At OEC, we go through a lot of cardboard waste. We are practically swimming in cardboard at the end of each job between the tables, chairs, workstations, and other products we install. As much as we would like to reduce the amount of cardboard used, it serves the important job of getting quality furniture safely from one place to another. While we can’t reduce our cardboard use, we can recycle it.
Keeping Cardboard Out Of The Landfill
To create sustainability as a business model, OEC recently acquired a cardboard compacter to help deal with jobsite waste. The compactor works by compressing cardboard so tight that you get bales weighing 600-900 pounds each. Over the last month alone, we have produced five bales of cardboard totaling 3,000 – 4,500 pounds of recyclable materials. What would have gone to the landfill is now being recycled in a manner that we can easily handle and transport.
Enlisting The Help Of Western Recycling
This decision came to fruition as the OEC leadership team discussed a long-term, sustainable solution to waste. We previously relied on a single individual to take cardboard in small amounts to the recycling plant. While this helped deal with the waste, it was not a long-term solution. That is when we connected with Western Recycling to support our sustainability goals. Since 1979 Western Recycling has diverted over 5 billion pounds of material from Idaho landfills. With locations throughout the Treasure Valley and Eastern Idaho, they recycle approximately 20 million pounds of recyclables per month. They are an excellent partner in our quest for sustainability with an incredible service of picking up the bales and delivering them on our behalf.
Team Buy-In
While sustainability is a great goal, it is only achievable through intentionality. It takes our team longer to process the cardboard now than to throw it into the trash. But as our Director of Operations, Bryan Spencer, says, “The team buy-in has been phenomenal. Everyone stands behind it. Once you tell someone that over the course of a year, you will keep 36,000 pounds of cardboard out of the landfill, it is an easy initiative to get behind.”
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The Treasure Valley housing market is growing like crazy, and land master-planned community developer M3 Companies is doing its best to help keep up with demand. Founded in Arizona and based out of Phoenix, M3 has recently focused its time and energy on Idaho. “Boise is like Phoenix 20 years ago when Phoenix was growing really fast,” says M3 Companies Executive Director of Finance, Tom Cervino. As red tape and prices increased on land in Arizona, the company began to focus its energy on the Treasure Valley. With land readily available and infrastructure already supporting it, all M3 had to do was negotiate with the farmers.
Collaboration Space
Communities & Builders
Now M3 Companies is responsible for developing local communities, including RedHawk Ridge in Nampa, SpurWing Heights in Meridian, Valor in Kuna, Riverstone in Star, and Boulder Point in the East Boise Foothills to name a few. Many of these communities include amenities like pools, clubhouses, and excellent golf courses. With so many projects going on at once, working closely with local builders is essential. The builders will often choose a specific number of lots they want to buy. Once all the interested builders have chosen their lots M3 sells the lots through a lottery system to keep the process fair.
The New Office
M3 can manage their properties with a much smaller team by selling to the builders rather than the end customer. When the company first started developing land in Idaho, most of the staff lived in Arizona. Now things have shifted, with Boise becoming the hub while a few stragglers remain in Arizona. To accommodate the growth, M3 has moved into a larger office. Now they have private offices, a central collaborative space, and a conference room where they can have their lottery meetings with builders. It was also important that their new space is along the Boise Greenbelt. “When the bosses come into town, they usually stay in a condo nearby and like to ride their bikes along the Greenbelt. It is also a really convenient location for meeting with builders, engineers, designers, and those flying in.”
Conference Room
Staying Mobile
As a land developer, it is essential to stay mobile. While many industries shut down for the pandemic, the housing market continued full steam ahead, so the staff needed workstations that could support their needs in both the office and the field. “With our new desks we can plug our laptops or taking them home with us. We have also been putting our height-adjustable desks to good use by standing more. Other than the conference room, the desks are my favorite things in the office.”
Growth
With a new office and great communities underway throughout the valley, M3 Companies is determined to keep growing. They plan to follow the same model they started in Arizona, stay on the edges of growth and build there. Together with local builders, they will continue to develop quality communities where people are excited to live.
Sustainability is one of Lombard Conrad Architect’s (LCA) five tenants. How they achieve sustainability comes in a few different forms that fall into three categories. Efficiency, Resiliency, and the Health and Safety of occupants. Each project begins with a discussion between LCA and the client to discover the client’s sustainability goals. While only a few can achieve LEED certification, others can still find ways to improve their building’s sustainability. LCA starts by looking at how the building will operate as a unit rather than individual parts. Part of that includes bringing in experts who know the goals and requirements of the project.
