed com-munity may serve as fertile ground for cross-pollination and networking in the local community. The participa-tion of Muskegon Community College will provide one thread of continuity, as well as lend support to the college as its students gain experience, and hopefully opportunity, in the Centers collegial environment.

The building is 26,000 sq. ft. in two stories, located on a vacant lot that once housed the historic Courtright Hotel. The remote work-center on the second fl oor of the building is called The Stream Community Business Center. It will be a “state of the art, technology-fi lled space that represents a new way to work – a unique mem-bership-based remote work site.”

The building will be built to LEED certifi cation standards with furni-ture and a unique fl oor system that

STREAM MAIN ELEVATION

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http://instore.informedesign.com

InformeDesign is launching an Annual Fundraising Drive to give you an opportunity tomake a tax deductable gift today! Shortly, our founding sponsor, ASID, will no longer be able to provide the support needed to fulfill InformeDesign's operational mission.

InformeDesign needs your support! We suggest the following as your level of giving:

Donate to InformeDesign at:

InformeDesign Needs Your Support!www.in

Student $10Educator/Researcher $25Practitioner $50Small firm $250-500Large Firm $1000 +

If you are interested in becoming a major sponsor of InformeDesignconsider sponsorship at the Silver, Gold or Platinum levels.

If you have benefited from evidence-based design, please support our mission! Whenyou give, your name or firm’s name will be placed on our Champions of InformeDesign page!

www.informedesign.umn.edu

https://www.foundation.umn.edu/pls/dmsn/online_giving.frames_broker?owner=INFD

Thank You!

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style based on organizational function (what one does).

The Stride design team did the math, responding to the multiplicity of requirements with a single – and singular – solution. With Stride, one product platform can support and optimize the performance of all. At the same time, it gives the worker more control over his or her personal space, making it a more comfortable and productive environment.

Additionally, Allsteel defi ned six dis-tinct worker types: Director or Group Leader, Consultant, Customer Service Representative, Technical Specialist, Analyst and Field Service Representa-tive. It then confronted the same chal-

or light-scale desking. It is the fi rst fur-niture solution from Allsteel that’s been conceived and built from the ground up to be Cradle-to-Cradle certifi ed, Indoor Advantage Gold certifi ed and compli-ant with the 2008 passage of BIFMA Design for the Environment.”

Comprising work surfaces, storage and panel components in innumerable confi gurations, Stride offers a cohesive approach to space planning with many solutions.

In developing Stride, three details were factored into the design equation: a worker’s preference based on gen-erational differences (who the person is); worker preference based on the individual (how one works); and, work

Today’s workplace is in constant fl ux and evolution. Allsteel is addressing it with the development of Stride, a new furniture solution designed to satisfy every possible need of a facility’s inte-rior landscape – keeping pace with the changes of business today, meeting the hierarchal and generational demands, fulfi lling varying business model cri-teria, while assuring the creation of a highly sustainable environment.

“Stride refl ects a relentless com-mitment to create the next genera-tion workplace today,” said D.J. Heil, Allsteel’s Senior Manager, Product Management. “With an integrated kit of parts, Stride can create open plan or private offi ce, traditional panel-based

Allsteel Stride

product intro

ALLSTEEL: STRIDE, DIRECTOR

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ing, with 60% less than conventional wraps and cartons.

Once Stride has reached the end of its useful life for a facility, Allsteel has reuse and recycle programs in place. In a partnership with Green Solutions North America, Inc. and its Revive program. Any existing asset, including furnishings, will be retrieved, restored and then repurposed, provided to a worthy non-profi t organization in need. If it is beyond restoration, the GSNAI/Allsteel team through Revive will make sure that all components are properly recycled.

The product can help earn LEED-CI credits, contributing to as many as 16 points. And, for the LEED-NC (new construction) rating, Stride can be used as an Innovation & Design credit, accounting for LEED-CI’s EQ 4.5.

For more information on Stride and other Allsteel designs, visit www.allsteeloffi ce.com.

ery Stride component was scrutinized through the DfE lens. McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC) Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C) and Scientifi c Certifi cation System (SCS) Sustainable Choice certifi cation validate this rigor-ous approach.

“The primary goal with Stride was to use a lifecycle approach of de-sign, build, use, reuse and recycle,” explained Kris Yates, Allsteel’s Vice President of Product Management and Marketing.

A fi rst step was to be sure that 100% of the energy used to produce Stride is fully offset with the purchase of Green-e Energy certifi ed wind re-newable energy certifi cates (REC) from the Midwest region and also to localize as much production as possible, with more than 90% of the components and inputs on the series produced within a 500-mile radius. Allsteel also turned its attention to smarter packag-

lenges a customer might face: How to create a workspace that meets the needs of each, allowing personaliza-tion, but also yielding a visually unifi ed as well as highly functional environ-ment?

Critical, too, is a workspace that is responsive to business change, and Allsteel has succeeded in incorpo-rating this characteristic into Stride. “Designing spaces the way individu-als work rather than using a generic standard is recognized as a major productivity enhancer,” said Mr. Heil. “Stride performs today, and it can be counted on for tomorrow, adapting, expanding, and changing in sync with a business.”

This system is the company’s fi rst complete system to utilize the struc-tured Design for the Environment (DfE) framework incorporating Life Cycle thinking in both the product de-velopment and design processes. Ev-

product intro

ALLSTEEL: STRIDE, ANALYST

ALLSTEEL: CONSULTANT ALLSTEEL: STRIDE, FILE DETAIL

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PURCHASE TICKETS ONLINE AT WWW.IIDANY.ORG/EVENTREG.HTML Contact Ellen Kushman at 212-297-212or 2

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eco-issues

me. They make the most stunning array of metal transition strips, edges, profi les and control joints a designer can possibly desire and had just the product I needed.

