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Life is a jest, and all things show it,

I thought so once, and now I know it..

John Gay

Full Story, page 3 Full Story, page 8

Full Story, page 12 Full Story, page 16

Curt Pullen Talks about the Real Herman Miller

Everyone dealing with interiors knows Herman Miller, But, rare among con-tract furniture vendors, Herman Miller is also known by many in the fi nan-cial community, and, by virtue of the products of Eames, Nelson, Nogu-chi, Chadwick and Stumpf and oth-ers, the company is even known by many civilians.

Perkins+Will Acquires The Environments Group

There is a grain of truth in the adage about diffi cult circum-stances “What doesn’t kill you makes you better.” The down-side here, of course, is that, to be true, the situation has to be suffi ciently diffi cult for you that it might, indeed, kill you.

Gunlock Opens DC Showroom

Gunlocke has a naturally strong presence in govern-ment design, and the new DC showroom, located two blocks from the White House, seems a particularly appropriate set-ting to celebrate the newest step in Gunlocke’s recent and ongoing re-branding efforts.

IDLNY Letter to Governor David A. Paterson

IDLNY (Interior Designers for Legislation in NY) has for the 3rd consecutive time in the past few years succeeded in obtaining the unanimous approval of both houses of the NY State Leg-islature of a bill (Senate Bill S3659) that would restrict the use of the title of “Interior Designer.”

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Cont’d on page 4, Miller. . . .

Curt Pullen Talks about the Real Herman Miller

From Contract Furniture to Human Habitats

by Brad Powell

Everyone dealing with interiors knows Herman Miller, But, rare among

contract furniture vendors, Herman Mill-er is also known by many in the fi nancial community, and, by virtue of the products of Eames, Nelson, Noguchi, Chad-wick and Stumpf and others, the com-pany is even known by many civilians.

But do we really know this company? What pops into your mind when you hear the name? The Aeron chair, or some other physical object or symbol that represents what we think of as of-fi ce furniture or the offi ce furniture indus-try? That’s certainly a large and vital part of Herman Miller and its heritage, said Curt Pullen, its chief fi nancial offi cer, in a recent interview with offi ceinsight. “The company grew up in that industry, and in some ways nurtured it by fi nding markets for many other products that are in offi ces and other workplaces today.”

Offi ce furniture, of course, is not the only source of revenue for the company.

“Part of the challenge,” said Herman Mill-er spokesman Mark Schurman, “is that we need to more fully communicate the variety of our businesses today. When we say that we had $500 million in sales for a quarter, the average person, even within our own industry, will assume that it’s $500 million of offi ce furniture. They don’t realize that a substantial portion of that is furniture and other products, for healthcare, government, education and the home markets, and also includes service revenue.” In fact, as the Sales chart indicates, the percentage of US offi ce furniture sales (including Govern-ment sales) has dropped from 75% in 2001 to 62% in 2008.

How many of us know the real Her-man Miller, the company that, among other things, introduced or was a leader in this industry in adopting facility man-agement, offi ce systems, environmental sustainability, Economic Value Added accounting, and an assembly-based,

less vertically integrated manufacturing model. In addition, through Babble, C2 personal climate control, Convia (a programmable electric distribution sys-tem) and the related Space Utilization Technology, and similar products,

Herman Miller is broadening the uni-verse of what our industry is doing. As with any new direction, it is impossible to predict where it will lead, specifi cally. We can see products that are clearly neither a chair nor a desk, and at some point, you connect the dots and see that these products integrate with ideas in the realm of workplace strategy and interior archi-tecture – human habitats, as the com-pany likes to say. But at fi rst, there is no precedent that suggests a clear picture of where they are going; and that’s prob-ably a good thing.

“The Herman Miller brand” said Mr. Pullen, “goes well beyond offi ce furni-ture. So we have been spending more and more time helping folks understand why BIFMA [Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association] statistics aren’t the only yardstick with which to measure Herman Miller. BIFMA is relevant to perhaps 40% of our busi-ness today, but a large part of it goes well beyond the traditional defi nition of the North American contract offi ce fur-niture business that BIFMA deals with. No doubt that remains a vitally important market for us…but, fortunately, we’re able to take our capabilities to opportuni-ties beyond that”

Curt Pullen

the composition has changed (HMI Sales)

20082001

International23%

HealthcareHome

Education14%

New Business>1%

US Officeincluding

Government62%

International16%

HealthcareHome & Education

9%

US Officeincluding

Government75%


. . .Miller, Cont’d from page 3


Mr. Pullen had just fi nished an inves-tor-relations briefi ng and we spoke to him about how he presented Herman Miller to that audience.

…............................................………………

OI: Who or what is the other Her-man Miller and what is its business strategy?

CP: Our formula for success – for all of our business – is built around a concept we call “performance innovation.” This includes problem-solving design, which we use to create products and services, category expansion, once we establish a foothold, operational excellence to drive our performance and a very deliberate effort to partner and build very strong distribution channels. These things, com-bined, have fostered our growth and suc-cess over the years and we’ve sought to continually improve on each of these. For example, our efforts at continuous improvement are not limited to the con-fi nes of our walls; we extend our efforts towards and through our suppliers and out the other way with our strong inde-pendent distribution channels. So, it’s a combination of curiosity, innovation and invention coupled with a strong underly-ing discipline for high-performance and results.

OI: How does this relate to ConviaCP: Convia is a business and set of

products designed to enable habitats to adapt instantly and frequently to the needs of the people and activities going-on there. This new kind of environment monitors and minimizes energy use and provides unprecedented levels of fl exibil-ity for the users. Our ability to help our customers better understand, adapt and utilize their space is incredibly interesting to us and it is a logical extension of the work we do and the creative spirit that we have. Convia and other related ap-plications, such as the Space Utilization

Technology, are an important part of our future and present a huge opportunity. This is an example of a business oppor-tunity for Herman Miller that extends well beyond the traditional defi nition of offi ce-furniture.

Studying these environments, we have begun to spot what it is that makes Convia’s programmable infrastructure important. There’s a huge environmen-tal story, the dramatic energy savings, the fl exibility and the user control. It’s hard to describe in today’s language, and it’s even harder to estimate its mar-ket potential.

We estimate that the potential mar-ket for Convia technology is $8 billion, which is a sub-set of the traditional “pipe and wire” method of power distribution. However, to add any element of control to such a solution requires the layering-on of additional separate applications, which add cost and complexity. Even so, these traditional solutions do not address

the opportunities of fl exibility and rapid programmability. For example, with tradi-tional solutions, if you want a switch on a wall to control something else, you have to call an electrician, wait three weeks, and spend signifi cant dollars. In a Con-via world, you’d pick-up a remote control about the size of a TV remote…point it at the devices that you want to be associ-ated and they are instantly connected. If you change your mind three minutes or three months later, the change is just as easy. It’s almost impossible to know how big the market is because nobody occu-pies that space yet.

OI: How will you be exploiting these new products?

CP: We’ll be applying the capabilities we’ve learned in all of our businesses to the new business of Convia. Traditional pipe and electrical cable is a $50-$70 bil-lion annual industry in North America. A portion of that has problems that can be solved with a different approach to the infrastructure.

Technology is infused in everything we do in our daily lives: my car tells me when I need an oil change or air in my tires. Things such as that are more and more prevalent, and, at Herman Miller, we are highly interested in how applica-tions of technology can improve the lives of our customers

future market potential

Convia$8B+

NorthAmericacontract

$7BNew Products+$2B

markets/channels

product capabilities

Int’lcontract

$3B

new geographies+$2B

Retail$1B

healing$2B New Markets

+$2B

existing new

existing

new




A great setting to explore for this new technology is colleges and universi-ties. Two teachers sharing a classroom may teach very differently. We can set a scene for each of them. At the beginning of class, one might want the projector on, the screen down, the blinds down and the lights low – that’s all part of the Teacher 1 scene. If Teacher 2 comes in, someone who writes on the board and doesn’t want any of those things, they don’t have to manually reset everything. The room can simply be switched over.

People work everywhere today: at home, train stations, cafes, wherever you fi nd yourself, or the particular atmo-sphere that you prefer. We’re all getting more and more demanding about our preferences and our expectations about our interface with our environments are high. That is why Convia is important to us; it’s built to address what you want. These are the macro drivers that are guiding us into these new markets, with new channels and a new set of prod-ucts.

OI: How is the market reacting to this development?

CP: I’ll give you a short example of the ongoing conversation. Brian [Walker, Herman Miller president and CEO] and I were recently at an investor conference and were talking with one of the analysts that follow Herman Miller. Brian was talk-ing about Convia, and the analyst sug-gested that we might eventually spin-off

the Convia business. Brian asked why he thought that and the response was along the lines of, “This idea is just not close enough to how this industry is tradition-ally defi ned and evaluated.” Brian replied that, if in fi ve years, Herman Miller isn’t in a big-way defi ned by Convia-enabled products, knowledge and services, we won’t have realized the full potential of what we’ve got going. The analyst’s re-ply to that was, “Then you’ll need a new analyst because I don’t know if I can un-derstand that.”

This is part of the opportunity for us: to

help the folks that are part of our extend-ed Herman Miller family (our investors and analysts included) to understand our make-up, our ambitions, and how we’ll constantly use these capabilities to explore new opportunities and make them into businesses to fuel our growth.