“It is important to get as many opinions as possible. There will always be more issues than one person, or our design team can consider. When you have a project team where everyone cares, is invested, and is excited about bringing their opportunities to the table, you can check those boxes exponentially faster.”- Ryker Belnap, Architect
Ryker Belnap | Lombard Conrad Architect
Efficiency
LCA often utilizeds the U of I’s Integrated Design Lab (IDL). LCA will send an initial floor plan concept to IDL, who will then run a year-long location and weather simulations on the building. That gives IDL a baseline number of how the building will perform. Then, LCA can try rotating the structure, shifting the windows to the south side, adding shade, etc. to improve that baseline efficiency number. The goal is to balance the initial investment cost with long-term payback.
Resiliency
With an efficient design in place, the next step is sourcing materials for a resilient building. LCA looks for high-performance and innovative materials that are sourced locally and will stretch the lifespan of the building. After considering the mantra, “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,” LCA chose to “Reduce and Reuse” within their new office by moving into an existing building. Reusing a building is perhaps the most sustainable choice they could have made. Then they reduced the amount of material used to define and isolate rooms by creating a much more minimalistic and flexible environment including movable walls and easily reconfigurable furniture systems.
Health & Safety
The final part of sustainability is providing for human comfort. This encompasses everything from finding the perfect temperature for productivity, creating green spaces within an office, sourcing non-toxic materials, and providing natural views. Employers want efficient and resilient buildings. They also want healthy employees, and LCA is helping employers create both create sustainable buildings and improve the health of employees.
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TreanorHL has many offices scattered throughout the United States, but their dedication to sustainable practices unites them all. Whether in their own buildings, or their client’s projects, TreanorHL introduces sustainability through WELL building practices focusing on community, mind, and comfort.
Sustainability Through Community
What is the best way to help your team invest in the community? Give them specific days to go out and serve. Every Valentine’s Day and Juneteenth, TreanorHL gives every employee the day to serve a local charity of their choice. TreanorHL has discovered the vital lesson that where your time and money go, your heart follows. So, by getting to know their community, they can design better, more accessible, and sustainable buildings to serve it.
TreanorHL Volunteer at Habitat for Humanity
Sustainability Through Mind
When it comes to sustainability, “mind” can represent a couple of different things. First, it means the ability to think through problems during design. A recent example of this was the Jasper County Courthouse in Joplin, MO, where TreanorHL conducted a life cycle cost analysis on a geothermal heating and cooling system to discover if the system made economic and long-term sense in the building. The analysis considered all the costs and surmised that while it would cost more, the system would pay for itself in 10-12 years, have minimal maintenance costs, and have a longer life span.
Mind also represents the importance of providing spaces that consider the mental health of occupants to reduce stress, encourage productivity, and contribute socially. Some examples of this include providing restorative spaces easily accessible throughout a building that lend well to social activity, offering great views of nature, and optimizing daylighting. These spaces help keep people connected to nature and one another.
TreanorHL Volunteer
Sustainability Through Comfort
The final piece of sustainability has to do with comfort, specifically how spaces contribute to the users’ overall happiness and mental health. TreanorHL is currently working on these principles by designing for thermal comfort with optimized passive solar heating with a double glass façade. They are also creating open work environments with controlled acoustics, wood timber structures to create warmer, more visually comfortable spaces, and exposing the majority of spaces to daylight to assist the body’s circadian rhythm.
By following WELL practices, TreanorHL designs longer-lasting buildings where occupants can thrive.
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How do you turn a city dump into a place that positively impacts the lives of millions of people and animals? You turn it into the Idaho Department of Fish & Game headquarters. In 1960, the first Idaho Fish & Game building was built to help preserve, protect, perpetuate, and manage wildlife resources in Idaho. Today a brand-new building sets in its predecessor’s place, continuing that mission.