A word about rubber fl ooring in the bathroom: we used Nora’s (www.nora.com) “Strada” line of 39 3/8” x 39 3/8” rubber tile. While it was a bear for me to install (it’s stiff, heavy and big, making it an adventure in wres-tling), it proved to be a very satisfac-tory solution. It is quiet and feels good under foot. But the best thing about it is that it is slip resistant. We have no rugs in the bathroom and do not miss them because the rubber seems to do the trick. One caveat: it does look a bit commercial.

Along with Kohler’s (www.kohler.com) “Stillness” showerhead, body sprays, valves and trims in satin nickel, my elderly father has a hand shower and grab bars. Kohler makes

fl oors and walls but it incorporates inside & outside corners, pipe collars and all manner of other conditions. The stuff is bliss. The line expands into sloped pans, drains, curbs and other products for a complete shower solution.

In my case, I opted for a barrier-free shower; this meant no curb. And I needed to fi nd just the right drain. And that’s when I discovered ACO (www.aco.com) “Showerdrain” chan-nel drain, the most exquisitely sophis-ticated and elegant device I have ever experienced. This product is available in 36” and 39 3/8” lengths. They can be laid end-to-end (as I have done) to create a continuous visual element and yield one heck of a capacity for drainage. The stainless covers are offered in a variety of designs and can even be custom made to designer specifi cations.

But that ain’t all, folks. The drain lights up. I repeat: the drain lights up! There are LED devices that fi t into the ends of the channels. When moisture, aka water, hits the devices the LEDs glow. (They are available in blue, green or red. We opted for red.) When the water dries up, the LED’s shut off. No, there is no electricity involved; the devices are removable. Drop them into the charger, charge ’em up and slap ‘em back into the drain. They are alleged to function for 40 hours on a charge. We have just installed them so we haven’t been able to verify or dispute this claim.

With the drainage situation handled I turned my attention to the transition between the stone tile in the shower and the rubber tile on the rest of the fl oor. The surfaces of the two dissimi-lar dimension materials are designed to be fl ush and Schluter did not fail

Putting My Money Where My Mouth Is: Chapter Twenty: Showersby Kathleen Vick, ASID

Interior Designers are an odd lot; we fi nd excitement in the strangest things. Case in point: my heart is all afl utter over the channel drain in my shower. I consider it to be the most exciting product in my house and it is the crowing achievement in my quest to create the perfect solution to the confl uence of sustainability, universal design, function and aesthetics.

To be fair, my shower story began with pressure-treated framing mem-bers clad with Georgia Pacifi c Dens Armor Plus, Georgia Pacifi c’s fi ber-glass covered gypsum (www.gp.com) that does not support mildew growth.

The plot thickened when we used an amazing line of products for tile installation: Schluter Systems www.schluter.com. Their “Kerdi” line, a polyethylene waterproofi ng mem-brane, equipped with an anchoring fl eece on both sides that is affi xed to wallboard with an adhesive. It creates a completely impervious layer that lies beneath the mortar. No moisture or liquid can penetrate this membrane, ensuring that mold and moisture deterioration will never be an issue. Well, as never as never can be in this life.

Kerdi not only includes sheets of material for covering expanses of

INSTALLING SCHULTER AND TILE

SHOWER

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eco-issuesa simple but handsome line of grab bars that just happen to visually coor-dinate with the “Stillness” style. Wow. Grab bars that actually coordinate with the rest of the fi ttings. Who’d’a thunk?!

And so we are all showering to our hearts’ content without fear of tripping over curbs and slipping on fl oors with wet feet. We have confi gured things so there are no glass enclosures or doors; we don’t have to be concerned about breakage, or keeping glass sparkling clean. Hey, anything that eliminates housework is a-okay in my book! DRAIN LIGHTS FLUSH RUBBER AND TILE FLOOR

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PRODUCT INTRO>Bentley Prince Street and Clodagh, NYC, collaborated to launch the Tucson Col-lection. The fl oor coverings come in three coordinated solution dyed patterns and were inspired by the topog-raphy and living elements of Arizona. Canyon Rapids, Saguaro Shade, and Summer Shadow, are offered in 15 colorways and are available in broadloom as well as 18” X 18” carpet tile. The pat-terns also coordinate with Complex Plains designed by Clodagh. The collection is manufactured with recycled content nylon, with up to 18% recycled content in the face fi ber and High Performan-cePC is the standard backing

MATERIAL OF THE WEEK

MC# 6338-01Synthetic fi laments that provide an alternative to natural hair. These tapered, fl exible fi laments made from a polymer com-posite are produced using a unique “tipping” technology to improve their softness and enhance their pick-up of powders or make-up. The fi laments are machine produced for consistency and quality and provide benefi ts versus their natural counter-parts in terms of performance, behavior and cost. They provide signifi cant benefi ts in terms of swelling behavior, stiffness reten-tion in moisture and bend recovery versus natural hair or other synthetic alternatives such as pure polyester, polypropylene or nylon, and are also competitively priced in comparison. The fi laments are available in a range of colors (natural/white, brown or gold) and diameters between 3 and 4 mils (0.765 to 0.102 mm). For use in blush brushes in loose- and pressed-powder applications, as well as in professional applicators of liquid make-ups, such as eyeliners and lip-liners..

