Relocating Your Commercial Office? Take Your Walls!
When the City of Boulder’s Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) consolidated its five satellite offices into a single, centrally-located 40,000-square-foot main office, the relocation effort presented both challenges and new opportunities. The government agency sought to create an open, engaging and accessible space for its staff and the Boulder community as a whole in a budget- and space-conscious way. As a leader in environmental stewardship, another primary objective was to make the office space as sustainable and environmentally-friendly as possible.
Thanks to a long-lasting Teknion product, creative thinking, and serendipitous timing, Teammates Commercial Interiors presented a unique opportunity to meet OSMP’s objectives.
Teammates’ Off-the-Wall Approach
Teammates was tasked with OSMP’s office challenge in January 2018. In addition to strategic space planning and furnishing 30 private offices, assorted conference rooms, and common areas, Teammates proposed an out-of-the-box solution to repurpose the very pillars of the office structure: its walls.
In 2003, a downtown Denver-based oil and gas firm opted to use Teknion’s Altos line of reconfigurable walls for its brand new 120-office corporate headquarters. At the time, the sleek glass architectural wall structure was a ground-breaker as an innovative alternative to traditional cubicle walls or solid drywall.
“The product was new to the industry at the time and more expensive than drywall then, but it completely fit the bill,” said Michael Berkery, Teammates Commercial Interiors’ president, recounting the project’s scope. “You could move it around easily; the walls go from floor to ceiling with the ability to incorporate magnetic, marker or tack boards — even glass — on them to really be able to tailor your wall to how you work.”
Unlike drywall or cubicle walls, the Altos wall system promoted employee collaboration, enhanced natural office lighting, and presented a flexible, reconfigurable solution to suit the office’s ever-changing needs.
Breaking Down Barriers for the Sake of Sustainability
Despite the walls’ versatility and longevity, the oil and gas firm downsized its office space in 2018, and Teammates was enlisted to remove the 15-year-old reconfigurable walls.
Instead of trashing the walls, however, Teammates presented the City of Boulder with a practical plan to reuse the oil and gas firm’s Teknion Altos wall system in OSMP’s new office, thus meeting the city’s sustainability goals and budget requirements. In addition to saving a durable, well-maintained product from the landfill, the overall expense to reuse the walls was comparable to that of drywall, presenting a huge cost savings for a vastly superior alternative that integrated with the new office’s existing finishes and original design intent.
“We were thrilled to be able to reconfigure architectural walls that could have ended up in the landfill and estimate that reusing the product saved us about $100,000,” said Ben Mayer, the City of Boulder’s Open Space and Mountain Parks Facilities Supervisor. “The architectural walls look great, and the best part is when our lease is up, we can take them with us!”
Like What You See Here?
Are you relocating and need help moving in an environmentally-friendly and sustainable way? Book a tour of our showroom and enjoy a free design consultation to see how.
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