Workstations
The Idaho Fish & Game Mission
Since 2008 there has been conversation around rebuilding the outdated Fish & Game Building. While it had served its purpose for many years, the Department quickly outgrew the building and needed more space. It wasn’t until 2019 that the Foundation issued tax-exempt bonds for the building so construction could begin in September of 2020. The project was not only completed early, but it also came in under budget. Overseeing the successful project was Hilarie Engle, the Executive Director of the Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation that partners with the department to protect, preserve, perpetuate and manage Idaho’s wildlife resources. Along with overseeing the foundation’s activities, Hilarie acts as the project manager for constructing new buildings. Thanks to her efforts, the new building houses 170 department staff members once to the four winds. “This building is huge for Fish & Game. It brings all the bureaus back together again (some of which were separated for 25 years), and the collaboration from meeting one-on-one is so different than having to do a zoom call or phone call. Seeing everybody come together is one of the coolest parts of this project.”
Lobby
The New Building
Not only is the building bringing everyone together, it is also beautiful. Between the colors, animal mounts, and murals, it is a highly welcoming and energizing environment. “I see employees walk into the building, and they are excited about it. They tell me how they love walking into the building knowing they get to come work here.” Some spaces the employees especially enjoy are the breakrooms. Coworkers will join each other in the break rooms whereas they used to eat alone at their desks. Others utilize the nearby greenbelt or visit the MK nature center when they need a break and some fresh air before returning to store their items in the bike room or take a shower. Another space making a difference is the large auditorium that the commission uses to formally hold its meetings.
Documentation Room
Working With OEC
With so many different bureaus under one roof, each floor looks a little different. Some are workstation heavy while others enjoy private offices with great views over Municipal Park. Helping with the furniture installation, move, and animal mounts were the OEC team. With three floors to fill, it was a big project. “OEC’s design and install team really shined on this project. They were phenomenal. They worked their tails off and were wonderful to work with. Wendy (OEC designer) showed me things I never would have thought about, and the install team met every single deadline. It was unbelievable everything that they moved, and they were honest about their timelines and really pleasant to work with.”
With everyone in and loving the new building, the department is excited to continue working toward its mission of preserving species so that everyone can enjoy them.
The other day my wife had a hard day at work. When she got home, she announced, “We aren’t making dinner tonight, we are going out”. We quickly rounded up the kids and headed over to Costa Vida, our favorite “go to” restaurant around the corner. While in line we caught up on the day with the kids. The kids told stories of what is happening in school, and my wife and I shared what was happening in our lives at work. We laughed, joked, listened to one another, it was a very normal family dinner conversation for us. During the family catch up, an older gentleman behind us in line leaned in and asked if he could share something. After a slight hesitation I said sure, and to go ahead. He told us he lived in Eastern Idaho and was a District Court Magistrate Judge. He told us what was happening in our family waiting in line—laughing, sharing, listening—was a joy to hear. He said he oftentimes hears family and marriage-related cases that involve all kinds of unimaginable vitriol, violence, and unkindness. He admonished our teens how lucky they were to have parents who liked each other and were kind and friendly. We enjoyed conversing with him in line and when we got to the register he insisted on buying our family dinner. As I have reflected on this experience during the past week a few things have come to my mind I was hoping to share. 1) Be nice to each other—especially your family. 2) Have fun and laugh, it’s contagious and can uplift others. 3) Be sure to take time to get out of the house and the office and connect with others—it’s an important part of the human experience we are all sharing.
Scott Galloway
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Work looks different than it did a few years ago when employees were practically nailed to their desks at the office. That is not the case anymore. Today we are experiencing a radical change in how we work, and it all has to do with flexibility. Woven tightly into the fabric of this newfound flexibility is technology. Our ability to incorporate technology into our private and professional lives has given us incredible freedom. Lets dive into some of the ways Pivot North Architecture is doing just that.
Allison Furlan Senior Interior Designer Pivot North Architecture
Communal Spaces
Senior Designer at Pivot North Architecture, Allison Furlan, has seen many changes in how her firm designs multifamily, condos, and apartment buildings, and a lot of it revolves around technology.
“With more remote workers and “digital nomads” than ever, creating co-working or communal spaces in residential buildings has increased.”
Allison Furlan
They are even starting to design built-in desks in individual units. However, no co-working environment is complete without plugins. “We are seeing a lot more outlets in general and convenience outlets. They are no longer your standard duplex outlets; they have USB ports and more.” There is also an increase in outlets floating on the floor and built into furniture because people plug in multiple devices to work.