This column is published in collaboration with Material Con-neXion. For more information regarding the material pre-viewed, please contact Michael LaGreca at [email protected]. T: 212.842.2050.

BENTLEY PRINCE STREET: TUCSON

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faced mounted or remov-able mount. The Sentinel Security Sleeve is intended for serious security applica-tions. The large dome top bollard is greater in mass and height than the stan-dard version. It is designed specifi cally for mounting over 10” pipe structure built on site to US Department of State specifi cations. http://www.landscapeforms.com

>W2 Architectural Light-ing will debut VAMP LED Spotlights at 2009 Light-fair International. W2 VAMP luminaires offer a strong optical and thermal perfor-mance, light output, energy effi ciency, long life and aes-thetics. Each track fi xture is crafted of heavy, die-cast aluminum and the heat sink and housing design allows for better thermal manage-ment. LEDs are not exposed to heat, infrared and ultra-violet rays, resulting in lower operating and maintenance

- Sandpiper, an organic stripe that comes in nine colors.-Smart, an upholstery fabric made with a cross hatch pattern to add tex-Utmost, a plush solid for use in uphol-stery or draperies.KnollTextiles also will intro-duce two privacy curtains. Passages, designed by Dor-othy Cosonas, for use as a privacy curtain, drapery, or bed covering, and Hideway, a solid texture designed to coordinate with Passages. http://www.knolltextiles.com

>Landscape Forms launched two new bollards to compliment contempo-rary landscapes and archi-tecture. The bollards are designed to delineate pe-destrian pathways, separate pedestrian and vehicular traffi c and enhance wayfi nd-ing. The Paladin bollard features a cast aluminum sleeve mounted over 6” structural pipe and secured with concealed hardware and is available lighted or non-lighted. The Sentinel bollard offers two variations on one sculptural form. The cast aluminum mitre or the dome top sleeve also mount on a 6” structural pipe and are secured with concealed hardware. The dome top is available non-lighted and may be embedded, sur-

Long life - gas cylinders have a limited lifespan and eventually leak pressure. M2 offers a Forever War-rantySustainability - M2 comes with fewer parts, requires less raw material, and few manufacturing processesGood Looks - By eliminating the gas spring, M2 created an ultra-thin profi le Value - Fewer parts mean an unmatched price pointM2 is available in two fi nished options, is made of 52% recycled and 99% recyclable materials and is shipped in 85% recycled packaging. http://www.humanscale.com

>KnollTextiles will launch The Harmony Collection this spring. The collection of upholstery and drapery fab-rics, designed for use in the corporate, healthcare, and hospitality markets, offers long color lines, and are de-signed to work together. The fabrics are GREENGUARD certifi ed and will come with Nano-Tex and Durablock for a stain resistant treatment. The collection includes:- Parasol, a multi-colored pattern of post-consumer recycled polyester, designed to coordinate with Sahara.

system on all Bentley Prince Street broadloom products. www.bentleyprincestreet.com

>Coalesse introduced Bindu, a collection of executive and conference seating. Bindu combines the comfort and craft of an upholstered lounge chair with the durability and the resilience of a work task chair. A full range of seating solutions, ranging from a high- back executive/confer-ence chair to a low- back side/guest chair is avail-able and all are available in leather or an expansive fabric collection. http://www.coalesse.com

>Humanscale introduces the M2, a monitor arm offering simplicity, durabil-ity, performance and style. The M2 automatic spring mechanism offers the same level of adjustability as a gas cylinder, but eliminates the shortcomings of its prede-cessors. Unique benefi ts include:

COALESSE: BINDU

HUMANSCALE: M2

KNOLLTEXTILES: HARMONY

LANDSCAPE FORMS: PALADIN

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and exponentially increased the organization’s revenue. www.dbia.org

>American Seating Company, Grand Rapids, MI, launched a redesigned and enhanced Web site. The site features a new appearance, format and architecture for easy naviga-tion to American Seating products with pictures and specifi cations. The home page shows the company’s two main service lines:- Architectural & Offi ce – for Education, Entertainment, Offi ce/Commercial Furniture and Government Contracts markets- Transportation - for City Service Bus, Rail, Mo-torcoach and Demand Response marketsIn addition the site will soon feature sections on News & Events, Frequently Asked Questions, an Installation Database, an enhanced Sales Locator, Parts & Ser-vice and Tools & Resources. http://www.americanseating.com.

>Canstruction, the design competition for western Michigan and sponsored by Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University and the law fi rm of Miller Canfi eld, received multiple entries from the area’s architecture and design fi rms. Local teams have built sculptures made entirely of canned food to benefi t The Salvation Army’s Booth Family Services. One of the winning entries was called, Landing on

Congress, will run a grass-roots campaign, riding his bike 1,000 miles across the state and working 100 jobs to connect with people,

>Gene Peña received an AIA Emerging Professional Convention Registration Scholarship. Mr. Peña, a designer at Pollack Architec-ture for the past two years, will attend the convention in San Francisco, CA, April 30-May 2. His AIA activities include participation in AIA Mentorship Program, as well as holding the chair of the Architecture Registra-tion Exam Committee from 2007 to 2008, for which he received an AIA San Fran-cisco Chapter Certifi cate of Appreciation. Mr. Peña has worked on a variety of Pol-lack Architecture’s projects, including retail, hospitality, fi nance, and technology. http://www.pollackarch.com

