Green Buildings and Green Furniture

The Riverhouse is a new 31 story, 264-unit condominium complex at One Rockefeller Park that beckons new owners with gorgeous views of New York City’s Rockefeller Park and the Hudson River. It has acquired LEED Gold status. Not long ago, Knú was offered the opportunity to furnish a model home office in the new Riverhouse tower. We leaped at the chance to be involved and work in cooperation with Vivavi Sustainable Furniture, a retailer of fine eco-friendly furnishings in Brooklyn.

After all, LEED certified buildings should be filled with sustainably manufactured, eco-friendly furniture.

LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, establishes solid benchmarks for green buildings in terms of water and energy use, materials selection and indoor air quality. We are proud to play a part in this project and recognize that the development and construction of new LEED certified buildings - and the renovation of existing buildings to meet LEED requirements - will have dramatic effects with the potential to significantly reduce the impacts of climate change.

Riverhouse’s large rooftop photovoltaic array, geothermal heating and cooling, responsibly harvested wood products, water saving fixtures, micro wind turbines and storm water runoff captured for use on the green roof gardens are just a few of the features that have qualified it for one of the highest LEED ratings in New York. There are only 3 other existing Gold-rated buildings in the city.

Here in Michigan, there are currently 37 LEED certified buildings and the majority of those are right in our backyard in West Michigan. Nine of these buildings have achieved Gold status and seven are LEED Silver status. The new Grand Rapids Art Museum, shown here, is the world's first LEED Gold-certified museum.

But West Michigan not only leads the way in LEED construction, but also in sustainably manufactured office and home furnishings.

Everyone knows that Grand Rapids is the “furniture city.” Over a century of furniture manufacturing in Grand Rapids and its suburbs has created an abundant wealth of craftsmanship and design skill. But a new vision of the furniture industry is evolving here right now, and many local furniture manufacturers are taking advantage of the available skills to create eco-friendly products that are built to last without using toxic chemicals, without creating indoor air pollution and without destroying forests.

Knú and the growing number of forward thinking furniture manufacturers in West Michigan are leading the way toward a brighter, more sustainable future for the home and office furnishings industry. It only takes a quick Google search for “sustainable furniture” to see the surprising number of companies that are stepping forward to create better living and working environments.

Can your choice of furniture save the planet? Maybe not, but you can significantly reduce your exposure to dangerous chemicals, reduce your impact on forests, and surround yourself with new styles and textures by choosing green furnishings that are built to last. And certainly as we build more LEED-certified buildings, we must wisely choose the products that go into them.

The future is clear, green buildings and green furniture will grow together.

UPCOMING EVENT: Knu/IWC CEO speaks at sustainable manufacturing conference

Embracing a Green Future: A Conference for Manufacturers
Date: June 24th and 25th, 2008
Time: 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Location: Grand Valley State University Eberhard Center, Grand Rapids, Michigan

A two-day conference for manufacturers that will teach specific sustainable business practices to achieve triple-bottom-line results.

Knu designer and Industrial Woodworking Corporation CEO, Brad Davis will speak and lead discussions on sustainable product design.

Keynote presentations by:

Brian Walker, President/CEO, Herman Miller, Inc.

Fred Keller, Chairman and CEO, Cascade Engineering

Dan Radomski, Vice President, Industry Services, NextEnergy

Click here to register or learn more about the conference.

UPCOMING EVENT: Knú Exhibiting at the Chicago Green Festival

Show Hours:
Saturday 10AM- 8PM
Sunday 11AM- 6PM

Venue and Address:
Navy Pier
600 E Grand Avenue, Chicago

Celebrating what works, Green Festival showcases more than 350 diverse local and national green businesses displaying and selling eco-friendly, fair trade and sustainable products. Annie's Mac&Cheese, Dr. Bronner's soap, Utne Reader, NOLS will be there, and lots, lots more.

Add to that more than 150 visionary speakers will appear for standing-room-only panel discussions, presentations and main stage speaking events. Look for Amy Goodman at noon on Saturday and Winona LaDuke at noon Sunday, to name just a few.

With more than a dozen speakers covering topics such as permaculture and sustainable architecture, the Green Home Pavilion will be one of the top places to be during the festival. Look for the Knú booth directly in front of the Green Home Pavilion. We'll be the big guys in grey shirts with the funky green Knú logo on them, can't miss us.

Click here to find the Chicago Green Festival speakers list and schedule.

Also at the festival, you'll enjoy great how-to workshops, green films, a fair trade pavilion, yoga and movement classes, kids’ zone, delicious organic beer, wine and cuisine, and live music. Look for the Knú guys in the grey shirts at the organic beer tent as well. We won't be selling anything there, just enjoying the day.

