Better World, Design, Healthcare
November 8, 2011
By Angelina Spaniolo
“If we think about architecture as simply beautiful objects,” says Michael Murphy, founding partner of Mass Design Group, “then we fail to talk about the process which creates those objects. It’s labor—the construction of craft—that produces beauty.”
Consider Butaro Hospital in Rwanda, an example of MASS Design’s belief in first-rate healthcare facilities for the third world and investing in the local economy as a means of breaking the cycle of poverty. For Butaro’s wall construction, local Rwandans became the masons: hand-chipping volcanic rock and beautifully shaping each piece so they fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.
Built 100 percent by the community, Butaro’s walls are as much symbolic as they are functional. They testify to a community that labored together, using newly learned skills, to build a hospital for themselves.
Patients benefit from their labors, too, in the design of the hospital. Placing beds in the center, making each bed a window seat creates a positive patient experience. An innovative airflow design minimizes the spread of airborne diseases.
Butaro Hospital is functional, innovative, and beautiful. But, to the community, its best design was the process by which it was created.
Herman Miller is excited about working together with MASS. Learn more here.
Better World, Design
October 24, 2011
By David Foster
The Butaro Hospital in Rwanda, designed and built by MASS Design Group in partnership with Partners in Health.
People around the world have truly become neighbors in a global hometown, and we at Herman Miller support our neighbors wherever they are–locally, globally, and everywhere in between.
It is in this spirit that Herman Miller Healthcare is honored to partner with MASS Design Group. Started by students from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, MASS has, in a very short time, become a leading organization for pushing the boundaries of design and architecture for the purpose of improving the healthcare and lives of people in the world’s poorest communities.
In places like Rwanda, Haiti and Liberia, MASS applies a human-centered approach to design to create innovative, inexpensive, and effective healthcare facilities. The impact of their work has been recognized at home in the U.S, and MASS is now working with healthcare leaders such as Cincinnati Children’s Hospital on their Cerebral Palsy Clinic.
This partnership is long-term, and we are excited about working with MASS to build a better world around you.
Follow MASS Design on Facebook and Twitter.
Better World, What's Up
October 18, 2011
By Randall Braaksma
This guy wasn’t pondering this question back in 1930. (It wasn’t long after that we were.) Today, more people like him are not only thinking about being green, they’re making their living doing green work.
McGraw-Hill Construction says 35 percent of architects, engineers, and contractors report having green jobs today. The study defined “green jobs” as those that involve over 50 percent of one’s work being done on green projects or designing and installing green systems.
That 35 percent represents 661,000 jobs, or about one-third of the industry workforce. And there’s better news. The share of green workers is expected to increase to 45 percent of all design and construction jobs by 2014.
We’re delighted to see these trends. As merchants of virtue, we are committed to being green, even when it isn’t convenient, because in the end we know it’s as good for business as it is for the earth.
Better World
October 13, 2011
By John Kim
Our 1953 promise to “be a good steward of the environment” put Herman Miller on a path toward helping Yellowstone Park. As the first national park, Yellowstone is often referred to as “America’s best idea.” A national treasure, it faces the complex challenge of balancing environmental preservation with public enjoyment.
Addressing this, Yellowstone Park and the Yellowstone Park Foundation recently gathered fellow leaders in environmental advocacy—including Toyota, the University of Michigan, and National Park Service—to beginning thinking how to balance its objectives.
We were honored to join the discussion and help facilitate a session that began mapping a sustainable future in which Yellowstone remains as beautiful as it is today.
Better World, Design, Products, Technology
October 11, 2011
By Angelina Spaniolo
What do a high-speed train and a nanotechnology textile finish have in common? They were inspired by Mother Nature’s 3.8 billion years of research and development. Increasingly, designers and engineers are looking to the systems, process, and models evolved by nature to fuel innovative problem-solving.
The aerodynamic shape of the kingfisher’s beak, for example, lets it catch fish with barely a splash. The same shape allows a Japanese bullet train to move at 200 mph with just a whisper, and 15 percent less energy.