. . . we’re putting more effort into describing Herman Mill-er, not as a set of products, but as a set of capabilities.

Many folks still look at us as a tradi-tional furniture business, and that’s defi -nitely part of who we today. And, we are, of course, investing in our core business and growing our presence there; this business is vital to us and we intend to continue our leading position there. At the same time, we’re putting more effort into describing Herman Miller, not as a set of products, but as a set of capabili-ties. Part of what I think defi nes us is our ability to envision solutions for custom-ers as needs change over time and to fi rmly execute with solid results.

OI: Those are exciting prospects, but Miller’s stock price doesn’t seem to have been boosted by this.

CP: That’s because some people still have a narrow defi nition of Herman Miller. They look at that BIFMA forecast, and they think earnings are going to

the convia value proposition

loweroperating costs

lowerchange costs

increased sustainability

individual comfort & control

solution design independent distribution

social responsibility

operational excellence

people & culture

the formula: performance innovation




drop because of what happens in the North American contract furniture seg-ment. But when we look at it from the Board level and from the macro strategy perspective, it’s very clear that we’re di-versifying our business revenue around the common theme of habitats – where people hang out, work, live, heal, and so on, which takes us beyond the tradition-ally-defi ned limits of how our industry has been described. That’s the future we see and are working towards.

OI: It seems that a large part of your future is centered around Convia, but have your thoughts about that fi ltered down to the people on the street?

CP: We’re actually making a lot of progress in terms of attention and mind share, but it’s a long selling cycle and this is a new concept. We have to fi nd folks that understand the concept clearly and are willing to adopt it into their spac-es. Brian made a comment this morning that there wasn’t a drive-through burger industry until Ray Crock conceived of a need. This isn’t so different from that.

Our point is that owners, and society, can’t keep ripping out the infrastructure and throwing it in a landfi ll every time a new tenant moves in to a building. And what we’ve learned from the playlist gen-eration is that there’s nothing wrong with a worker wanting his offi ce at a different temperature. There is powerful value in a facility that responds to our immediate and changing needs. That’s what we’re getting at; it’s about user control and fl ex-ibility.

OI: It’s hard to measure innovation unless it relates to something that is tangible, such as a new chair. So,

when Herman Miller wins an award for being one of the most innovative companies, it’s diffi cult to understand exactly what that means. There’s no pie chart graphic or scale for measur-ing innovation.

CP: You’re right. That is why we’re doing more to convey how we see our-selves. Most people have a narrow con-ception of innovation. There’s plenty go-ing on, even beyond Convia and Gary Miller’s Creative Offi ce. Everything we do really stems from the problems we’re trying to solve. Products are part of that solution, but there are other things. There’s innovation throughout our busi-ness: in our products, as well as how these products are brought to market and sold to the customer, how we or-ganize and run our manufacturing, and how we build our businesses internation-ally and domestically.

There are several other ways it’s ex-pressed. For example, our return on in-vested capital far exceeds that of others in the industry, and it’s partly because of that model. In manufacturing, we only take care of those steps that are criti-cal for either reliability, or fl exibility and adaptiveness to customer needs; other than that, we don’t have to manufacture at our own facilities. We’ll hand that to a supply base with which we have a very constructive relationship and which is constantly improving its own processes and quality and is strongly linked to us.

Herman Miller is also the only com-pany in our industry that is making as much profi t internationally as domes-tically. That’s because of our innova-tive business model. We use our iconic products to attract dealers, and as we deepen that relationship, they’re able to understand more about the rest of what we do. We also learn more about local market conditions, to enable us to better bring appropriate new products to those markets, and adjust existing products to better fi t particular markets.

All of this speaks to innovation, not just around the product and the solution, but also how we look at markets and how we bring things to market.

OI: In what other ways have you been redesigning your business?

CP: Historically we didn’t talk about our environmental story as much as oth-ers do, yet this was important to us way

macro drivers

aging populationgrowth west to east

technology infusion sustainability movement

playlist generation

mobility of work

10.3%

9.1%

8.0%

4.6%

3.6%

0.0%

2.0%

4.0%

6.0%

8.0%

10.0%

12.0%

14.0%

FY03 FY04 FY05 FY06 FY07 FY08 - YTD

operatingincome

Q212.9%Goal 13%

Q111.9%

Q312.5%

• gross margin % expanded 300 bps since FY03

• op exp % declined 500 bps since FY03

• goal of 13% operating income



before most folks gave it much thought. There’s a lot of green-washing that goes on today, but some folks who talk about it aren’t half as green as we are. Over 60% of our energy is green today, and we’ve made huge progress with our carbon footprint – now at approximately 50% carbon neutral. We’re way ahead of many leading companies in terms of en-vironmental responsibility.

On another subject, in the early 90’s, we went to Toyota to learn about opera-tional excellence. This was back when the industry traveled on ten-twelve week lead times; you’d get the wrong stuff in the box, operational problems were all over the map throughout our industry. When we fi rst went to them, they didn’t think we would ever get serious about a continuous improvement initiative. But we’ve since proven that we’re not only serious about continuous improvement as a foundation and way of life, but we in fact lead in this area and are teaching others. Mr. Ohba, the guy at the Toyota supplier center that we started working with, was just here last week, and we continue to surprise him. Even today, he helps push us forward, but I think he’s very proud of our company in terms of what we’ve been able to demonstrate and commitment to this ongoing work.

In 2001, 55% of our total revenue was from what we today defi ne as the US Contract business. So what has grown? International business has grown sub-stantially. Government has grown – they have different drivers and they buy in a different cycle. Healthcare and educa-tion have grown as well, and our new

businesses are beginning to take off. We’re growing the rest of the business using the capabilities that we’ve learned here, and we’re applying those to new markets.

Today, the retail business plays in about a billion dollar market. That’s the Design Within Reach and similar outlets that bring our classics and other prod-ucts that are applicable to home envi-ronments to market through a different channel. We feel there’s potential to nur-ture the channel dynamics and grow this segment.

OI: What’s your plan for changing the perception of Herman Miller from just a contract furniture company to a new world company sort of thing? That could take years.

CP: We already have a reputation for being able to take new concepts, com-

$0

$500

$1,000

$1,500

$2,000

$2,500

FY03 FY04 FY05 FY06 FY07 FY08 - YTD-15%

-10%

-5%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

Net Sales ($Mil) % growth

net sales

Q2505.9

Q1491.7

Q3495.4

Q3 FY08 represents 17th

consecutive quarter of growth

mercialize them, and realize the poten-tial of those markets. Take the Aeron chair. The high-design, high-perfor-mance seating market didn’t exist until we came-out with Aeron. So who knows where the next pieces of innovation will come from? As we’ve discussed, we see programmability and the Convia capabil-ities as a big deal. Our creative skills are continually at-work and we’ve got the op-erating discipline to confi dently go-after these new ideas.

We know that this is also a commu-nications journey. We can demonstrate that we’re not just sitting in a room and imagining this – we have actually proven that we’re moving the company. I think we’re gathering momentum on that, while still very effectively not forgetting from where we came and how important our foundations are to us.

S T Y L E X

Avo | Design by Komplotstylexseating.com800.257.5742


Perkins+Will Acquires The Environments Group

by Brad Powell

There is a grain of truth in the adage about diffi cult circumstances “What

doesn’t kill you makes you better.” The downside here, of course, is that, to be true, the situation has to be suffi ciently dif-fi cult for you that it might, indeed, kill you.

The commercial interiors industry did face such a period from 2001 – 2005, so much so that the mantra in the L.A. cor-porate interior design community was “Stay alive ’til 2005.” For those who did, whichever facet of the industry, took time to refl ect on their survival vulnerabilities and prepared themselves physically and psychologically for the next down cycle. So we have seem very important shifts including:

diversifi cation/market expansion (in goods, services and markets)

consolidation

developing more complete relation-ships

adoption of lean principles

identifying core strengths and out-sourcing other functions

focusing on profi tability not just growth

generally, applying sustainability con-cepts to systems comprising fi rms and local economies

Add to this the growing awareness that skilled staff cannot be taken for granted, and may present a consider-able challenge in itself.

Many of these considerations were going through the minds of A&D fi rms over the past few years. One of the great benefi ts of the late industry downturn is that the medieval view held by some architects – that interior designers are second class citizens – has, in the minds of the enlightened, given way to a frank appreciation that interior designers bring much to the table, both in terms of pro-fessional services and client relation-ships.

One of the country’s pre-eminent in-tegrated architecture and design fi rms, Perkins+Will, got the picture some time ago, and acquired, among others, Wheeler and & Hildebrandt, Minneap-olis (Gary Wheeler and Nila Leiserowitz, both now with Gensler), Eva Maddox Branded Environments, Chicago, and AI, Washington, D.C. Last Wednesday, the fi rm, through its Chicago offi ce, Perkins+Will/Eva Maddox Branded Environments, acquired The Environ-ments Group, Chicago, boosting the Perkins+Will Chicago practice to the largest in the fi rm, in both architecture and interior design.

Cont’d on page 9, P+W. . . .