>Lisa Washington was ap-pointed Executive Direc-tor for the Design-Build Institute of America. Ms. Washington will assume the role upon the retirement of current DBIA President and CEO Lee Evey. The transition will be completed by June 20, 2009. Ms. Washington joined DBIA in 2004, serving fi rst as Vice President of Education/Conferences, and currently serving as Chief Operating Offi cer. She is responsible for many initiatives, includ-ing the “National Education Tour” which, in its fi rst year, quadrupled the organiza-tion’s reach in the industry

individual and group work. The See Me screen uses an openwork pattern to fi lter distractions while allow-ing colleagues to interact. Ms. Conti received $5,000, an expense-paid trip to Chicago, and a prototype of her design. Her design will be on display at the Kimball Offi ce showroom during NeoCon, June 15-17. http:/www.KimballOffi ce.com

>Richard Heyderman, CEO of Multi Dimensional Resources, Carlstadt, NJ, for in-store marketing, received the Angelwish Humanitarian Award. Angelwish, Rutherford, NJ, is an international nonprofi t organization dedicated to brightening the lives of chil-dren with HIV/AIDS that al-lows children to experience childhood. Mr. Heyderman gave Angelwish access to a 102,000 sq. ft. warehouse and use of his staff so that it might receive and distribute over $726,000 worth of toys and gifts.www.mdr-pop.com

>U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, a former marketing execu-tive with Herman Miller, announced a bid to run for governor of Michigan in 2010. Mr. Hoekstra, who is not seeking re-election to

costs. The VAMP luminaire has aiming indicators and is lockable and adjustable with a 350 degree rotation and a 90 degree vertical tilt. VAMP LED luminaires come in three fi nishes: Black, White, and Platinum with Black fi n-ishes. www.W2lighting.com.

NOTEWORTHY>Robert Bomholt was promoted to Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Kimball Hospitality. Mr. Bomholt began with Kimball Hospitality in 2004 and became its Senior Director of Sales and Marketing in 2007. Previously, he worked with NCR Corporation for 20 years, rising to leadership roles in fi nance and supply chain operations. http://www.KimballHospitality.com

>Katherine Conti won Kimball Offi ce’s See Me Screen design competi-tion. Ms. Conti is a senior interior design student at Maryville University, St. Louis, MO. Design students and professionals were chal-lenged to create a new See Me Screen for Hum. Minds at Work, an offi ce system that uses four components to facilitate shifts between

W2: VAMP

KIMBALL

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>Up, that two-letter word with more meanings than any other two-letter word was given attention in officeinsight a few weeks ago. Its fascination continues. In the previous article, up was positioned after a word, such as in stuck up, stand up, set up, sent up, pent up, fess up, and yes, even throw up. This week, try using up as a prefix and the fun continues. Our list contains uptight, upright, upset, uproar, upend, upstage, upshot, upbeat, upbraid, upchuck, updo, updraft, upfront, upgrade, upheaval, uphold, up-holster, upkeep, upload, uplift, upper, upper hand, upper class, uppercut, up-pity, upraise, uprising, up-standing, upsurge, uptake, and upswing. And don’t forget the every useful ice-breaker, “What’s up?”

tors can zoom in and out and images can be emailed or printed directly from the site. KIbusiness also provides design resources for industry articles, links to design organizations and associations, and KI busi-ness market news. http://www.ki.com

>Paoli received one Plati-num and three Gold 2009 ADEX Awards. The Quoin Lounge Seating Series, took Platinum, while the R5 management chair, the Overture conference room offering and the Altamont desk series received Gold. The Paoli Quoin and Gold-winning Paoli Overture were designed by Q Design. ADEX is the largest awards program for product design in furniture, fi xtures and fi nishes marketed to the design trade. http://www.paoli.com

ing the program, nearly 200 orders have been placed from companies in Iowa, Nebraska, and Texas. www.hon.com

>InformeDesign released its latest research sum-maries. The results are in an easy-to-ready format for interior designers, archi-tects, landscape architects, graphic designers, housing specialists, urban designers and planners, and the pub-lic. The summaries include the following:- Comparing the Ecologi-cal Footprint of Different Developments - Regulating Building Color in China - Supportive Cities and Neighborhoods for Children - Safety and Accessibility Important for Neighborhood Walking InformeDesign also offers InStore: New Online Con-tinuing Education Courses. The courses have been developed around health, safety, and welfare topics. All courses are AIA HSW approved.http://www.informedesign.com

>KI developed KIbusi-ness.com, a microsite for instant access to the latest products, industry infor-mation, and design tools. Among the Design tools at the site is “See It ...Spec It,” a program that allows users to select design op-tions for laminates, frame and edge colors, surface and base fi nishes, wood fi n-ishes and upholstery. Visi-

the Hudson, created and constructed by Paradigm Design. Five sculptures on exhibit in Kendall’s fi rst fl oor Atrium have contributed nearly 14,000 cans of food for distribution to the area food pantries. http://www.kcad.edu.

