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The Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturer's Association reports office furniture production is forecast to increase 6.3% in 2011, reaching $8.9 billion. Production in 2010 was $8.2 billion. Office furniture consumption in 2010 was $9.8 billion, and consumption in 2011 is predicted to reach $10.8 billion.
The statistics are based on the IHS Global Insight industry forecast model, which is adjusted to focus on the value of the U.S. office furniture market defined by consumption rather than as the historical and traditional shipments, or production. This change was due to the increasing significance of international trade and its impact on the domestic market.
I guess Kermit the Frog was wrong...it's easy to be green after all.
The footprint of commercial projects certified under the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED Green Building Rating System recently surpassed one billion square feet worldwide, and an additional six billion square feet of projects are registered and working toward certification.
“This traction demonstrates the transformation of the way we design, build and operate buildings,” said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair, USGBC. “Not only does green building contribute to saving energy, water and money, it also creates green jobs that will grow and energize our economy.”
Since it was first introduced to the marketplace in 2000, more than 36,000 commercial projects and 38,000 single-family homes have participated in LEED.
No, this isn't the cheap bamboo furniture you remember from your dorm room. This is the good stuff.
Teragren and Vaughan Benz formed a partnership to create bamboo furniture for commercial applications in the hospitality industry.
Vaughan Benz will now offer bamboo cabinetry, tables and seating made with FSC-certified Teragren bamboo panels and veneer to hotels, restaurants and healthcare facilities worldwide. The partnership was announced at Greenbuild 2010, a conference and expo dedicated to "green" building.
“Our customers are increasingly asking us to find manufacturing solutions that are environmentally sustainable, including low-VOC and FSC-certified products. We are proud to partner with Teragren, as their leadership in providing environmentally friendly bamboo products for the woodworking industry is exemplary,” said David Benz, president of Vaughan Benz.
Smith Leonard's November Furniture Insights report showed mixed results for the wood and furniture industries year-to-date in 2010, with hope for improvement by next year.
A survey of residential furniture manufacturers and distributors done by Smith Leonard showed that year-to-date (January - September) shipments were up 8 percent over the same period one year ago. This year's shipment increase is in addition to the 19 percent gain from 2008 to 2009. Shipments were also higher by 6 percent in September 2010 compared with September 2009, which may relate to the arrival of imported products, according to Smith Leonard. Although new orders for September 2010 were down 3 percent from 2009, they rose 6 percent year-to-date in 2010.
According to the National Association of Realtors, existing-home sales declined 2.2 percent from September 2010 to October 2010 and are 25.9 percent below October 2009 levels, when sales surged prior to the initial deadline for the first-time buyer tax credit. Year-to-date, existing-home sales also fell by 2.9 percent to 4.149 million from the 2009 level of 4.272 million. The U.S. Census Bureau News reported a decline in sales of new single-family homes by 8.1 percent from September 2010 to October 2010, a 28.5 percent decrease from October 2009 levels. Although new home sales were down overall in three of the four regions of the country, new home sales were higher by 3.1 percent in the South.
“The housing market is experiencing an uneven recovery, and a temporary foreclosure stoppage in some states is likely to have held back a number of completed sales. Still, sales activity is clearly off the bottom and is attempting to settle into normal sustainable levels,” said Lawrence Yun, National Association of Realtors chief economist. “Based on current and improving job market conditions, and from attractive affordability conditions, sales should steadily improve to healthier levels of above 5 million by spring of next year.”
OFM, an office and school furniture manufacturer and distributor, has released a new in-stock fabric program which can affect office workers’ creativity, productivity and overall mood. The company’s new Elements program has upgraded the upholstery offerings on many of its chairs with new fabrics and vinyls, all of which feature bolder, richer colors and more striking patterns and textures than typical office furniture.“We’ve been taught to think that things like colors and patterns are superficial, but it turns out that they can affect us in profound ways,” says Audrey Barnhill, architect and design sales manager for OFM. “Light and color have long been known to stimulate the brain, which fosters a more creative and productive workplace and overall atmosphere. We can’t say exactly what designs might stimulate individual workers the best, but we believe that by expanding the palette, we can help find what works for them.”
The designs are based in part on recent research which found that a more colorful environment can boost workers moods. OFM’s new collection includes luminescent vinyls that take on a different shade depending on the light and a mix of warm vibrant colors featuring reds, blues and greens, along with designs that exude energy with the movement of the patterns. This includes everything from swirling dots to multi-colored staggered blocks.
“Now that we understand how important color, patterns and texture are, we should do everything we can to expand the range of options,” Barnhill said. “By having a colorful palette varied by the latest styles, we are offering more options to our dealers who in turn can offer more to everyday end users.”
Well, since I know Santa is bringing me a $15,000 life-size gingerbread condo (see previous post) for Christmas, I thought I should add this cool wooden bicycle to my list.
The Collins Companies commissioned Renovo Hardwood Bicycles to build the company an FSC-certified wooden bicycle scheduled to debut at the Greenbuild International Conference in Chicago, Nov. 17-19. The bike is an R4 Pursuit model featuring a stiff, lightweight frame.All of Renovo’s bikes are custom made – adjusting the stiffness and ride quality to the customer’s individual riding style and weight. Renovo is one of the few companies in the world that manufactures wood bicycles and it uses hollow frames to make them.
“We utilized a species combination of CollinsWood from the Collins Pennsylvania Forest including; Black Cherry, Hard Maple, and Birch [for this bike],” said Ken Wheeler, owner, Renovo Hardwood Bicycles.
Collins had the bike commissioned for one of its employees. “Although wood bicycles are still in their infancy, we are constantly exploring new ways to have CollinsWood incorporated into everyday products and we want our customers to explore new uses,” said Cameron Waner, marketing coordinator for The Collins Companies.