Frederick J. Schmidt

Gina A. Berndt

Joseph T. Connell

Judith MitchellMurali SelvarajThomas H. Kasznia


The Environments Group was found-ed in 1991 and has since grown into an interior design powerhouse, with a cli-ent portfolio including USG Corporation, Schiff Hardin, UBS and many of the top international consulting fi rms. The city’s largest stand-alone interiors practice with deep expertise in designing corpo-rate and commercial interiors, The En-vironments Group had six partners and 65 professionals and support staff. They will join the present Perkins+Will interi-ors group of about 20 professionals; Eva Maddox Branded Environments adds in-teriors expertise, as well as its Branded Environments expertise. The acquired brand will disappear, and the personnel of the acquired fi rm will be located with the Perkins+Will staff as soon as feasible. “The combined fi rm,” said Perkins+Will, creates a best-in-class Interiors practice with the expertise and resources to ad-dress the most complex issues that face the global corporate sector.

With last years acquisition of GHK by Nelson and the subject acquisition, there are a diminishing number of mid-sized fi rms remaining available for acqui-sition. Whitney, among them, chose to diversify by stepping up its product de-sign activity through Qdesign; the fi rm had nine products for eight manufactur-ers at this year’s NeoCon. (See offi cein-sight 6.2.08.)

The Environments Group has been actively pursued over the past few years, according to principal Joe Connell. Se-rious talks with Perkins+Will have been on-going since February. The perspec-tive of Perkins+Will seems obvious in light of its historical interest in augment-ing its practices with the interiors fi rms previously acquired. One thing that is apparent to those willing to learn is that interiors practices have much greater opportunity than architecture to develop deep relationships with clients by virtue of the extended close working relation-ship with client personnel, and the need

. . .P+W, Cont’d from page 8 to understand, in depth, client opera-tions, business and culture. In addition, growth by acquisition has been spurred by the paucity of available mid-level de-sign talent in the midst of the boom in in-teriors projects that has occurred to deal with the back-up that occurred during the earlier recession and also to deal with the normal expansion of good times.

“The Environments Group merger supports our strategy to grow by tar-geted acquisition,” said Phil Harrison, CEO of Perkins+Will. “It not only signifi -cantly strengthens our Interiors practice, but also enhances our offerings in the Planning & Strategies and Branded En-vironments disciplines. In addition, The Environments Group has a marquee name in Chicago, and expanding our footprint in the Chicago market, among other key cities, is critical to the fi rm’s continued growth and success. We’re thrilled to welcome our new colleagues into the Perkins+Will family.”

The Environments Group was trying to develop a sustainable business model for itself as a mid-sized fi rm. This is a problem faced by almost all professional fi rms: too big with too much overhead to be totally agile, and to small to signifi -cantly diversify, at least in the short run. “We went through various possibilities,” said Mr. Connell, but found nothing ap-pealing, Joint ventures tend to not work, shrinking in size was not attractive, and diversifi cation could result in a loss of focus for a fi rm that wished to continue concentrating on interiors. Ultimately, the Perkins+Will proved to be irresistible. “Merging with Perkins+Will is a win for our clients and staff,” said Fred Schmidt, Managing Principal of The Environments Group. “The merger will not only allow us to better serve our clients with a broader national range of service offerings, it pro-vides our staff with enhanced career de-velopment and growth opportunities.”

“The cultural fi t was the most impor-tant factor,” said Mr. Connell. “We worked very well with Perkins+Will on three

corporate headquarters projects; in two of them, The Environments Group was hired fi rst by clients who wanted to de-sign from the inside out. In addition, a number of Perkins+Will alums work for The Environments Group and vice-versa. Both fi rms stress that the strong cultural fi t between the two organizations will help to quickly integrate the practice.

“We are very compatible from both a business and cultural perspective,” said Ray Clark, Managing Director of Perkins+Will’s Chicago offi ce and mem-ber of the fi rm’s Board of Directors. “The Environments Group shares our values, including our team-based philosophy and commitment to sustainability. In fact, the synergy between the two fi rms has already been endorsed by the mar-ketplace. We share several clients, in-cluding Crate and Barrel.”

There will be no job changes at The Environments Group, although one would expect and gradual integration, beginning with operations.

Established in 1935, Perkins+Will (www.perkinswill.com) is an integrated design fi rm serving clients from twenty-one offi ces: Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Dubai, Hartford, Hous-ton, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Min-neapolis, New York, Orlando, Research Triangle Park, San Diego, San Francis-co, Seattle, Shanghai, Vancouver, and Washington, DC. The fi rm says that it has more LEED Accredited Professionals than any fi rm in the world. Perkins+Will is recognized as a preeminent sustain-able design fi rm, and practices architec-ture, interiors, branded environments, planning + strategies and urban design with clients in the aviation, corporate + commercial + civic, healthcare, higher education, K-12 education, and science + technology markets. Perkins+Will rou-tinely ranks among the world’s top de-sign fi rms and has received hundreds of awards, including the prestigious Ameri-can Institute of Architects’ “Firm of the Year Award.”


Gunlock Opens DC Showroom

by Jean Lin

Cont’d on page 13, Gunlocke. . . .

One may be surprised to learn that up until last week, Gunlocke did not

have a showroom in Washington DC. The wood furniture manufacturer has a natu-rally strong presence in government de-sign, and the new DC showroom, located two blocks from the White House, seems a particularly appropriate setting to cel-ebrate the newest step in Gunlocke’s recent and ongoing re-branding efforts.

Teaming with Gensler, the goal of the space is to share the story and legacy of Gunlocke through its design. Design

principal Mariela Buendia-Corrochano says “The showroom highlights the many applications of the Gunlocke product and its scalability, as well as focuses on the performance of wood.” The company pro-vided the woodwork for the entire space, from the furniture featured in its line, to the less obvious architectural pieces.

We visited DC for the showroom’s unveiling along with around 250 of the area’s A&D community and a tour of the space by Ms. Buendia-Corrochano. The showroom’s dramatic entry way – nick-

named “the tunnel” – is a commanding all-wood walkway that lives up to its name and gives a strong statement of purpose for the space. Ms. Buendia-Corrocha-no explains, “We wanted to showcase Gunlocke’s technical capabilities in wood manufacturing. The tunnel, as well as the custom made wood screens around the atrium provide unique design solutions as well as a chance for the manufacturer to emphasize its performance in wood.”

Once inside, the showroom’s commu-nity space – made into a living room-like setting, complete with coffee table and fi replace – “is a pivotal space, leading visitors to all areas of the showroom,” said Ms. Buendia-Corrochano. “We want-ed the communal space to be welcoming and informal. Gunlocke as a company feels like a family, and we felt it important to refl ect that in the space.”

The Tunnel


Surrounding vignettes were designed to display Gunlocke furniture in several defi ned settings: from an associate’s of-fi ce to, perhaps, an oval offi ce? The 5,200 s-f space’s proximity to the White House, connects Gunlocke to its long-time pres-ence within the Oval Offi ce and its historic Washington chair. The chair, which has served eight U.S. Presidents, has been a staple in the White House through a number of monumental moments – from President Franklin D. Roosevelt signing the New Deal legislation, to President John F. Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis to President Richard Nixon’s resig-nation.

The space, though not LEED certifi ed, has a number of sustainable elements, consistent with Gensler’s and Gunlocke’s


. . .Gunlocke, Cont’d from page 12

Ric Andersen, Gunlocke, Ted Moody, Daryl Freemanand Orlando Wright, Mitre Group, Gunlocke President Don Wharton

Gensler Design Team: Christopher Kelley, Mariela Buendia-Corrochano, Emily Carr, Andrea Cleveland, Carey Ryder and Hansoo Kim


dedication to green design. The tunnel is constructed out of reconstituted veneer, and low VOC paint and adhesives have been used throughout the entire space. The carpeting is made out of recycled materials, and the carved screen in the atrium is made from FCS certifi ed ve-neer.

A beautifully lit atrium acts as the grand fi nale of Gunlocke DC’s showroom, with a breathtaking 3-story high window paned ceiling and this gathering room was teeming with people and food the evening of the opening. Gunlocke president Don Wharton was beamingly present, clearly pleased with the development in the area saying “The dedication of the Washington D.C. showroom is furthering Gunlocke’s success and commitment to the area and the growing Mid-Atlantic market.”


Wood Screen

Wood Screen Detail Atrium Conference Room




As the event began to buzz, and the food fl oated out of the kitchen and into our bellies (lobster!), offi ceinsight no-ticed the young crowd that Gunlocke had drawn. We chatted with the lovely Brenda Ockun, Vice President of Marketing at Gunlocke while snatching up tasty hors d’oeuvres as they fl oated by. We enjoyed entertaining conversation with Luxo rep-resentatives, also invited guests, Presi-dent Sam Gumins, National Sales Man-ager, Dave Shepard – in town for busi-ness – and Ninety light designer Shawn Littrell, while a jazz band played by the fi replace. Gensler, Gunlocke and Ms. Buendia-Corrochano’s sentiment of cre-ating a welcoming space permeated the event. It was clear that they had created a space where the Washington DC design community could explore Gunlocke’s of-ferings while feeling at home. Finishes Wall

C U M B E R L A N D

Tantus Benchcumberlandfurniture.com 800 401 7877

A P P R O A C H A B L E


IDLNY Letter to Governor David A. Paterson

by Brad Powell

IDLNY (Interior Designers for Legis-lation in NY) has for the 3rd consec-

utive time in the past few years suc-ceeded in obtaining the unanimous approval of both houses of the NY State Legislature of a bill (Senate Bill S3659) that would restrict the use of the title of “Interior Designer.” Twice previously, similar legislation was ve-toed by then Governor George Pataki on the stated grounds that such leg-islation was not necessary. (Present NY law recognizes interior design as a profession and restricts the use of the title “Certifi ed Interior Designer.”