>Herman Miller devel-oped the Learning Studio Research Program to re-search the needs of higher education. The program provides participating higher education institu-tions with the opportunity to explore new approaches to learning space design, to measure the impact on stu-dent learning and success, and to make informed large scale design decisions on campus. It is a multi-phase, collaborative, research-focused effort that mea-sures the impact of space on teaching and learning on campus. The program is designed, not as a prescrip-tive solution, but tailored to the needs of each higher educational institution and its research goals. http://www.hermanmiller.com

>The HON Company is of-fering substantial savings to disaster-affected busi-nesses. The discounts will last throughout 2009, or as long as there is a need. The HON Company obtained a waiver from the U.S. Gen-eral Services Agency, allow-ing the affected businesses to purchase at deep federal discounts, pricing that is usually reserved for federal agencies. Since implement-

KIBUSINESS.COM

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ing book, on Wednesday, October 7. He will make the case that going green saves money to help you survive, drives innovation to cre-ate value for the long, and represents a fundamentally new and better way of doing business. www.worldwork-place.org

>The Architectural League will present three programs that consider the inter-section of contemporary architectural practice and globalization. The programs will be held at the Urban Center, 457 Madison Av-enue, NYC.- April 7, 7-8:30 pm: Time, Place and Practice: SOM, Mustafa Abadan and John Winkler- April 22: What Is Next for Global Cities: Post-fi nancial Crisis Scenarios, Saskia Sassen- May 7, Road Stories, a panel discussion with Sunil Bald, Audrey Matlock, Joel Sanders, and Calvin Tsao, http://www.aiany.org/calen-dar/event.php?id

>Bovis Lend Lease will host Weathering the Storm on May 5. The forum will take place at 200 Park Av-enue, NYC, 8:30-10:00 am, and is co-sponsored by US-GBC NY, AIA NY, ASHRAE NY, and the Architects Newspaper. Design fi rms are invited to brainstorm on how to share resources and cut costs during the current economic turmoil, which has given new meaning to sustainability. Attendance is limited to one representa-

a diagnostic imaging unit with MRI, CT, and X-ray capabilities. The 300-bed facility includes a large, fi ve-fl oor nursing unit providing specialized treatment and care for patients recovering from surgery. http://www.perkinseastman.com

EVENTS>Scott Peterman’s photo-graphic exhibit from his Cities series opened March 31. It will be on display at the Center for Architecture, 536 LaGuardia Place, NYC, through April 8. His photo-graphs document the dense urban conditions of Sao Paulo, New York, and Cairo. An internationally recog-nized photographer, Mr. Peterman exhibited at the 10th International Architec-ture Exhibition at La Bien-nale di Venezia in Venice, and in 2007, he took part in the Global Cities exhibi-tion at the Tate Modern in London. http://aiany.org/calendar/event.php?id

>Andrew Winston was se-lected by IFMA as its key-note speaker for the World Workplace 2009 Confer-ence & Expo. The Confer-ence will be held October 7-9 at the Orange County Convention Center, 9800 International Drive, Orlando, FL. Mr. Winston, author and expert on green business, will deliver his presentation, “Green Recovery: Get Lean, Get Smart and Emerge from the Downturn on Top,” based on his upcom-

law fi rms, corporations and leading associations.- Ken Wilson, founder of Envision Design, is a leading architect specializing in the design of sustainable interior architecture.

>The state of Maine and the Carpet America Recov-ery Effort (CARE) entered into an agreement. The agreement is designed to increase the recycling of post-consumer carpet by diverting used carpet away from landfi lls and promot-ing the use of products that contain post-consumer carpet content. CARE is a voluntary, not-for-profi t group formed by the carpet industry, government agen-cies, and others who have agreed to fi nd ways to divert and reuse post- consumer carpet. Maine will assist the program by seeking out reclamation opportunities for post-consumer carpet removed from government building and by using carpet padding under new carpet installations that is made from recycled carpet fi ber. http://www.carpetrecovery.org

>Perkins Eastman de-signed the Al Maktoum Accident and Emergency Hospital in the UAE. Chosen by the Dubai Health Authority and the Depart-ment of Health and Medical Services, Perkins Eastman designed a facility capable of immediate care for minor to high level trauma. An ambulance receiving area is directly linked to a surgical trauma operating suite and

RE-SITED>Tim Groves joined Na-tional Offi ce Furniture as the West Central Sales Team as District Manager. With over 20 years of sales experience in the offi ce fur-niture industry, Mr. Groves will support dealer sales and business development in Minnesota, the Dakotas and parts of Wisconsin. Mr. Groves most recently was employed at Gunlocke for business development initia-tives in Minnesota.

ENVIRONMENT>Penny Bonda, Diana Hor-vat and Ken Wilson formed Ecoimpact. The consulting fi rm will help businesses to begin or broaden their green initiatives. Their services will include internal and external strategic assessments, trainings, promotion and re-search. Ecoimpact will also offer in-house LEED training as well as workshops on advanced strategies and personal sustainability coaching for its clients.- Penny Bonda, popularly referred to as the “mother of green interiors,” has exper-tise in green business prac-tices, materials evaluation and application, training, leadership and messaging. Her current work includes green business consulting to building materials and prod-uct market sector leaders.- Diana Horvat is a principle and partner at Envision Design where she focuses on implementing sustain-able design practices for

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the aisles of the show fl oor. http://www.coverings.com

>SURTEX 2009 will offer a prominent venue for up-and-coming talent, May 17-19. Coming to the Jacob K. Javits Center, 655 West 34th Street, NYC, SURTEX will feature designext, a prominently located space, open exclusively to new designers and students to market their work, and to give buyers and licensees the chance to see art and design in its earliest stages. The space will include eight-foot high hard walls, lighting and other furnishings, plus marketing support, public relations assistance and additional show amenities. www.SURTEX.com

secutive year, A+D profes-sionals who are registered to attend the tile and stone show can invite up to two client guests to accompany them on the show fl oor at Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center free of charge. A+D professionals participating in the “Bring Your Client to Coverings” program can register themselves and their clients online at http://www.cover-ings.com. Once registered, design professionals will receive their badges, along with those of their guests, whom they must accompa-ny on the fl oor at all times. In addition, a new program called “All-Access,” will pair “tile enthusiast” consum-ers with a designer who will guide them through

the inauguration ceremony. Cook+Fox Architects is a 50-person studio with a vision of integrated, environ-mentally responsive design. Their projects include Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park, thought to be one of the greenest offi ce buildings in the world and the fi rst skyscraper designed to attain a LEED Platinum certifi cation; the Lucida, the Upper East Side’s fi rst LEED certifi ed green residential building; and Historic Front Street, the restoration of an entire block of 18th-century buildings for residential and commercial . www.nysid.edu

