The Interface Showroom (Interface Americas, Inc. Tenant Renovation) is a 7,000 square foot commercial interiors project in Atlanta, Georgia. This unique space was a pilot project for the LEED-CI (Commercial Interiors) program and was the first CI project in the United States to receive the prestigious LEED Platinum certification.
The Interface Showroom showcases Interface Americas product line. Interface is a leader in the carpet industry for sustainable manufacturing and products. Interface hired Holder to push the limits on sustainable building approaches. The project was built with an aggressive four month schedule. Despite the aggressive schedule, the LEED pilot Platinum goal, and a tight budget, the team exceeded expectations.
93% of all waste was diverted from landfills by executing a detailed waste recycling program. On a typical project of this size, demolition would have been performed in about 3 days. Because of the LEED construction waste management requirements the construction team had to deconstruct rather than demo existing walls and ceilings. The deconstruction process allowed the construction team to recycle materials such as, drywall, metal, aluminum, paper and wood. The project had approximately 200 metal studs that were re-used for framing. The team reused items such as doors, frames, hardware, and sound batt insulation.
The project showcases many sustainable building materials. The showroom flooring was made from bamboo (Rapidly Renewable Material). Wheat board was used as the substrate for all plastic laminate and veneer millwork. Wheat board is a rapidly renewable material and is an alternative to hardwood and other products that cannot be re-grown or replaced in short period of time. The wood veneer and wood doors on the project were purchased from a responsible managed forest (Forest Stewardship Council). 10% of all the materials on the project were manufactured within a 500 mile radius of the project. 20% of all the materials on the project contain recycled content (examples: steel, glass, drywall, metal studs)
Although a small project in size and budget, the impact of the Interface Showroom is grand in scale. The objectives of the project were exceeded though first class design, construction and collaboration and with its central, urban location the Interface Showroom continues to set the standard for quality LEED Commercial Interior projects.