The present bill, among other things, prohibits the use of the title “Interior Designer,” unless the requirements of the three “E”s: Education, Experience and Examination (currently, the NICDQ exam) are met. It is a “title act,” not a “practice act”; accordingly, neither the legislation proposed in the past nor the present legislation prohibits any-one from practicing interior design.

There are a number of exemptions provided by the legislation, including exemptions for engineers, architects, and certifi ed interior designers, and it allows anyone who has practiced in-terior design for at least 15 years to apply for an exemption. Furthermore, the legislation permits the use of de-scriptive titles such as interior deco-rator, space planner, kitchen or bath designer and similar titles.

We would have published more de-tail but IDLNY has such a poorly de-signed web site that materials could not be copied . . . and we’ll be darned if we are going to re-type it. They use Flash, you see, even though the site is completely static. Furthermore, we could not even fi nd a copy of the legis-lation on the website, http://www.idlny.org/

Putting that aside, we support the legislation, and, along with IDLNY, sug-gest that all those who live in NY State and also support this legislation urge Governor Patterson to sign it. For an of-fi cial description of the legislation, go to: h t t p : / / a s s e m b l y. s t a t e . n y. u s / l e g /?bn=A06534

A suggested form letter to the gov-ernor follows.

Subject: Senate Bill S3659, An Act to amend the education law in relation to the practice of interior design.

Dear Governor Paterson,I am writing in support of Senate Bill

S3659. The purpose of this law is to require that all individuals who wish to use the title interior designer in their practice meet the specifi cations of Ar-ticle 161 of the Education Law. This bill sets forth the education, experi-ence and examination requirements for the practice of interior design in New York State. It does not preclude an individual from using the term inte-

rior decorator or space planner or any other such title and conforms to the current use of the title, “certifi ed inte-rior designer”. While current law pro-vides for a voluntary certifi cation, this bill makes licensure a requirement for the use of the title, interior designer.

The profession of interior design has matured signifi cantly over the sev-enteen years since the initial law was enacted in 1991. As a design profes-sion that is responsible for the protec-tion of the health, safety and welfare of the public, interior design is held to the same standards of practice as the other licensed design professions in-cluding architecture and engineering.

Currently, twelve colleges and uni-versities in New York State have a four-year program in interior design leading to a baccalaureate degree. This in-cludes such prestigious institutions as Syracuse University, Cornell Univer-sity, Fashion Institute of Technology, Buffalo State, Cazenovia College, Par-sons School of Design, Pratt Institute, the New York Institute of Technology, School of Visual Arts, Sage Colleges, New York School of Interior Design and Rochester Institute of Technology. Each year, hundreds of interior design students graduate from these pro-grams in the state and they are quali-fi ed to meet the high standards set by this legislation.

I urge you to sign into law this impor-tant legislation so that the public is as-sured that they are being well served by a licensed design professional.

Thank you for your support.Sincerely,


Cont’d on next page . . .

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Product Intros

Humanscale’s Cinto, a mid-priced ergonomic and envi-ronmentally conscious stacking chair, is now available for pur-chase. Cinto features a backrest that is attached to the chair’s frame via a fl exible belt, allowing the backrest to move with the body for recline and lumbar support and the cross-slits on the chair’s seat allow for even weight distribution. Available in nine colors—Red, White, Yellow, Taupe, Light Blue, Dark Blue, Light Gray, Gray and Black, Cinto can be confi gured with or without armrests, with a sled base, or with four legs on either glides or casters. Cinto is 100% recyclable. The 2007 Interna-tional Design Awards named Cinto its Product Design of the Year. http://www.humanscale.com

Invision Carpet Systems, Dalton, GA, added Shantung to its Second Nature Collection. Shantung plays on the varia-tion of thick and thin, luster and matte, and smooth and tex-tured and incorporates 40 neutrals and saturated brights to form an overall palette that is harmonious and alluring. Shan-tung is standard as broadloom but available optionally as mod-ular tile for minimum yardage.

www.jj-invision.com

Humanscale: Cinto

Invision: Shantung



. . . Cont’d from preceding page

Noteworthy

Theodore B. Clippinger, Joleen Lockhart, Matthew Ansley and K. Da-ryl Carrington, were named associates at JDavid Architects in Raleigh, NC.

- Theodore B. Clippinger, Associate, joined JDavis in 2006 as a project man-ager with 18 years of experience in the industry.- Joleen Lockhart is LEED accredited and currently serves as the project ar-chitect on several different projects in-cluding commercial, mixed-use, high-end residential amenities and urban multi-stay lofts. - K. Daryl Carrington, joined the fi rm in 2007 as the director of sustainable de-sign with more than 25 years of archi-tectural experience.- Matthew Ansley joined the fi rm in 2006 as a project manager with more than ten years of experience in con-struction administration and project management.

www.jdavisarchitects.comPaul Gray was promoted to vice pres-

ident of sales and marketing for mbi, a Herman Miller dealer in Seattle, WA. Mr. Gray joined mbi 14 years ago to focus on developing customer relationships and providing customized offi ce solu-tions in the company’s Healthcare Di-vision. Mr. Gray will oversee customer relationship development and interiors planning for both mbi’s Healthcare and Commercial Contract Divisions. www.mbiseattle.com

Bendheim’s Light Restoration Glass was selected for the Jefferson Davis Home and Presidential Library restoration, a project currently under-way in Biloxi, MS. Bendheim provided 209 panes of mouth-blown Restoration Glass to restore the windows and front and back glass doors of Beauvoir, the last home of Jefferson Davis. The home was nearly destroyed by Hurricane Ka-trina in 2005. Five of its seven build-ings were destroyed and the remaining two were severely damaged. Bendheim Restoration Glass resembles sheet glasses made before the advent of mod-ern glass making. Slight distortions, oc-casional bubbles, pits and imperfections make it ideal for historically correct res-torations of commercial and residential buildings and antique furniture. It can be found in such historical restorations as the White House in Washington, D.C., Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s Home in Charlottesville, VA., and George Wash-ington’s Home in Mount Vernon, VA. www.restorationglass.com

CIDA, the Council for Interior Design Accreditation Board of Directors, Grand Rapids, MI, adopted new quality stan-dards for interior design higher educa-tion programs that prepare graduates for entry into the profession. Profession-al Standards 2009 elevate the concepts, such as critical thinking, global context for design, collaboration and creativity, and professional values deemed most signifi cant for successful entry-level in-terior designers. Visit CIDA’s website at http://www.accredit-id.org/profstandards.php for more information about the re-cently adopted Professional Standards 2009.

The HON Company teamed up with Sherwin-Williams to offer a high-tech color matching system on all metal case-goods and desk products. Through the ColorCorrect program, designers and end-users have the option of choosing from 42 colors or to specify a custom-matched color their choice. The Color-Correct program offers three different levels: an expanded offering of HON’s core colors, the choice of industry stan-dards, and custom colors for design options. www.sherwin-williams.com/oem.

The HON Company also introduced a new design vision for its entire catalog of contract furnishings with new, coordinat-ed master color palette and fashion-for-ward options in each category. As part

of its textiles makeover, HON is offering two programs. Select Textiles updates the company’s standard fabric offerings by introducing a collection of seating fabric options from manufacturers, Ma-haram and Momentum. The Smart Textiles program also will feature selec-tions from Maharam and Momentum, as well as other fabric manufacturers. The company will further expand its design palette through its partnership with Wil-sonart. www.HON.com

IA Interior Architects announced its 2008 mid-year appointments.

- Christopher Blackadder was named principal for the New York offi ce.

- Jeffrey Gay became a Senior Associ-ate for the Washington, DC offi ce.

- Stephanie Pero Schmitz was named an Associate for the Denver offi ce.

http://www.interiorarchitects.comKTGY GROUP, Irvine, CA, received

three Grand Nugget Awards in the fol-lowing categories:

- Best Adaptive Re-Use Project for Whole Foods Market in Pasadena, CA.

- Best Mixed-Use Project for Market Lofts in Los Angeles, CA.