To learn more about the Chicago Green Festival, check out their site at www.greenfestivals.org .

UPCOMING EVENT: Look for Knú Desk 4 at the Armory Show in New York City

Over 50,000 attendees are expected for the Armory Show in New York City this week. Over 150 international galleries will be exhibiting new works during the four day event, which will be held on Pier 94 from March 27th to 30th.

Knu Desk #4 will make an appearance at the The Armory Show courtesy of Josh Dorfman of the Lazy Environmentalist radio show and the Vivavi Sustainable Furniture Showroom in Brooklyn. You'll be able to see Knu Desk #4 in the ARTFORUM Lounge area furnished by Vivavi. ARTFORUM Magazine staff will be using the Knú piece to sign up new subscribers.

The Armory Show -The International Fair of New Art - is the world's leading art fair devoted exclusively to contemporary art. This is the 10th anniversary and this year's exhibition includes many of the most important contemporary dealers showcasing new art from around the world.

New York is home to more collectors, galleries, critics and artists than any other city in the world. During The Armory Show, they are joined by many thousands of their peers from around the globe making New York the true center of the international art world.

The Armory Show is the successor to the Gramercy International Art Fairs that attracted thousands to their New York, Los Angeles and Miami between 1994 and 1998. The Armory Show was first presented in February 1999 at the 69th Regiment Armory, the very site of the now legendary Armory Show of 1913 that introduced modern art to America and for which The Armory Show is named.

Click here to see green furniture designs from last year’s ARTFORUM public lounge on the Lazy Environmentalist blog.


Location, Dates and Times:

Pier 94
Twelfth Avenue at 55th Street
New York City

Opening Hours:
Thursday, March 27 - Saturday, March 29 Noon to 8 pm
Sunday, March 30 Noon to 7 pm

NEW DESIGN: The Knú Chimera Dining Table and Chairs, classy contemporary with polished aluminum legs

We are constantly rethinking and improving our designs here at Knú, and the perfect example of this is the stunning curves of the Knú dining chairs. With remarkably shaped aluminum legs that are polished to a mirror finish, these chairs are comfortable pieces of sculpture that will improve the ambiance of any modern home or office space. Their presence invokes movement and forward momentum, reminding your clients or guests that they are certainly not sitting in any ordinary space, but that they have arrived in a place where class and style speak first. Available on our website at www.getknu.com. Chairs are sold individually.

Click image to enlarge.

The U.S. is Going Green, here are the numbers

It's almost impossible to measure the effects of the green movement in the United States, but various statistics point to a rising environmental consciousness.

40% of respondents to a national poll said they feel they are more environmentally aware this year than in 2006. 81% said green issues are here to stay.

In business, 72 of the country's 100 largest companies issued reports on social and environmental responsibility last year, up from 45 in 2004.

40 million baby boomers – more than half of that generation – buy products they consider to be environmentally friendly.

Estimated sales of organic foods in the United States last year reached $17.8 billion, more than double the figure for 2002.

5,423 new buildings nationwide were registered as green last year, about twice as many as in 2005.

1,909 college campuses, other schools and civic groups participated in Focus the Nation, the first national teach-in about climate change, in January 2008.

798 mayors across the country have signed the Climate Protection Agreement, part of a city-by-city effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In the furniture industry, over 200 manufacturers and retailers have joined the Sustainable Furniture Council in the past two years.

SOURCES: Insight Research Group; Greener World Media; study for AARP conducted by Focalyst; U.S. Department of Agriculture; Focus the Nation; U.S. Conference of Mayors

DESIGN NEWS: Knú Desk #2, a cool contemporary home office desk

Knú Desk #2 is a compact, well-conceived workstation with perfectly-sized storage cubbies; one for envelopes, one with a wire management grommet inside to store your laptop (up to 17"), and two more that can easily hold file folders, paper or CD's. On top is a shelf large enough for a phone, large monitor and a printer!

As with all our products, Knú Desk #2 made of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood whenever possible and is available in six different eco-friendly veneer choices. It is finished with an extremely tough environmentally-friendly catalyzed varnish.



The dimensions are 35" deep x 48" wide x 29" tall. Knú Desk #2 is very easy to assemble, simply pull it out of the box and attach the legs with 16 machine screws and Allen wrench (all included). There are six veneer choices available: ash, cherry, ebony, maple, walnut and wenge; shown here in ash (light) and wenge (dark).



The legs of this desk are tubular steel, powder-coated with an aluminum finish. Each leg has a nickel plated leveler to keep your desk steady.

Also comes with a handy pencil drawer made from black recyclable injection molded plastic and steel ball bearing drawer slides.



Get Yours Now!