April 22, 2016

Perkins says its new office is toxin-free

Photo courtesy of YE-H Photography [enlarge]

Perkins+Will has moved its Seattle office to Rainier Tower at 1301 Fifth Ave., and said the new space is designed to be toxin-free.

The architecture firm leases 16,500 square feet on floor 23, as well as 1,400 square feet on floor 12 for a model shop and resource library.

The office has 120 architects, interior designers and planners. The firm said it is growing and needed more space.

There is a kitchen, lounge/gathering space, wellness room, whiteboard gallery and collaboration spaces. Staff members work at automated standing desks.

The firm's Vancouver and Seattle offices collaborated on the design, and Seattle did construction administration.

Other firms on the team are Turner Construction Co, general contractor; American Mechanical Corp., plumbing; Evergreen Power Systems, electrical; Stantec, lighting consultant; and MacDonald-Miller Facility Solutions, mechanical.

Perkins+Will said in a press release that the space was designed to avoid the 25 chemicals on a Precautionary List the firm introduced in 2009 to identify substances that are potentially harmful to human health and/or the environment.

The federal government doesn't regulate toxic chemicals in building products, so Perkins+Will had to find non-toxic offerings, and work with manufacturers to vet the ingredients against its list.

Ultimately, 32 of the 34 finishes and products evaluated — everything from tile carpeting to wood acoustic panels — adhered to the list standard, Perkins+Will said.

In 2009, the firm started to research toxins and carcinogens commonly found in building materials. Two years later, it launched a free website called Transparency, a database about building materials.

Perkins+Will is an interdisciplinary architecture and design firm with 23 offices.

The Seattle office is working on Swedish Medical Center's First Hill Campus, and high-rise mixed-use projects.

Owen Rice and Michael Dash from CBRE represented Perkins+Will and the landlord in the lease negotiations.