Kimball's showroom in Jasper, Ind., is one of three recent projects involving collaboration with Chicago-based firm TVS Interiors.

   IAMC member companies Nike and Kimball International both have recently celebrated Gold-level Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) ratings from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for facilities in their portfolios.
   Office furniture and durable electronics manufacturer Kimball International hit the wires first in December 2005 when its completely renovated 35,500-sq.-ft. (3,298-sq.-m.) flagship showroom in the company's hometown of Jasper, Ind., received the LEED-CI Gold certification for commercial interiors.
   "In the office furniture industry this is particularly important because it provides measurable guidelines for addressing clients' requests for sustainable products and office-place solutions," read a company release.
   Partnering with Kimball on the design of the facility was TVS Interiors of Chicago and Atlanta. TVS also has worked with Kimball on sustainable design projects in New York and Chicago. The 9,900-sq.-ft. (920-sq.-m.) Chicago showroom, completed in June 2005, received a LEED-CI Silver certification. The 12,000-sq.-ft. (1,115-sq.-m.) New York showroom is projected to be completed by late summer 2006.
   "Kimball is the first company in Indiana to win LEED-CI certification," said Carlie Bullock-Jones, sustainable design team leader for TVS and member of the USGBC's Core Committee for the LEED-CI program. "It is such a pleasure to work with a company so solid in their commitment to sustainability."
   "Concern for our environment and 'leading by example' in the promotion of environmentally responsible business practices is central to Kimball's corporate philosophy," said Dan Miller, Kimball International executive vice president, and president, furniture.
   In addition to featuring the company's office, national and hospitality brands, the showroom highlights the company's history. Sustainability measures included natural light, "monitoring of thermal comfort," minimization of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in materials, low-flow plumbing, the use of local, recycled and rapidly renewable materials and of course use of the company's own GREENGUARD-certified furniture. The company also recycled 96.5 percent of the project's waste materials, donated many elements of the former interior to area institutions and reused others.
   Dean Vonderheide, vice president safety, environment & facilities; and Chris Whann, facilities operations manager, are IAMC members from Kimball.

Nike's Ken Griffey, Jr. Building, originally completed in 1999, netted LEED Gold honors, but is just a part of a campus aiming to do the same.

CERTIFIABLE: IAMC member Jim Petsche, Nike's director of corporate facilities, says, "I'm known for jumping up and down on someone's desk if I need to in order to get things done." No word from the USGBC on how many LEED points Nike is docked for the energy expenditure.

   In Nike's hometown of Beaverton, Ore., the company in February celebrated a Gold rating in the LEED Existing Buildings category. The Ken Griffey, Jr. Building received Oregon's first LEED-EB Gold Rating, one of only 13 buildings worldwide to achieve the same standard. The ceremony honoring the facility took place as the USGBC held its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and Green Building Conference at the Tiger Woods Center on the Nike World Headquarters campus.
   The LEED-EB (for Existing Buildings) criteria cover building operations and systems upgrades in existing buildings where the majority of interior and exterior surfaces remain unchanged.
   "We are excited to celebrate the LEED-EB Gold rating for the Ken Griffey, Jr., building," said IAMC member Jim Petsche, Nike's director of corporate facilities. "We also recognize that today is about more than just one building, it's about our overall commitment from the beginning of campus construction to site buildings and design them in a way that would make them as energy-efficient and sustainable as they were functional and aesthetically striking."
   Completed in 1999, the Ken Griffey, Jr. building received its LEED-EB Gold Rating for a wide variety of environmentally friendly practices such as energy conservation; use of renewable energy; sound landscape practices; aggressive recycling programs; and alternative transportation opportunities.
   Many of these practices have been incorporated into Nike's 176-acre (71.2-hectare) world headquarters campus and other facilities worldwide. Nike is working with the USGBC to develop a LEED-Portfolio pilot program that would certify multiple-building settings.
   Among the outdoor environmental attributes of the world headquarters are buildings in open areas and the Bo Jackson "Field Turf" soccer field and Michael Johnson Track, both of which utilize surfaces made from recycled shoes.