- Best California Green Builder Residen-tial Community for Poppy Lane at Nato-mas Meadows in Sacramento, CA.

www.goldnuggetawards.comMAiSPACE reported its most visible

and strongest showing in 15 years at the NeoCon World’s Trade Fair. Using the theme, “Raising the Bar,” the exhib-it highlighted its choices in fabrics and fi nishes, plus glass and metal tiles, new Coverseal drawer and bin fronts and a complete freestanding furniture line. A new desk line integrates within tradition-al MAiSPACE workspace layouts and includes a desk, return, bridge, corner, modesty panel, hutch, and credenza. http://www.maispace.com

Maxon Furniture Inc, an operating company of HNI, announced that it has partnered with Offi ce Furniture USA, a nationwide network of dealers, to ex-pand its distribution of panel systems and freestanding offi ce furniture through-out the U.S. In further news, Maxon Fur-niture recognized individual IMR’s and Rep groups for outstanding achieve-ment. The Highlands Group received

Paul Gray




the Rep Group of the Year award and Anne McShea, also of The Highlands Group, received the Maxon Furniture Inc. Rep of the Year award for her com-mitment to excellence and outstanding success throughout the year. www.max-onfurniture.com

Mohawk Industries, Inc. announced that Frans G. De Cock, President of Mohawk’s Unilin business segment, will retire effective December 31, 2008. Ber-nard Thiers, currently President-Unilin Flooring, will succeed Mr. De Cock as President of Unilin at that time. Mr. De Cock will continue to serve as an advi-sor to Unilin and will remain a member of Mohawk’s Board of Directors follow-ing his retirement.

“Old Glory”, a nickname for the American fl ag, was coined by Captain Stephen Driver of Salem, Massachu-setts. In 1831, as he was leaving on his ship, friends gave him a beautiful new American fl ag. When it was unfurled in the ocean breeze, Captain Driver ex-claimed, “Old Glory!” and that fl ag it-self became known as Old Glory. In 1837, Captain Driver retired to Tennes-see, and when that state seceded from the Union in the Civil War, rebels tried to fi nd and destroy the Old Glory fl ag. Luckily, the Captain hid Old Glory inside the seams of his bed quilt, so the rebels never found it! In 1862, Captain Driver raised Old Glory over the state capitol to celebrate the Union’s triumph, and ever since, people have called the American fl ag “Old Glory.”

Shaw Hospitality Group teamed with the Fashion Institute of Technolo-gy (FIT) in New York to fi nd unique hos-pitality carpet designs from some of the school’s design students. The winners of the inaugural, The Language of De-sign Challenge, will be awarded cash prizes, as well as the opportunity to have their winning carpet design displayed at hospitality industry tradeshows. The competition, which began in April, asked students to design a signature rug, three broadloom designs and an optional bor-der design based on six 2009 color fore-casts from LA Colors from Amsterdam. Entries will be submitted and judged in December. www.shawhospitalitygroup.com

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, headquartered in Chi-cago, maintains a comprehensive Tall

Buildings Global News Archive: http://ct-buh.org/NewsMedia/GlobalTallNews/tabid/468/Default.aspx. A recent New York Times spotlight article with color-ful renderings of various new skyscrap-ers in the works around the world can be accessed at http://www.ctbuh.org/Por-tals/0/Media/Files/2008/NYT_Scrap-ingSky_June.pdf

Unika Vaev, New York, NY, a divi-sion of The ICF Group, and the Austra-lian based company Instyle Contract Textiles joined forces. Unika Vaev will become the exclusive distributor of In-style’s textile collections in the US and Canada. Instyle is known for its wool upholstery textiles and in particular it’s LIFE (Low Impact for the Environment) sustainable textile collection. INSTYLE recently won the 2008 United Nation’s Association of Australia World Environ-ment Day Awards in the Business Sus-tainability Environmental Best Practice Program Category. Unika Vaev is recog-nized as a leader for its collection of tex-tiles, steeped in rich vibrant colors and patterns, designed for multiple applica-tions. www.unikavaev.com www.insty-lecontracttextiles.com

The Urbantine Project, a contest inti-ated by Tent London in partnership with London-based Workspace Group, an-nounced its 2008 winner: A project en-titled “Open Tables Ecology,” which was submitted by London-based Working Architecture Group (WAG). Described by WAG as “a study in contemporary in-teraction theory, or Ubiquitous Comput-ing,” Open Tables will incorporate com-puter software, recycled furniture and architectural objects, and projectors that will display interactive graphics through-out the workspace. WAG will install the project at Tent London’s event Septem-ber 18-21 during London Design Week. The winning application, along with al-most a dozen other highly creative en-tries that made it to the short list, can be seen at http://www.urbantineproject.co.uk/2008_template.html

W.A.C. Lighting, Garden City, NY, is spearheading relief efforts to help earth-quake victims in western China. The company recently opened a manufac-turing facility in southern China that em-ploys 42 people from the earthquake zone, seven of whom lost their fami-ly homes there. The fi rm has helped to raise nearly $250,000 for quake relief. www.waclighting.com

Re-Sited

Rune Akselberg will join izzy, Spring Lake, MI, August 1, as Vice President for sales of izzydesign branded products as well as products offered by izzy’s stra-tegic alliance partners, HAG and Nem-schoff. Mr. Akselberg has 18 years of offi ce furniture industry experience and most recently was managing director for HAG in the U.K. and Ireland. Mr. Aksel-berg also was president of HAG, Inc., responsible for the North American market. http://www.izzydesign.com

Jennifer Amster was named a part-ner in the fi rm of BJAC and will work to formulate the strategic direction for the fi rm. Ms. Amster has been with BJAC for nearly ten years, most recently as the Director of Higher Education Proj-ects. http://www.bjac.com.

Dan Cogan was promoted to Re-gional Vice President, Eastern Sales Area, for Paoli. Mr. Cogan joined Paoli in February of 2007 and previously led government sales. He has over 25 years of experience in the Marketing, Textiles, Contract Furniture, Dealer Manage-ment, Government and Vertical Mar-kets. http://www.paoli.com

Mona Hoffman was named Vice President of Marketing by Kimball International, Inc, for the Company’s Kimball Offi ce brand. As Vice President of Marketing, Ms. Hoffman will assume responsibility for the marketing organi-zation and the achievement of Kimball Offi ce brand goals. Ms. Hoffman joined Kimball International in August 1994 as Seating Product Manager for National Offi ce Furniture, eventually advancing to Vice president and General Manag-er of National Offi ce Furniture. Ms. Hoff-man returns to Kimball International af-ter time away to pursue personal inter-ests and begin Rough Edges, a compa-ny for concrete surfaces, sinks, and fur-niture. http://www.ir.kimball.com

Karim Khemakhem was appointed the new interior design director for the Middle East offi ce of Ellerbe Becket. The company is presently working on projects such as University Hospital in Dubai’s Healthcare City and Sidra Medi-cal and Research Center in Doha. Mr. Khemakhem will establish and lead its new Middle East Interiors Practice from its Dubai offi ce and will lead design de-




velopment and implementation of interi-or architecture on current projects. Prior to accepting his new position, Mr. Khe-makhem was as an interior project de-signer in the fi rm’s Minneapolis offi ce. He began his career with Ellerbe Beck-et, working as an interior designer from 1998-2004. He returned to Ellerbe Beck-et in 2006. Mr. Khemakhem is fl uent in Arabic and is familiar with the culture, having been born in Tunisia and later liv-ing in Saudi Arabia. http://www.ellerbe-becket.com

Joe Nacci joined Tobron, a long standing dealer for Herman Miller, as its A&D Account Director, where he will be a liaison between Tobron and New York City architectural and design fi rms. Mr. Nacci worked in all aspects of the interior design profession for 27 years, from Senior Interior Design to Facilities Planner. [email protected]

Andy O'Hare was hired as a health-care designer and associate for the Rochester, MN offi ce of HGA Archi-tects and Engineers. Before joining HGA, Andy was an architect and proj-ect manager with the Durrant Group in Dubuque, IA, where he worked on com-mercial, education, and healthcare com-missions. www.hga.com

Colebrook Bosson Saunders added two staff members to the newly opened NYC showroom located at 200 Lexing-ton Ave:

–Carlos Diaz was hired as Market Re-search and Development Manger and can be reached at mailto:[email protected].

–Kiki Batista joins the company as GSA Account Executive. She can be reached at mailto:[email protected].

Carol Wickoren joined Dauphin North America, Boonton, NJ, as its Re-gional Sales Manager of central terri-tories. Most recently, Ms. Wickoren was President of MIC SERVICES in Minne-apolis and prior to that was Senior Vice President of Sales & Design at Target Commercial Interiors, a division of Tar-get Corporation. She also served as Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Revest Midwest and held several po-sitions Steelcase, Inc. http://www.dau-phin.com

Environment

Dynamic Architecture Group an-nounced that construction will begin soon on the world’s fi rst shape-shifting skyscraper in Dubai. Designed by vi-sionary Italian architect David Fisher, the 80-story building will feature wind turbines between each fl oor to gener-ate power, and each of the fl oors will ro-tate independently 360 degrees at the whim of the tenant, thus creating an ever-changing shape. A second rotating tower planned for Moscow is currently in the advanced design stage. More de-tails can be found at Dynamic’s website -- http://www.dynamicarchitecture.net -- and there is also a video clip of the proj-ect on the BBC news site: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7472722.stm?loc=interstitialskip

Haworth, Inc. released its third annu-al sustainability report, expanded to in-clude a more comprehensive represen-tation of the company’s worldwide op-erations. The 2007 Sustainability Re-port tracks Haworth’s successes and challenges in meeting its global com-mitment to sustainable business prac-tices in product design, manufacturing and delivery, as well as the design and construction of its own facilities includ-ing showrooms, corporate offi ces and manufacturing plants. Report highlights include environmental profi les of sever-al Haworth products manufactured and marketed worldwide; product and perfor-mance highlights from Europe, Asia Pa-cifi c and North America; and information on key environmental performance indi-cators including greenhouse gas emis-sions and water usage. The Haworth 2007 Sustainability Report is available for download on Haworth’s website at www.haworth.com/2007_GlobalSustain-abilityReport.