Wi-Fi & Smart Systems
Fiber high-speed internet is making its way into these buildings to support all the devices. However, laptops and phones are not the only devices coming online. Wi-Fi-enabled appliances and security systems are also new to these buildings. “We are seeing a trend toward controlling your fridge, lights, even door access with your phone. We are trying to predict and then design for what life is going to look like in five or ten years.”
Mailrooms, Lockers, Fitness & Parking
Other notable changes to these buildings include requests for larger mailrooms. People are ordering so many items online that there isn’t enough room to receive everything. New offerings like Amazon and Tide lockers are becoming sought-after amenities where residents can pick up all their packages and even their freshly dry-cleaned clothes without stepping a foot outside. Expanded fitness centers with on-demand services, bike parking, and Evie charging stations for electric cars are growing in popularity. “I feel like there has been a shift with technology and sustainability, and it is good to see developers using these efficient products even though they are more expensive upfront.”
Trends In Space
Many organizations are experiencing a hybrid model in their offices, while others are learning they no longer need to occupy a physical workspace to be successful. This new trend is something that Office Evolution has seen coming for years. Lets hear what they have to say about these unique workspaces.
Melissa Brodt Business Center Manager Office Evolution
Office Memberships
Three-year-old Office Evolution in downtown Boise knows something about flexibility as well. The company lives and breathes creating exceptional office spaces for hybrid or small business clients. Startups that don’t want to sign a long-term lease in a building or companies with hybrid or remote employees can get a membership with Office Evolution (OE). Companies can get customizable spaces, access to co-working spaces, conference rooms, and more through the different membership options. The key to the membership is flexibility.
Wi-Fi & Power
Creating an office for a flexible workplace is not easy without great technology. That is why OE started by getting one gigabyte of symmetric Wi-F to make their connection nothing but fast.
Privacy, Ergonomics, & Large Gathering Spaces
Another highly used item in their space is a soundproof phone booth. In a co-working business lounge, members get Another highly used item in their space is a soundproof phone booth. In a co-working business lounge, members get important calls, but they don’t have a confidential space to talk. With the soundproof booth, clients have the privacy they need when they need it. That space is now being used not only for calls but also for virtual meetings. Additionally, with a new workspace center coming soon in Eagle, OE will be incorporating larger gathering spaces, micro-offices, and dedicated workspaces into the floorplan. By adding these high demand spaces into the Eagle location, it will allow OE to serve remote workers, business owners on a budget, and the growing need for individual workspaces and ever-changing needs for teams and companies looking for ways to collaborate and work more effectively.
Staying Flexible
As Boise grows, startups are popping up, big businesses are moving into town, employees are traveling, and companies are hiring for remote positions. Each of these clients can utilize a flexible office environment. One place Business Center Manager, Mellissa Brodt, has seen a particular need for flexibility is in remote work.
“I’ve seen employers hiring remote positions more frequently, and while the job is great, people are finding out that the home doesn’t suit their needs. Here, a company can secure a space for a team gathering, away from home client meeting, or remote employee.”
Melissa Brodt
No matter the company’s situation, the most important thing for them to do is remain flexible. That will allow them to meet the needs of their employees and grow where they need to go.
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Boise Hunter Homes is dedicated to building quality homes in fantastic communities, and its new office in Eagle is helping them do it. Founded in 2007 by Jim and Jan Hunter, Boise Hunter Homes (BHH) started as a custom home builder with a handful of employees and has grown into a large-scale land developer and community builder. Today the Hunters are joined by their two sons, Travis and Cody, and have around sixty employees. BHH has experienced substantial growth over the last two years. With the effects of Covid encouraging people to move to Idaho, BHH has grown to keep up with demand.
All Under One Roof
The new office is the fourth location BHH has had in the Eagle River Development. At one point, the company had space in three different buildings, which made coordinating schedules a logistical nightmare. While many businesses chose to vacate the office at the onset of Covid, BHH doubled down and decided to get an even bigger office. The collaborative nature of their work made it essential for them to get everyone under the same roof. Rather than build, they jumped on the chance to purchase their new building when it came up for sale. Things got even better when they found out OEC did the previous TI and could help reconfigure the space so that everyone got a great office. “Michelle (OEC Workplace Consultant) understood our vision and helped us execute it. From the design and TI’s to the furnishings, it was a one-stop-shop.” -Travis Hunter.
