By Holly Richmond
Photography by Nick Merrick/Hedrich Blessing

Since 2004, Haworth has been on a mission: all new showrooms, from Toronto to Atlanta, Los Angeles and beyond, are to be certified or registered LEED Gold. Its latest endeavor, a Washington, D.C., showroom, once again created by the innovative team behind Chicago-based Perkins+Will | Eva Maddox Branded Environments, is above and beyond "mission accomplished." Franco Bianchi, Haworth's president and CEO, states, "We create spaces that reflect who we are today. That, of course, includes our products, but more importantly our dedication to sustainable design practices and integrated environments. We want to show it, not sell it."

The 20,000-sq.-ft. D.C. showroom occupies the second floor of the widely known historic Hecht Company department store. The location was intentionally chosen for its accessible urban environment within a bustling retail and entertainment district. By combining product showcase, sales office, and conference facility functions, the space is a leading example of sustainability. Driven by the new Haworth brand platform—Adaptable Workspace, Designed Performance, and Global Perspective—the showroom not only reflects this position, but also specifically caters to the Washington, D.C., A&D design sensibilities, as well as to the local legal, financial, and government client community. "LEED certification is a tool that inspires us to go where we may not have gone, and I feel privileged to relate Haworth's socially responsible message," says principal-in-charge Eva Maddox.

The showroom is divided into collaborative zones that present various understated, yet sophisticated Class A palettes including Haworth’s GREENGUARD certified products, Forest Stewardship Certified Wood, and products containing post-industrial/post-consumer content. Bright accent colors, namely Haworth's branded red, were utilized in the showroom's environmental graphics and digital media, while divider elements feature punched aluminum graphic patterns based on topics of sustainability, manufacturing, and global leverage. Maddox notes that one of the project's biggest challenges was low ceiling height and finding a way to leverage the space for abundant light. Her team developed fenestration that manipulates the natural light for greater levels of daylight harvesting. "We managed to get daylight to even the deepest interior spaces so everyone has views and ample natural light, while the wall systems play up the space's volume," she says.

Maddox's favorite area is the Library zone, an ideal respite for visitors and staff, through Haworth's "True Fluid" philosophy, which incorporates the "re-use, re-wire, re-task" approach, but each zone is easily reconfigurable and adaptable for a wide range of users. Other green features include low-energy, high-quality HVAC equipment delivered through an efficient raised floor system capable of individual control at each workstation, plug-and-play access for reduced energy, the use of recycled and rapidly renewable materials such as wheat board substrate, and a housekeeping plan that contributes to waste reduction and improved indoor air quality.

Each new Haworth showroom is an opportunity to demonstrate the company's environmentally responsible ideas of "work" and "restore," and the D.C. showroom does this with a dynamic sense of openness and originality. "It has a certain level of sophistication that is ideal for the D.C. market, yet it isn't at all extravagant," says Bianchi. "Eva Maddox and her team struck a great balance between classy traditionalism and modern innovation, which has been embraced by the community and is a testament to the space's flexibility."

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