Implications' June issue features an article titled “Growing Water” by Mar-tin Felsen, AIA, and Sarah Dunn. The Growing Water project addresses a re-port from the United Nations that states two out of every three people in the world will be facing water shortages by 2025. www.informedesign.umn.edu

Knoll participated in the inaugural Green Procurement Exposition and Conference in Chicago, IL. Knoll, one

Karim Khemakhem

Carlos Diaz

Kiki Batista

Carol Wickoren




of 68 exhibitors at the exposition, met with representatives from government, corporate, academic and facilities man-agement sectors to discuss its leader-ship role in environmental sustainability. Knoll also featured its Knoll Life chair, which recently achieved SMaRT gold certifi cation from the Institute for Market Transformation to Sustainability (MTS). http://www.knoll.com

Perkins+Will received two awards for its example of sustainable design lead-ership. Its New York offi ce space, com-pleted in early 2007, received a LEED-CI Gold rating for its open workspace layout, water conservation, and healthy, multifunctional materials. It is the 23rd LEED certifi ed project completed by Perkins+Will, with nearly 100 more LEED registered. Perkins+Will also was awarded a 2008 Sustainable Leader-ship Award from CoreNet Global, the American Institute of Architects, and the International Interior Design Association at CoreNet’s annual conference in San Diego. http://www.perkinswill.com

USAA, United Services Automobile Association, received LEED Gold for Existing Buildings for its Tampa of-fi ce, becoming the fi rst existing build-ing in Florida to receive this certifi ca-tion. Built in 1993, the building features views of woodlands and wetlands with a 22 acre man-made lake surrounded by a jogging trail. USAA also won LEED certifi cation for new construction of their Phoenix, AZ campus in 2004. http://www.USAA.com

Projects

EMCOR Group, Inc. announced that its Dynalectric Company and Univer-sity Mechanical & Engineering Con-tractors, Inc. (UMEC) subsidiaries were awarded contracts to provide the entire electrical and mechanical infrastructure for the University of California San Diego (UCSD) Medical Center’s new 128,000 sq. ft. Sulpizio Family Cardiovascular Center. Dynalectric will provide all elec-trical systems for the facility and UMEC will provide the HVAC. The Cardiovas-cular Center will include patient care ar-eas for UCSD’s Thornton Hospital and will unify its ambulatory, clinical and in-patient heart and stroke care. http://www.EMCORGroup.com

Perkins+Will, San Francisco, CA, fol-lowing an international design compe-tition, was retained by Singapore’s Na-tional Research Foundation to design CREATE (Campus for Research Excel-lence and Technological Enterprise). CREATE is a 650,000 sq. ft. scientifi c research center located on the Univer-sity of Singapore’s new seven acre Uni-versity Town campus. The campus will include three mid-rise buildings and a high-rise tower. The towers fi rst two fl oors will serve as part of the Olympic Village for the fi rst International Youth Olympics in 2010. CREATE’s design will pioneer the tropical use of advanced en-vironmental and energy-saving technol-ogies such as wind turbines driven by tropical breezes and enthalpy wheels that capture wind-generated warmth. The project is scheduled for completion in 2010. http://www.perkinswill.com

Shen Milsom & Wilke, working with architectural and engineering fi rm Eller-be Becket, will provide integrated tech-nology services for the new Universi-ty Hospital in Dubai Healthcare City. Partners Harvard Medical Interna-tional, a subsidiary of Harvard Medical School that provides planning services to healthcare entities worldwide, is re-sponsible for defi ning the requirements for the 400-bed teaching hospital. The facility will be linked to Harvard Medi-cal School Dubai Center. Shen Milsom & Wilke’s services include technology master planning and design of informa-tion technology, multimedia, and securi-ty systems. A completion date is set for 2010. http://www.smwinc.com

Perkins+Will: CREATE

Skanska USA Building Inc. was named construction manager for the Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center project in Memphis, TN. FKP Architects partnered with Memphis fi rm Self Tucker Architects Inc. to pro-vide the design services for the 610,000 sq. ft. hospital. A 2010 completion date expected. The facility will hold 225 beds with units designed for pediatric inten-sive care, cardiovascular intensive care, and neonatal intensive care. Play ar-eas, a mini-movie theater, and a large parent resource center with access to learning materials, the Internet and pa-tient educators also are part of the plan. www.skanska.com

Events

IIDEX/NeoCon Canada will run Sept 25 & 26 at the Direct Energy Centre in Toronto, Canada. Details for the event include:

- The University of Toronto Profes-sional Development Centre (UTP-DC) will be its lead sponsor and will of-fer a special two day pre-show intensive workshop on “Strategies for Sustainable Facilities” presented by Beth Savan, Sustainability Director, University of To-ronto Sustainability Offi ce.

- IIDEX Coast to Coast will offer to Inte-rior Designers, Architects, Facility Man-agers and Lighting Designers located more than 350KM from Toronto an op-portunity to apply for a travel subsidy ranging from $250 to $550.

-The Fairmont Royal York is the host hotel for 2008. To book early and re-ceive the best selection and rates, vis-it the Travel and Hotel Section of www.iidexneocon.com/

- The Healthcare Pavilion will feature a Green Patient Room for the latest de-sign concepts in patient wellness and caregiver safety.

South Street Seaport: Re-envision-ing the Urban Edge will be on display at the Center for Architecture, 536 La Guardia Place, NYC, from July17-Sep-tember 20. The exhibition showcases 37 prospective designs from the third Bi-ennial Ideas Competition launched by the Emerging New York Architects Com-mittee (ENYA) of the AIA NY that that would change the face of lower Manhat-



© 2008 offi cesite, inc.24 East Avenue (#1299) New Canaan, CT 06840, www.offi ceinsight.com, Bradford J. Powell, brad@offi ceinsight.comT: 203.966.5008 F: 203.972.6512Jean Lin, jean@offi ceinsight.com T: 203.912.7423

tan. ENYA partnered with the Seaman’s Church Institute, which acted as a hypo-thetical client, to challenge participants to consider the area’s past before sug-gesting interventions to its future. In ad-dition to the opening on July 17, other events will include a symposium, walk-ing tour, and lecture. First prize went to Sangmok Kim, AIA, LEEP AP & Sung-woo Kim from New Jersey and Korea for their proposal of a fi sh farm in the river and have a fl oating park with a series of pavilions above. www.aiany.org

The Vienna Design Week festival, including an installation by a Design Miami/Basel’s Designer of the Future Award winner, will take place in Austria from October 2-12 The event is orga-nized by Tulga Beyerle, Thomas Geisler, and Lilli Hollein of Neigungsgruppe De-sign, and includes a series of special events. http://www.viennadesignweek.at

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

6

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4 2

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Job Site

To place ads, send information to

[email protected], and billing infor-mation to [email protected] or Fax 203.972.6512, T: 203.966.5008.

For complete classifieds, go to

www.officeinsight.com.

ACCOUNT DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

NYCGeiger, a Herman Miller Company is

seeking an Account Development Manager in the NYC area.

• Penetrate specific target accounts-establish/communicate/implement account strategies/action plans to achieve sales/ser-vice volume/margin targets for new business development-partner with dealers

• Build account share within assigned target accounts that are existing Geiger/HMI clients, penetrating all subsidiaries, divisions, and affiliates of those customers

• Initial key contact with customer to develop, cultivate, and establish productive, collaborative relationships with customer de-cision-makers.

Minimum Requirements• Bachelors degree in marketing,

business administration or related field, equivalent level of experience considered

• 4-6 years successful contract or capital goods selling experience

• High level of presentation and con-sultative selling skills with strong customer focus

• Ability to present a professional im-age and gain a high level of confidence from a large number of customers

Apply at www.hermanmiller.com/careers and reference job code 620

SALES REPRESENTATIVE

Orange County Join the sales team of an innovative grow-

ing furniture manufacturer.Allseating and Anatome are seeking an

experienced furniture sales representative to work with dealers, end users and design-ers in Orange County California promoting a broad product offering. Allseating is one of North America’s leading seating manufactur-ers, known for innovative products. Anatome won the Best of Neocon award in the office accessories category for Freeboard, a unique keyboard design.

Strong communication and organizational skills required.

Please forward resume [email protected].

ACCOUNT DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

Denver Geiger, a Herman Miller Company is

seeking an Account Development Manager in Denver

• Penetrate specific target accounts-establish/communicate/implement account strategies/action plans to achieve sales/ser-vice volume/margin targets for new business development-partner with dealers

• Build account share within assigned target accounts that are existing Geiger/HMI clients, penetrating all subsidiaries, divisions, and affiliates of those customers

• Initial key contact with customer to develop, cultivate, and establish productive, collaborative relationships with customer de-cision-makers.