An Open Atmosphere
The two-story building is designed circularly, with offices rimming the exterior walls. By using Steelcase privacy walls, the offices remain private while also allowing light into the core of the building.
“Being in the space boosts your energy, it is a lot lighter and brighter, and the Steelcase system creates an open atmosphere rather than people hiding in their offices. Seeing people’s faces is a big part of our culture. So much of what we do is face-to-face with employees and outside consultants. The whole environment is very welcoming, and our staff loves it.”
Randi Meredith: BHH CFO
Steelcase Series 2 Chairs & Steelcase Groupwork Table
Cradle To Grave Development
It is important that the staff loves the space because they have a lot of work to do in it. Developing communities involves taking a project from the cradle to the grave. BHH buys land, entitles it, develops and designs communities, then offers several different house plans to build. What they offer their customers is an all-inclusive financing option. Rather than buying the land then separately financing the build, BHH’s customers put down earnest money on a lot and close on the finished home with a conventional loan. Not only is this easier for customers, but when they give their earnest money, the price of their home project is locked-in regardless of price increases.
Delivering On Lifestyle
However, BHH recommends itself in other ways too. “We want to build fantastic communities that provide the lifestyle people are looking for. They are not just buying a home; they are buying into a community. We pride ourselves in our amenities like organic produce, walking trails, pools, basketball courts, and more. The amenities are a driving reason why people live here. We want to deliver communities with the exact lifestyle people are looking for and houses that meet all of their wants and needs.” -Travis Hunter.
Working With Cities
Creating these fantastic communities requires working well with different cities and municipalities.
“One of the best parts of our job is working with cities. It is really fun to be a part of helping the town grow in a positive way. We aren’t a national or even regional company. We live and breathe the treasure valley, have planted our roots here, love helping the town grow in the right way.”
Travis Hunter
Left to Right: Travis Hunter, Jim Hunter, Cody Hunter
Working With Family
It is no wonder that BHH focuses on creating great communities for families when it is a family-run business. “Working with my family is really fun. We often spend more time with our coworkers than we do with our family, so when you work with family, it helps you invest in those relationships more. We can rely on each other’s strengths and diversify our work.” – Travis Hunter. With great working relationships, a beautiful new office, and plenty of work on the horizon, Boise Hunter Homes is looking forward to growing with the community for decades to come.
Three technology solutions giving power back to employees
In the last couple of years, the way we work has changed dramatically. Now work from home solutions have become center stage. However temperamental some of these leading solutions were, they kept the show going and have become a part of the new way we do business. But the show is changing as employees once again fill their office seats. The new rising stars of Hybrid technology are emerging with the motto “Empower the team, not the tech.” Let’s meet some of these Hybrid stars.
Investing In Virtual Meeting Software
Perhaps the most widely known and favorite of the work-from-home era solutions are software programs. A couple we all love to hate are Zoom and Microsoft Teams. These, and platforms like them, have allowed us to connect with clients, coworkers, family, and friends over the last couple of years when we could not meet in person. Though temperamental, they have been so instrumental in our new work styles that they are now an integral part of how we conduct business in the office and at home. When you can’t make a large company meeting in person, you can jump on Teams. Want a quality connection with a client? Hop on Zoom. From now on, you will see successful offices investing in technology that enable easy access to this software from anywhere, at any time.
Reserving the Spaces You Need
In Hybrid offices, flexibility is a buzzword. It refers not only to the physical space employees inhabit but also their schedules. With employees occupying office space at different times or days of the week, ensuring they have what they need is critical to their productivity. Room and desk reservation systems play an essential role in empowering employees to easily find and reserve a place to work in an office with shared workplaces. An employee coming in for an important meeting can reserve a room to collaborate with team members ahead of time. After the meeting, the employee can reserve a desk for heads-down work rather than going home to a distracting environment. These two reservations systems blend the physical office with digital booking technology to accommodate that all-important flexibility
Power Wherever You Need It
With great power comes great flexibility. Working wherever you want is great until you need to charge a device and there is no outlet in sight. A great solution to this problem is a freestanding power outlet designed to lay nicely underneath the carpet. This simple system provides power to any space – whether in a café or classroom – allowing under-utilized real estate to work harder. With single circuit and dual circuit technology, building owners can distribute power throughout ancillary and conference space. They can even power larger applications. Flexible power systems are making their way into commercial spaces to put the power back into your hands, literally.
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