For us, nature inspired Greenshield, a sustainable nanotechnology textile finish that naturally repels oil and water. By mimicking the “micro-roughness” of the lotus leaf—undetectable to the human touch—liquids roll off the surface, never having an opportunity to penetrate. The result is a Herman Miller fabric that is naturally antimicrobial, stain repellent, and easy to clean.
Better World, What's Up
October 4, 2011
By David Foster
We aim to improve the human experience wherever people work, heal, learn, and live. Problem-solving design and “being a good steward” are just two ways we do this. We also set goals for our business and our people, including: environmental advocacy, inclusiveness and diversity, health and well-being, and community service.
Every year we put together our Better World Report so that you can see how well we’re doing at reaching our goals. Here are a couple of highlights:
11,500 volunteer hours spent in the communities where we work around the globe.
437,225 miles saved by employees carpooling and biking to work.
100% green energy usage in our facilities worldwide.
To learn more, see the web version or download the full report.
Better World, Design, What's Up
October 3, 2011
By David Foster
In 1953, Herman Miller founder D.J. De Pree promised, “We will be good stewards of the environment.” That promise drives the design and innovation of our products today.
Setu’s Kinematic Spine, for example, has a not-so-secret secret—polypropylene, the same recyclable material used to make everything from toothbrushes to garbage cans. Making the plastic structure flexible and strong involved creative engineering. The result is a lightweight mechanism that lets Setu mimic your every move.
Visit us at Greenbuild 2011 in Toronto, October 4-6, 2011.
Better World, Design, What's Up
September 27, 2011
By David Foster
“We will be a good steward of the environment,” was the promise made by Herman Miller founder, D.J. De Pree, in 1953. Living up to this sometimes means investing time and money into solving a problem that doesn’t occur until a product is at the end of its life-cycle.
Celle, for example, was put together with taking it apart in mind. With five minutes—and a screwdriver—Celle can be disassembled into recyclable components. Following our own Design for the Environment protocols made that work. And it made an impression: Celle has earned MBDC Cradle-to-Cradle Gold certification.
Visit us at the Greenbuild 2011 in Toronto, October 4-6.
Better World, What's Up
September 13, 2011
By David Foster
We design products with consideration for their environmental impact. Sometimes it’s straightforward—usually it’s not. But that doesn’t matter because we believe it’s the right thing to do. Merchants of Virtue, a new book by independent journalist and writer Bill Birchard, tells the stories of our struggles to be good stewards of the environment.
Why Herman Miller? Bill Birchard in his own words:
“The people of Herman Miller showed something even the activists could not: Sustainability in a large, established business—a company making the ‘stuff’ we all buy—is sustainable. …In good times and bad, the people at Herman Miller continue to ask new questions, test new ideas, and rethink and restructure the nature of the work to make their business more sustainable.”
In a world of corporate-funded literature, we take it as a compliment that someone of Birchard’s reputation would take it upon himself to tell our story.
Merchants of Virtue by Bill Birchard is out now.
Better World, Design
August 17, 2011
By David Foster
In 2009, the United States generated 486 billion pounds of solid waste. What happened to last years “hot” cell phone? Or that plastic water bottle from lunch today? Or the office chair you sat in before the renovation? More likely than not, it was thrown away. But “away” is not some far, far mythical place–it’s a landfill.
Design has long been a tool for developing new products that drive consumption and boost the bottom line–products that will eventually become trash. But recently, companies have begun to recognize design as a tool for solving issues associated with the end of a product’s lifecycle.
Design can make a product’s end-life more sustainable in several ways. The first is to develop products that last longer. Durable products are replaced less frequently and can be refurbished–giving them a second life and postponing their trip to the landfill.
Another approach is to design for disassembly. Products that are easy to take apart are easier to sort into smaller pieces, which encourages a larger percentage of the product to be recycled.
We have developed a set of Design for the Environment protocols that try to accomplish both of these goals. The degree of our success varies, but the lifecycle of our products, from beginning to end, is always on our minds.
Check out Taking It Back, a great article about companies working toward better sustainable goals.