>Coverings, April 21-24, will again offer the “Bring Your Client to Coverings,” program. For the third con-

tive from each design fi rm. Space is limited, RSVP: http://www.usgbcny.org/

>Cook+Fox Architects were selected to receive the Honor Roll of Green Design by the New York School of Interior Design. The award acknowledges individuals and businesses that have made outstanding contribu-tions toward advancing the cause of sustainable design. The award also is part of a series of special events to celebrate the inauguration of Dr. Christopher Cyphers as the sixth president of NYSID and refl ects the inaugural theme, “Educat-ing a Green Generation.” The award will be presented on Friday, April 17, 2009, 5pm, immediately following

Soduko: Fill in the empty cells so that every row, column and cube contains a digit from 1-9, without duplication. (Level: Hard)

2 8

5 4

4 9 7

4

2 3

1

3

2

6

8 1 9

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8 6

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businessBUSINESS AFFAIRS>HNI Corp. on Apr. 3 fi led SEC form 8-K, reporting that Stan A. Askren, Chairman, President and CEO recommended and the Corporation’s Board of Directors approved a 10% reduc-tion in his base salary effective May 1, 2009. Previously, on Feb. 11, Mr. Askren recommended and the Board approved a freeze in his base salary for the second consecutive year. The reduction will remain in effect until the Board again reviews Mr. Askren’s compensation. The net effect of the reduction will be to decrease Mr. Askren’s annual base salary by $73,500 from $735,004 to $661,504.

In addition, the Board approved a 10% reduction in the annual retainer payable to each director for service to the Corporation effective May 12, 2009. Prior to the 10% reduction, the an-nual retainer has remained the same since Aug. 7, 2007. The reduction will remain in effect until the Board again reviews director compensation. The net effect of the reduction will be to decrease the annual retainer by $10,000 from $100,000 to $90,000.

HNI noted in its fi ling that these changes were recommended and approved “due to the very challenging market conditions facing the Corporation.”

Also last week, local media in Muscatine, Iowa, reported that HNI subsidiary The HON Co. announced an additional round of layoffs, but specifi c numbers were unavailable.

>Knoll, Inc., announced that it plans to report fi nancial results for the fi rst quarter 2009 on Thursday, Apr. 16, prior to the opening of the market, with a conference call scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time the same day. The call will include slides, and participants are encouraged to listen to and view the presentation via webcast at http://www.knoll.com. To access the webcast, go to “About Knoll” and click on “Investor Relations.”

The conference call may also be accessed by dialing 800 798-2801 (North America) or 617 614-6205 (International); Passcode 36749351.

A replay of the webcast can be viewed by visiting the Investor Relations section of the Knoll corporate website. In addition, an audio replay of the conference call will be available through Apr. 23, 2009 by dialing 888 286-8010 (North America) or 617 801-6888 (International); Pass-code: 59724578.

RAYMOND JAMES BRIEF: 04 01 09

SCS: Lowering Estimates; Reaffi rm Market PerformAnalyst(s): Budd Bugatch

>We reaffi rm our Market Perform rating on Steelcase while lowering estimates following the reporting of its F4Q09 results and management’s conference call. Steelcase remains captive to weakening offi ce furniture demand in the U.S. and overseas. The company’s strong balance sheet will enable it to weather the ongoing industry downturn, however, given our expectation that economic conditions will remain challenged through calendar 2009 and our projection for a $0.23 loss per share in FY10, our cautious investment rating seems appropri-ate for now.

>Tuesday morning, Steelcase reported a GAAP loss per share of $0.49. Excluding a $17 million restructuring charge and a $75.4 million impairment charge, we peg the adjusted loss per share at $0.04, below our ($0.01) estimate, which was also consensus. Total sales were $654.9 million, down 27.3% year-over-year and $14.8 million below our forecast. Excluding restructuring and impairment, operating EPS missed our model by $0.02; however, adjusting further to exclude the variable compensation benefi t associated with the impairment charges and the decline in the value of company-owned life insurance due to weakness in the equity markets, operating results would have been approximately breakeven.

>Citing continued economic uncertainty, management guid-ed F1Q10 revenue to the range of $525 to $575 million. The company expects a F1Q10 GAAP loss per share of $0.13 to $0.23, including $0.03 of restructuring charges. Importantly, due to benefi ts from restructuring savings, commodity defl a-tion, and a modest benefi t from price increases, management believes the company could deliver modestly positive operating income, even assuming a 20-25% revenue decline.>We are lowering our F1Q10 EPS estimate from $0.06 to ($0.13). Our FY10 EPS estimate is now ($0.23), down from $0.29; which assumes a revenue decline of 28%.

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businessthe year and in the second half, the full impact of the economic weakness affected industry demand. Accordingly, we have continued to reduce our cost structure through a variety of actions in order to soften the impact and sustain our focus on longer-term growth initiatives.”

