Office Space News
Finding Green Office Space: New York, Redmond and Bristol
Published November 24th, 2008 by Mike Sullivan
I recently ran across an article about green office space in Bristol, England. I decided to do a search on green executive suites (and other similar terminology) to find environmentally friendly serviced offices in the US. Other than a handful of “Green Bay Executive Suites” – not quite what I was looking for – I couldn’t find many. Thinkspace, an executive suite company who I’ve written about in the past and Green Desk, were the only two that were easily found and clear about their green focus.
Thinkspace has literally thought about green from the ground up. Apparently they demolished the previous building and made sure that process was environmentally friendly by minimizing dust and debris and by recycling most of the materials. They are also pursing a silver LEED certification, and even have plugin stations for electric vehicles. You can read more about Thinkspace’s green office space and their ongoing efforts to improve the environment.
Green Desk is an serviced office suite in the DUMBO area of Brooklyn, New York that opened in May of 2007. While it does not look like they are in a LEED certified building, they have a number of green traits:
- Energy efficient lighting
- Recycled/recyclable furniture
- Solar panels (coming soon)
- Low or no VOC finishes
- Carbon offsets and power from renewable energy sources
It looks like they are continuing to improve with a number of initiatives that are about to launch. Also, according to their website, they are planning on opening more locations in New York, and nationwide. That will be interesting to see how it progresses.
While I didn’t find others in the US, I wanted to cover The Office Group which has several green serviced offices in London and one green office in Bristol. Similar to Green Desk, they are working within the confines of buildings that aren’t always perfect green solutions. They opt to retrofit their buildings where possible and otherwise improve practices everyday. I like what they have to say about their sustainable office spaces — in particular I like this line:
It’s not about paying lip service and just having a recycle bin in reception, we’ve really thought it through and we’ve really invested in it, above and beyond what’s normally expected.
I have spoken with several operators whose vision of a green space is a recycling bin and compact flourescents instead of incandescents. While this is commendable, the effort is typically a thinly veiled effort to garner “green” attention and to have a green section on their website and marketing collateral.
I believe having a holistic approach to office space sustainability is not only the right thing to do for our environment, it can set a executive office suite apart from the crowd and provide another critical way to differentiate one office from another.
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About the Author
Peter Chee November 24th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
One clarification regarding the thinkspace build-out. We are in an existing building that is eight years old. We occupy 25K square feet which is about 60% of the building. We did a LEED-CI build-out. The “CI” stands for Commercial Interiors, which is a LEED retrofit for existing buildings.
Elizabeth Sanchez November 24th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
It seems this article proves that when it comes to serviced offices, it’s not easy being green. It could be possible that the next generation of executive office suites will be built from the ground up with LEED certification. But in many cases these older buildings can only rely on recycling components, digital add-ons and perhaps new HVAC and lighting systems to add a green element. You’re right, though, green is the right thing to do.
Mike Sullivan November 24th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Peter – thanks for the clarification. Also, as an update to this post, I just found another “green” executive suite. It is a company whose other suites are not focused on sustainable building or other green concepts, but they are opening a location at One Penn Plaza in New York City on January 1, 2009 that is sustainably focused. You can learn a little more here: http://www.vornadofurnishedoffices.com/1penn.html.
Amy Woidtke November 24th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Greetings-
I did some of the interior decor at thinkspace and I just want to piggyback some information on being green in your spaces.
It is easier to be green than some would think. Consider what furnishings and supplies your office uses. Using greener principles when it comes to this, as well as the practices of your office function, which Peter Chee addresses at thinkspace, are also very important keys to being greener in the office environment.
Practice recycle, reuse, re-purpose and sustainably made when considering purchases. There are so many options in addition to the way a building is built that it’s hard to mention it all in a condensed form.
These are things I and my team focus on when addressing green interiors. Feel free to contact me with any questions you might have about your office spaces and what you can do.
Thank you all for sharing.
Blessings,
Amy Woidtke
interior spaces therapist/decorator
EcoKind Design
Seattle, WA
Marcus Hester November 25th, 2008 at 10:32 am
Interior design is indeed a key to green office space. It’s not the sole answer, but it certainly adds to a green office design or helps to compensates for an older building’s less than energy-efficient status. Older serviced office buildings may not be able to claim LEED certification, but they can claim green interiors through eco-friendly furnishings. Good point, Amy.
Peter Chee December 1st, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Older serviced office buildings can definitely go after LEED-CI certification. However, it’s always easier to build a new LEED
certified building than to retrofit it in.
Green washing is too prevalent. It’s important to be true to this green concept. Branding space as sustainable without backing it up is quite possibly a good way to tagged as green washed.
Amy did a wonderful job inside our space. If you’re looking for someone who do things on schedule and on budget then I’d highly recommend you talk with Amy at http://www.ecokinddesign.com.