Minimum Requirements• Bachelors degree in marketing,

business administration or related field, equivalent level of experience considered 4-6 years successful contract or capital goods selling experience

• High level of presentation and con-sultative selling skills with strong customer focus

• Ability to present a professional im-age and gain a high level of confidence from a large number of customers

Apply at www.hermanmiller.com/careers

and reference job code 608

GOVERNMENT SALES MANAGER

Leading wood manufacturer seeking gov-ernment sales manager to maximize sales in government business segment with empha-sis on Federal business.

Responsibilities include: achieving sales quotas; management of assigned territories; developing strong GSA dealer, end-user, and designer relationships; maintain strong partnership with GSA furniture center; execu-tion of initiatives and programs with targeted government distribution; closure of project business; and development of state business and contracts through local representation.

EEO/AA EmployerApply at www.hnicareers.com/paoli

REGIONAL SALES MANAGER

San Francisco Geiger, a Herman Miller company is seek-

ing a Regional Sales Manager in San Fran-cisco

For over forty years, Geiger International has inspired the A+D community by pioneer-ing the design and manufacturing of modular wood case goods and architectural furniture for private offices and commercial interiors.

General PurposeLeads, develops and motivates the Geiger

regional sales team to achieve sales goals.

Provides input and participates the market planning for each territory in the region.

Essential Functions• Leads the direct selling and dealer

sales focused activities for strategic oppor-tunities on the front and back end selling process.

• Develops and implements strategic selling initiatives and/or plans for both the independent manufacturing representatives and direct sales representatives to achieve assigned goals for order, shipment volumes and margin percentages.

• Manages sales growth throughout the region through independent manufactur-ing representatives, business development, account management and dealer sales.

• Manages the regional budget, dis-counting, and account planning business ac-tivities and customer, dealer and A&D firms relationship management.

• Serves as a resource for sales and independent representatives proposals, ne-gotiating, closing the sale and market plans development selling activities.

• Interfaces with A&D Directors on overall region strategy.

• Manages account information ap-propriately to provide accurate reporting of selling activity and forecast expected sales volume.

• Coordinates sales activities with the HMI Regional Sales Mgr. and foster com-munication.

• Performs additional duties as re-quested.

Minimum Requirements• Bachelor degree in Marketing,

Business Administration or related field.• Five to seven years of successful

contract and/or capital goods selling experi-ence with advanced strategic, conceptual, consultative, negotiation and contract closing selling skills or an equivalent combination of education, training and experience.

• Ability to think strategically and execute tactically.

• Proven track record of leadership success, the ability to effectively manage a sales team and to work and contribute in a team environment.

• Ability to work in a fast paced, changing environment with the ability to build long-term relationships with customers.

• High level of business integrity and personal ethics.

• Must be financially literate and pos-sess business acumen.

• Excellent verbal, written and in-terpersonal communications, with a strong emphasis on listening.

• Ability to travel approximately 50% of the time within the U.S.

To apply online go to www.hermanmiller.com

Reference job code 639



MARKETING COORDINATOR

San Francisco

Pollack Architecture Seeks Marketing Co-ordinator

Position is in the San Francisco office and is responsible for developing marketing and business development materials for the firm.

• An individual who doesn’t leave well-enough alone ¬ wants to engage in and help drive continuous improvement in the firm’s marketing efforts.

• Positive and easy-going attitude that is flexible and open to new ideas.

• Ability to meet deadlines and re-main focused under time pressure.

• Ability to exercise good judgment at all times.

General Qualifications

Experience in a marketing role in the architectural profession. A self-starter with superb client/customer service sensibility. An ability to organize effectively and with uncompromising attention to detail and to exercise good judgment at all times. Excel-lent writing, editing and proofreading skills. A multi-tasker able to prioritize and perform multiple tasks proactively and efficiently. Eye for graphics/layout and superior attention to detail. Knowledge of Microsoft applications and graphics/layout programs.

Academic: BS/BA degree in marketing, communications, public relations, journalism, writing or related field.

Experience: Minimum of five to seven year’s experience in related positions.

Salary: Position is non-exempt salaried with compensation depending on experience and qualifications. The position reports to President David Galullo with a dashed line relationship to Richard Pollack and Director of Business Development.

Professional Skills

• Substantial skills with software tools/programs including Outlook, Word, Ex-cel, ACT!, InDesign, PowerPoint, Filemaker Pro and Photoshop.

. . . Cont’d from preceding page • Schedule pre-proposal meetings, research prospect and project background, identify, recommend and coordinate with in-house team, customize project and resume descriptions relevant to prospect â œhot buttonsâ , write project understandings and custom proposal text.

• Coordinate the production and dis-semination of marketing materials such as qualification packages, proposals and bro-chures utilizing InDesign, PhotoShop and other desktop publishing and graphic pro-grams. Maintain marketing supplies and en-sure that sufficient marketing materials are on hand.

• Facilitate project interview prepara-tions. Help recommend approach and pre-pare draft outline/presentation, work with in-house team to craft message and materials, and design and produce final presentation materials and related collateral.

• When appropriate, prepare presen-tations using PowerPoint templates or creat-ing original backgrounds and masters.

• Research and update project pro-files, resumes, and other qualifications data regularly.

• Compose marketing correspon-dence as needed; assist management and staff with marketing correspondence.

• Schedule and coordinate in-house marketing meetings.

• Assist with scheduling conferenc-es, events, lunches and assist with follow-up. Lead special marketing initiatives including conferences, parties, open houses.

• Coordinate and maintain master database and associated mailing list utilizing ACT! or other CRM system. Generate mar-keting mass mailings 6-8 times yearly.

• Maintain a detailed press list and schedule for press releases, creating press kits, and help coordination with outside PR firm.

• Maintain awards / publication calen-dar. Assist with design awards submissions, write project narratives, assemble team in-formation, and work with Principals to select images and design submissions, coordinate magazine reprints,

• Coordinate updates to the POL-LACK web site.

• Assist with project photo shoots.

• Coordinate annual POLLACK ar-chitecture Scholarship program.

Management Skills

• Set budget for marketing efforts and monitor budget monthly.

• Present periodic, at least monthly, marketing (not business development) report to Management Committee.

• Ability to work effectively with col-leagues.

• Skills to direct other administrative staff when they are charged with assisting marketing efforts.

Communication Skills

• Assist the Principals and Director of Business Development in creating a team oriented, enthusiastic â œmarketing mind-setâ throughout POLLACK. Strive to project a friendly, whatever-it-takes attitude with grace under pressure in all interactions and communications with POLLACK, our clients, vendors, and other business contacts.

• Help set standards for graphic pre-sentations. Assist with making qualitative decisions on graphic communications materi-als.

• Excellent personal presentation. Properly present the firm and themselves with high professional, ethical and moral standards.

Professional Activities

• Professional Service: Some con-tribution to professional activities and or-ganizations (e.g. SMPS) desirable, but not required.

• Public Service: Some contributions to community activities desirable, but not required.

Salary commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Send Resume to: mailto:

[email protected]

offi ceinsight TM 7.7.08 Business/Tech


Raymond James Brief: 7.2.08BIFMA: May Orders +2%; Shipments +1%

Analyst(s): Budd Bugatch

After Tuesday's market close, the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association (BIFMA) released its mar-ket statistics for May 2008. The month’s order and shipment statistics are derived from a sampling of 38 companies in the contract office furniture industry whose combined shipments make up about 75% of total industry volume.

May contract office furniture orders increased 2% year-over-year, compared with 1% growth in April. Shipments were also modestly positive, up 1% versus 2% growth in April. With year-to-date orders up approximately 1% and shipments flat, the industry has decelerated markedly versus mid-single-digit growth in 2007, yet has managed to avoid a significant downturn thus far.

Our cautious outlook for the office furniture industry stems from concern that deteriorating macroeconomic conditions will translate into weakening industry demand, thereby pressur-ing sales and earnings for our companies under coverage. As shown in the attached graphs, the industry’s primary macro-economic drivers are either negative (business confidence, corporate profits) or deteriorating (service sector employment, new office construction). After rebounding from 39.7 in March to 45.5 in April, the AIA Architecture Billings Index (a leading in-dicator of non-residential construction activity) declined to 43.4 in May. Reflecting those factors, BIFMA now expects 2008 or-ders and shipments to decline 4.7% and 6.8%, respectively (which may prove a bit pessimistic given it implies high-single to low-double-digit declines for the balance of the year).

Additionally, rising commodity costs are pressuring mar-gins, forcing manufacturers to raise prices amidst a soft demand environment. While office furniture makers have historically been successful at capturing a portion of list price increases, as with any cost-driven action, there is a timing lag.

Despite our concerns about near-term industry demand, we do not believe that any downturn will match the magnitude of the 2001-2003 decline, which took orders and shipments down ~40% from peak levels. More than the amplitude of a potential downturn, our larger concern is that the duration of industry weakness could be longer than historically normal.

We would remind investors that each of our companies under coverage is well managed and high quality, boasting individual competitive strengths and positive cash flow dynamics. The median forward P/E for our companies under coverage is now ~10x, down from over 18x in February 2007. While this appears attractive relative to history, there may yet be risk to EPS esti-mates, and we believe that investors must be selective in choos-ing names in which to commit capital in this environment.