“From an operational perspective, we incurred a small operat-ing loss in connection with a 27% decline in revenues,” said David C. Sylvester, vice president and CFO. “The balance of our reported results were driven by non-cash impairment charges, restructuring costs and additional reductions in the cash surrender value of COLI.”

Cost of sales increased to 72.5% of sales in the quarter from 68.1% in the prior year, primarily due to lower absorption of fi xed costs associated with the revenue decline. Higher commodity costs of approximately $6 million and additional reductions in COLI cash surrender value of approximately $4 million also contributed to the increase but were partially offset by lower variable compensation expense in the quarter.

Operating expenses amounted to 39.7% of sales in the fourth quarter, compared to 26.7% of sales in the prior year’s fourth quarter. Current quarter expenses include charges of $75.4 million for asset impairments and approximately $6 million of reductions in the cash surrender value of COLI. The non-cash impairment charges primarily resulted from the company’s reduced market capitalization and the reconciliation of report-ing unit valuations to the reduced enterprise value of the company. Operating expense comparisons were also impacted by lower variable compensation expense in the current quarter, operating costs associated with the extra week in the prior year quarter and favorable impacts from currency translation and divestitures in the current year.

The operating loss in the fourth quarter included $17.0 million of restructuring costs and $75.4 million of non-cash impair-ment charges. The company estimates that these charges, after related reductions in variable compensation expense, had the effect of decreasing operating income by approximately $87 million. For the full year, the reduction in operating income was primarily driven by lower volume, non-cash impairment charges, reductions in the cash surrender value of COLI, re-structuring costs and commodity cost infl ation, which outpaced pricing yield for most of the year. These negative factors were offset in part by lower variable compensation expense and the initial benefi ts of recent restructuring activities.

Restructuring actions planned for completion in FY09 are now substantially complete, Mr. Sylvester said. “We believe we have achieved the targeted annualized savings of approximately $40

>Mohawk Industries, Inc., scheduled its fi rst quarter 2009 earnings release for Thursday, Apr, 23, and confer-ence call for Friday, Apr. 24 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The conference call can be accessed via the Investor Infor-mation section of company’s website at www.mohawkind.com or by calling 1-800-603-9255 (US/Canada) or 1-706-634-2294 (International/Local); Conference ID: 93601795.For those unable to listen at the designated time, the web-cast will remain available for replay until Thursday May 21, 2009. A telephone replay will also be available until Friday May 1, 2009 by dialing 1-800-642-1687 (US/Canada) or 1-706-645-9291 (International/Local); Conference ID 93601795.

>Steelcase on March 31 announced results for its FY09 fourth quarter (dollars in millions except EPS):

3 Mos. Ended 2/27/09 2/29/08 %Ch.Revenue $654.9 $901.2 (27.3%)Gross profit $173.4 $287.2 (39.6%)Oper. Exp $259.8 $240.4 8.1%Oper. Inc. ($96.8) $46.8 -Net Inc. ($65.7) $30.6 -Basic EPS ($0.49) $0.22 -

12 Mos. Ended 2/27/09 2/29/08 %Ch.Revenue $3,183.7 $3,420.8 (6.9%)Gross profit $948.2 $1,125.9 (15.8%)Oper. Exp. $933.2 $923.1 1.1%Oper. Inc. $1.0 $202.8 -Net Inc. ($11.7) $133.2 -Basic EPS ($0.09) $0.93 -

The company noted in its release that these results include signifi cant non-cash impairment charges that had the effect of increasing the net loss by approximately $50 million. In addition, the quarter included after-tax restructuring costs of approximately $11 million. Timing of the company’s fi scal year-end had an impact as well, with the prior year’s fourth quarter benefi ting by $64 million due to an extra shipping week. Rev-enue comparisons were also impacted by approximately $32 million of unfavorable currency translation effects compared to the prior year and $16 million from divestitures completed within the last twelve months. After adjusting for these effects, revenue declined less than the reduction in order levels during the fourth quarter, resulting in a much lower ending backlog compared to the third quarter.

“Fiscal 2009 was a year of tremendous volatility,” said James P. Hackett, president and CEO. “Uncertainty prevailed early in

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businessOutlookSteelcase forecasts fi rst quarter fi scal 2010 revenue to be within a range of $525 to $575 million, compared to $816 million in the fi rst quarter of fi scal 2009. Recent order patterns have refl ected modest seasonal improvements fol-lowing accelerating declines throughout most of the fourth quarter. The revenue estimate includes an estimate of ap-proximately $47 million of unfavorable currency translation effects and $11 million from divestitures as compared to the prior year.

The company expects to report a net loss for the fi rst quarter of fi scal 2010 within a range of ($0.13) to ($0.23) per share, including approximately $4 million of after-tax restructuring costs. This compares to EPS in the fi rst quar-ter of fi scal 2009 of $0.16 per share, which included $4.7 million of after-tax restructuring costs.

Consistent with past practices, the company is not provid-ing full-year revenue or earnings guidance for fi scal 2010. However, it has been implementing previously announced restructuring and cost reduction actions and modeling vari-ous scenarios of revenue declines. Assuming the comple-tion of the restructuring activities over the next six to nine months, the company currently estimates that operating income (excluding restructuring costs) for the full fi scal year 2010 could be modestly positive even if volume declines within a range of 20 to 25 percent compared to fi scal 2009.“During a period of high volatility and ongoing uncertainty in the global economy, Steelcase employees are continuing to focus on winning new business, reducing our operating costs and delivering on the promise of our brands,” said Mr. Hackett. “We are also in a great position with a strong bal-ance sheet and a strong liquidity profi le.”

