EthoSource has many options to help you create an office environment that meets your operational, aesthetic and environmental goals. One material finding an increasing use in office furniture is bamboo, a rapidly renewable resource with a short regeneration time that helps ease the deforestation of old growth forests.
Even though it is technically a grass, bamboo can be used to substitute wood which takes much longer to produce and grow. Depending on the species, bamboo can be harvested between 2-7 years of growth while timber can take anywhere from 35-75 years (plus or minus). Bamboo grows in stalks or culms which are hollow. These stalks are cut into strips and laminated together to create either a plywood panel or a vertical grain panel. The vertical grain panel is most common for finished product because it simulates a natural wood grain. Bamboo creates a beautiful aesthetic and has many different color options. In systems furniture, it can be used on exterior or interior tiles, surfaces, and overhead flipper door units. Depending on the style and color you choose, many different “looks” can be created with this unique, sustainble material.
EthoSource has many different materials and refurbishing techniques to help you be earth-friendly. Along with rapidly renewable resources, we can incorporate refurbished and recycled materials as well. Call us to discuss how EthoSource can help you save money and the environment at the same time.
Towards the end of the 1970s the workplace was changing, and there was a need for an office furniture system that could accommodate these changes. With this in mind, Bill Stumpf had a goal to reintroduce the concept of subarchitectural system design, to break up cellular grids and confined, box-like workstations, and to make a better environment based on how work processes, while being realistic about footprint efficiency. In 1984, he met his goal by introducing Ethospace Interiors.
Almost 30 years later, Ethospace continues to meet this goal by being one of the most adaptable systems in the office furniture world. The demands of the work place are evolving like never before, and ethospace is matching the evolution. There are few furniture systems that are able to meet all of these current workplace needs:
Open, collabrative work areas
Private manager’s offices
Large technology offices
Reception stations
Call centers
Fax/printer areas
The frame and tile system that comprises Ethospace is one of the features that makes this system completely customizable and versitile. A wide variety of frame heights and widths make any footprint obtainable; and with a range of tile options, including fabric, glass, acoustic, laminate, tackable, rail, and painted, the choices are endless for aethetic preferences.
Superior quality with limitless flexibility is how Ethospace climbed to the top of the systems furniture category and the reason it will be able to stay on top. Whatever your current or future needs are, Ethospace can meet them.
With the growing environmental issues in the world today, many businesses are seeking sustainable solutions for their companies. Because of this, the USGBC’s LEED certification is becoming increasingly popular. This certification describes the level of sustainability associated with a building. There are four certification levels; certified, silver, gold, and platinum. Recently, EthoSource played a major role in a 900 workstation LEED Platinum project in Southeastern, Pennsylvania.
This newly constructed, four-story, 200,000 sq. ft. building is one of less than 125 buildings in the U.S. to have obtained a platinum level certification. Some of the sustainable features include: a sod roof with native vegetation, rainwater collection, energy efficient building systems, an open plan layout-perfect for daylighting, triple glazed glass walls, and geothermal wells. They also used recycled and locally sourced materials wherever possible. This same "green" approach was required for the purchase and installation of 900 employee workstations. With this in mind, EthoSource was a natural fit.
Through a great deal of creativity, EthoSource was able to present a green solution which included the maximum reutilization of their existing cubicles, the supplementation of additional pre-owned components, the face-lift (applying new fabric) to the existing inventory, and the blending in of new product from the manufacturer. All of these steps were accomplished in a collaborative effort that met the customer’s design standards, budgetary goals, and LEED objectives.
Refurbished office furniture is furniture that has been renovated to look and function like new furniture. It is an environmentally friendly option that provides the same aesthetic options as new but at a significantly reduced price.
Environmental Benefit: Every time 40 cubicles are refurbished, one less truckload goes to the landfill. Refurbishing also saves our raw materials and minimizes energy usage. For instance, every ton of recycled steel saves 2,500 pounds of iron ore, 1,000 pounds of coal, and 40 pounds of limestone. It also saves 4,300 kilowatt-hours of energy. Indoor air quality is another environmental benefit from refurbished office furniture because occupants have significantly less exposure to the volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) that result from the new manufacturing process.
Cost Benefit: When you don’t have to pay for the raw materials, labor, or energy that are needed to make new furniture, the savings are tremendous.
Aesthetic Benefit: Refurbishing uses the underlying structure of the furniture, yet allows for the visual elements of the cubicle to be designed to any specification. Customers choose colors, patterns or styles to fit their workspaces with an endless array of options.
Eco-friendly, aesthetically pleasing and economically advantageous - refurbishing makes for a win-win-win situation.