According to BIFMA, May orders were $990 million, up 2% versus $975 last year and up from $865 million last month. Estimated trailing 12-month orders were $11.455 billion, a slight sequential increase and 3.7% higher year-over-year. This marks the slowest percentage growth since September 2004.

BIFMA estimates that May shipments increased 1% year-over-year to $945 million. While shipment growth decel-erated versus 2% growth in April, the prior-year comp for May was more difficult at +7% versus +2% for April. Trailing 12-month shipments increased 3.5% year-over-year to an estimated $11.415 billion, the lowest growth rate since Sep-tember 2004.

Unfilled order backlog increased 10.3% year-over-year to $1.445 billion against a +9.1% prior-year comp, the third consecutive month of double-digit backlog growth. As we discussed in last month’s commentary, we suspect that double-digit backlog growth, juxtaposed against slowing order and shipment growth, may suggest customers are deferring delivery in response to the weaker economy. We did not get confirmation of this phenomenon from the companies we que-ried, however.

In regards to our office furniture equities under coverage, we reaffirm our Outperform rating on Herman Miller. Despite our near/intermediate-term industry concerns, our positive invest-ment rating on Herman Miller reflects management’s continued strong execution and the shares’ attractive absolute and relative valuation. Herman Miller is a well-run, EVA-focused company that combines innovative design, high-quality products, and lean manufacturing. In recent years, the company has less-ened its reliance on the North American office furniture market, diversifying internationally, expanding its healthcare business, and developing emerging technologies like CONVIA. Herman Miller generates substantial positive cash flow, and we are heartened by management’s track record of managing the company through difficult times. Finally, MLHR currently trades at 9.6x our forward EPS estimates, a discount to historic norms and the peer median of 10x. Shares also trade at a substantial discount to our EVA/FCF-derived estimate of intrinsic worth, which suggests a fair value in the mid-30s.

On June 25, Herman Miller reported F4Q08 EPS of $0.71, significantly better than our $0.57 estimate, which matched consensus. Operating EPS beat our model by $0.14 driven by higher sales (+$0.04), better gross margin (+$0.05), and lower SG&A ratio (+$0.05). Total sales advanced 7% to $519.1 million, $31.5 million better than our estimate. North American sales improved 6.3% against 7.5% growth last year. Non-North American sales growth accelerated significantly, up 22.8% de-spite a challenging +19% prior-year hurdle.

officeinsightTM 7.7.08 Supp. 2 of 3


We also reaffirm our Outperform rating on Knoll. Knoll is a well-managed enterprise that generates significant free cash flow, which management has used to de-leverage the balance sheet and return capital to shareholders through dividends and stock buybacks. We believe that Knoll’s focus on higher-end products with high design content lends itself to attractive profit margins and better maintenance of pricing power, important as materials costs, such as steel, continue to rise. Despite consis-tent execution, Knoll sports the lowest forward valuation of its peers at ~7.6x our NTM EPS estimate of $1.64. Knoll will report 2Q EPS on July 17, before the market open. Our estimate is $0.40, in line with consensus.

The Market Perform rating on Steelcase stems primar-ily from its modest valuation premium to peers, now trading at 10.4x our NTM EPS estimate of $0.93. Further, we believe that Steelcase’s industry-leading market share and significant international exposure may make the company more vulner-able than its peers to industry weakness both domestically and abroad.

On June 27, Steelcase reported F1Q09 EPS of $0.20 (ex-charges), $0.01 below our $0.21 estimate and $0.02 below con-sensus. Total sales increased 0.9% year-over-year to $815.7 million, about $5 million better than our estimate. Excluding a currency benefit of $30.6 million and the $10.9 million negative net impact of dealer deconsolidations, sales declined about 1.5% versus the prior-year quarter. Normalized operating in-come was $44 million (5.4% of sales) compared with our $48 million (5.9% operating margin) estimate, a $0.02 miss versus our model. North American sales fell 9% year-over-year to $430.7 million against a difficult +11.4% prior-year hurdle with about half of the decline attributed to dealer deconsolidations. International sales grew 29.1% year-over-year to $252.8 million, $27.6 million above our estimate. Other segment sales fell 5.2% to $132.2 million, essentially in-line with our estimate, though the segment posted a small operating loss. Steelcase guided F2Q09 sales to the range of $850 million to $883 million (+3-7%) with adjusted EPS of $0.20 to $0.25.

We also reaffirm the Underperform rating on HNI Corp., as the company faces headwinds in addition to slowing contract office furniture demand. The supplies-driven channel, which caters to small businesses through big-box retailers and catalog dealers, and for which HNI is the only public issue with signifi-cant exposure, typically leads in and out of business slowdowns. This cycle appears no different. Further, HNI’s hearth sales continue to be pressured by flagging home building, and sales in this segment lag new home construction by nine to twelve months. Given the pending slowdown in the contract segment, we worry that the last piece of HNI’s business will begin to falter. HNI’s valuation of ~12x our NTM EPS estimate of $1.46 is the highest among the peer group. HNI reports 2Q EPS Thursday, July 17, before the market open. Our published EPS estimate is $0.26, versus the $0.22 consensus.

Business Affairs

Knoll, Inc, will release its second quarter 2008 results on Thursday, July 17, prior to the opening of the market, with a conference call and webcast discussing its results and busi-ness outlook scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time the same day. The conference call can be accessed by dialing 800 561-2718 (North America) or 617 614-3525 (International); Passcode 50318782. As it will include slides, participants are encouraged to listen to and view the presentation via webcast at http://www.knoll.com (go to About Knoll and click on Investor Relations). An archived replay of the webcast will also be avail-able online soon after the call. In addition, an audio replay of the conference call can be accessed through July 24 by dialing 888 286-8010 (North America) or 617 801-6888 (International); Passcode 44509002. Investors with questions may contact Barry L. McCabe, Executive Vice President and Chief Finan-cial Officer at 215 679-1301 or email [email protected].

Technology

Adobe Systems Inc. last month released its new Acrobat 9 software, described as “a significant upgrade that will transform the process of creating and sharing electronic documents,” and on July 2 the company announced the launch of Acrobat.com, a suite of online services that incorporate communication, pro-ductivity, and collaboration tools within a web browser. Through Acrobat.com, Acrobat 9 users can access their own “personal workspace in the clouds” for web conferencing, file sharing. and a wide range of other collaborative functions. For more information, see the company’s website -- www.adobe.com -- and also check out this review at eWeek: http://etech.eweek.com/content/enterprise_applications/acrobat_9_the_webdesk-top_hybrid_for_documents.html?kc=EWKNLNAVFEA1

ON24, Inc., a global leader in webcasting and virtual events solutions, launched its ON24 Virtual Show, a flexible solution that provides organizations a virtual venue for trade shows, job fairs, conferences and training summits: http://www.on24.com/2008/06/on24_announces_virtual_show.html A recent Forbes.com article featuring ON24 as well as web-based conferencing technology companies Polycom and Webex (acquired by Cisco) discusses the growing trend of replacing business trips with videoconferencing: http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/06/26/mitra-business-travel-tech-enter-cx_sm_0627mitra.html

officeinsightTM 7.7.08 Supp. 3 of 3


Industry Stock Prices7.4.08 12.28.07 9.28.07 6.29.07 3.30.07 12.29.06 9.29.06 %frYrHi

%fr50-DayMA

ChromC 3.1 4.9 4.7 7.5 9.6 8.59 9.9 -59.1% -16.0%

CompX 5.7 14.8 19.6 18.5 16.1 20.16 15.6 -73.2% -2.6%

HMiller 24.9 28.8 27.1 31.6 33.5 36.36 34.2 -26.6% 1.8%

HNI 17.4 35.7 36 41 45.9 44.41 41.6 -61.5% -19.3%

Inscape 3.5 3.5 3.7 3.5 4.2 2.95 3.4 -22.2% -6.3%

Interface 11.3 17.5 18.1 18.9 16 14.22 12.9 -45.1% -15.9%

Kimball 8.3 14 11.4 14 19.3 24.3 19.3 -45.9% -14.2%

Knoll 12.8 16.6 17.7 22.4 23.8 22 20.2 -45.8% -5.6%

Leggett 14.7 18.7 19.2 22.1 22.7 23.9 25 -35.7% -18.3%

Mohawk 62.4 75.5 81.3 100.8 82.1 74.86 74.5 -39.9% -12.0%

OffDepot 10.8 14.4 20.6 30.3 35.1 38.17 39.7 -65.2% -12.6%

Staples 23.3 22.6 21.5 23.7 25.8 26.7 24.3 -9.7% -2.4%

Steelcase 9.8 15.3 18 18.5 19.9 18.16 15.7 -49.1% -16.5%

20-20 Tech 4.3 6.4 6.6 7.1 6.8 5.91 5.8 N/A% N/A%

UntdStat 37.5 47.4 55.5 66.6 59.9 46.69 46.5 -47.1% -7.5%

USG 26.9 36.6 37.6 49 46.7 54.8 47 -46.3% -18.9%

Virco 4.6 5.9 7.8 - 6.8 7.8 4.9 -66.6% -3.6%

SUM 281.3 378.6 406.4 475.5 474.2 469.98 440.5 - -

DJIndust 11,288 13,339 13,895 13,408 12,354 12,463 11,679 - -

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