Links to Steelcase’s complete fourth quarter FY09 release, along with the archived webcast and supporting presenta-tion slides, are available at <http://www.steelcase.com/ir>.

million, at much lower costs than originally anticipated,” he added.

Capital expenditures totaled $16.8 million during the fourth quarter, bringing year-to-date investments to approximately $83 million. Cash and short-term investments totaled $194 million and total debt approximated $256 million as of February 27, 2009.

Revenue by Business Segment:

3 Mos. Ended 2/27/09 2/29/08 %Ch.North America $366.5 $474.2 (22.7%)International $180.2 $278.3 (35.2%)Other $108.2 $148.7 (27.2%)

12 Mos. Ended 2/27/09 2/29/08 %Ch.North America $1,740.0 $1,936 (10.2%)International $922.2 $893.8 3.2%Other $521.5 $590.4 (11.7%)

The North America segment consists of the Steelcase Group, Turnstone, Nurture by Steelcase and Financial Services (for FY09 only); the International segment includes all manufactur-ing and sales operations outside the U.S. and Canada; and the Other category includes the Coalesse Group, PolyVision and IDEO subsidiaries (and Financial Services for FY08 only).

Adjusting for the extra week last year and other factors, Mr. Sylvester estimated actual organic decline in North America at approximately 13% in the fourth quarter. He said that sales to the federal government remain “strong,” and that working through “signifi cant” backlog has sustained single-digit growth rates with the healthcare and higher education markets. Verti-cal markets with the most notable declines were information technology and fi nance/insurance/real estate.

After adjustments, organic decline in the International seg-ment was estimated at 21% in the fourth quarter. Mr. Sylvester noted “volatility” in international order patterns, with declines accelerating in most emerging markets. An exception to the overall trend was France, where orders benefi ted from project business.

© 2009 offi cesite, inc.24 East Avenue (#1299)New Canaan, CT 06840

Bradford J. Powellbrad@offi ceinsight.comT 203 966 5008F 203 972 6512

Jean Linjean@offi ceinsight.comT 203 912 7423

www.offi ceinsight.com

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technologyadvanced R&D taking place right now may soon transform the image of this ubiquitous material. A Mar. 30 article published by The New York Times describes work by vari-ous companies to fi nd new recipes and mixing technologies for concrete that provide a much wider range of attributes and applications. Much of the current research is fueled by environmental concerns, with carbon footprint reduction a major focus. Companies are developing carbon sequestra-tion techniques, and there are even new concrete formulas that “scrub” the air by breaking down organic pollutants. The NYT article includes photos of the new bridge in Min-neapolis that replaced the one that collapsed tragically in 2007. At each end of the bridge are massive, eye-catching sculptures made of the new air-scrubbing concrete: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/science/earth/31conc.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&em

TECHNOLOGY>COADE, Inc., Houston, TX, published a Case Study in which engineering fi rm Stantec improved collaboration and cut costs using COADE CADWorx Plant Design Suite and COADE CAESAR II pipe stress analysis software. The engineering project was an upgrade of the W.H. Sammis Plant in Stratton, OH. The case describes how creating collaboration among all engineering disciplines was one of the biggest challenges because the project involved civil, structural, electrical and mechanical disciplines. http://www.coade.com. The case is available at http://www.coade.com/productfi les/CADWorx/san.pdf

>The traditionally conservative concrete industry isn’t normally what you would consider high-tech, but some

Industry Stock Prices4.3.09 12.26.08 9.26.08 6.27.08 3.28.08 12.28.07 9.28.07 %frYrHi

%fr50-DayMA

ChromC 0.4 0.4 1.7 3.3 4.7 4.9 4.7 -91.6% 42.3%

CompX 5.8 5.2 5.8 5.2 9.3 14.8 19.6 -31.3% 9.3%

HMiller 12.4 13.9 25.1 25.2 24.5 28.8 27.1 -59.4% 20.9%

HNI 11.4 14.7 25.6 18.4 27.7 35.7 36 -66.7% 12.1%

Inscape 2.2 2.3 3 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.7 -50.4% 8.0%

Interface 3.4 5.3 11.9 12.9 14.3 17.5 18.1 -76.7% 33.3%

Kimball 7.0 8.2 11.2 8.6 10.8 14 11.4 44.9% 12.6%

Knoll 6.5 8.6 15.2 12.4 11.6 16.6 17.7 -65.4% 0.6%

Leggett 14.3 14.7 22.3 17.2 14.9 18.7 19.2 -41.9% 17.0%

Mohawk 34.3 35.7 69.9 64.8 71.5 75.5 81.3 -57.3% 32.7%

OffDepot 1.8 2.6 5.8 11 11.1 14.4 20.6 -87.6% 42.3%

Staples 19.4 16.9 23.1 24 11.4 22.6 21.5 -26.9% 17.6%

Steelcase 5.2 6 10.4 9.9 3.1 15.3 18 -60.0% 12.3%20-20 Tech 1.3 1.8 3.4 5 6.1 6.4 6.6 N/A% N/A%

UntdStat 30.0 33.3 49.4 36.6 47.7 47.4 55.5 -44.0% 22.9%

USG 9.3 8.8 28.7 30.1 35.2 36.6 37.6 -92.0% 42.5%

Virco 2.6 1.9 3.6 4.7 5.4 5.9 7.8 -51.2% 18.8%

SUM 167.3 180.1 315.9 292.9 335.5 378.6 406.4 -39.2% -

DJIndust 8,017 8,629 11,143 11,346 12,216 13,339 13,895 - -