We are thrilled to announce that The Sheward Partnership, LLC has achieved our first Living Building Challenge Petal Certification for the Humanscale Chicago Showroom! Humanscale completed construction on a new 4,000 square foot showroom in the Fulton Market neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois in 2024. The showroom is a retail store located at ground level and accessible from the public sidewalk. The space features Humanscale’s product lines, provides a touch down space for their local sales team, and is equipped with state-of-the-art technology to host large educational industry events. The project achieved Living Building Challenge version 4.0 Petal certification including the Materials and Health + Happiness petals. Humanscale leads the industry in Living certifications and the space features over 20+ Humanscale products, including Living products, Red List Free and Red List Approved Declared products, and products tested and determined compliant with CDPH low-VOC testing. In addition, the Chicago Showroom is a recognized Pilot project under Design for Freedom, an awareness program to discuss and disrupt forced and child labor in the modern construction industry.
Continue reading for a closer look at how the project team achieved each Living Building Challenge Petal through thoughtful design, material transparency, and a commitment to sustainability.
Place Petal: I04 Human Scaled Living
The showroom is located in the Fulton Market neighborhood, home to Fulton Market Design Days, an annual event connecting design professionals and showcasing the contract future industry. The intent of the Fulton Market Design Days is to shape a more sustainable, inclusive, and aesthetically rich future. The Humanscale showroom participates in Fulton Market Design Days, welcoming over 10,000 visitors to the space in June of each year, sharing latest product updates and sustainable design advancements.
The project site’s high-density urban location is connected to the surrounding neighborhood and greater Chicago area via pedestrian-friendly sidewalks, bike sharing, and CTA public transportation system. The site achieves a superior Walk Score of 95 (out of 100) and a Bike Score of 96 (out of 100). Humanscale is committed to reducing single occupant vehicle trips and encourages alternative forms of commuting. The base building is equipped with indoor and outdoor bicycle racks, electric vehicle charging stations, and showers. The showroom window displays and graphics enhance the pedestrian experience and serve as public art to activate the streetscape.
Water Petal: I05 Responsible Water Use
The new showroom anticipates 63% savings in potable water use via low-flow plumbing fixtures and ENERGY STAR labeled kitchen appliances. There is no irrigation water used within the project scope. Actual water use is submetered and will be continuously tracked and benchmarked.
Energy Petal: I07 Energy + Carbon Reduction
Humanscale has a long standing commitment to climate change awareness and mitigation. Humanscale published climate targets with the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) and completes annual carbon disclosures via the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). The showroom construction scope included a new concrete floor slab. The concrete mix design was specified with recycled materials and a carbon sequestration additive, resulting in 49% reduction in embodied carbon. The space features over 20 Living Product certified furniture solutions from Humanscale, all of which were manufactured with net positive energy.
The showroom is equipped with energy efficient building systems resulting in 39% energy savings. The heating and cooling system features a high efficiency dedicated outdoor air system (DOAS) coupled with air-based heat pumps and electric duct and base board heaters. Electric-only systems were selected to meet Living Building Challenge requirements and align with Humanscale’s commitment to eliminating carbon emissions from fossil fuel use. Lighting is a major priority for displaying products and LED lighting was carefully designed and selected to reduce electricity in lighting by 20% compared to current energy code. ENERGY STAR kitchen appliances were installed throughout for increased efficiency. Actual energy use is submetered and will be continuously tracked and benchmarked.
Health + Happiness Petal: I09 Healthy Interior Environment
The showroom displays Humanscale’s wide array of ergonomic solutions, including seating, desking, lighting, and ergonomic work tools. Humanscale’s work tools are designed to support our body’s inherent need to move and be active throughout the day. Humanscale products are intuitively adjusted to provide better comfort and fit. Humanscale’s product offerings have been tested and determined compliant with low-VOC emission standards, thereby contributing to 98% low-VOC interior finishes installed in the project. The streamlined interior aesthetic features metal and concrete finishes which are inherently non-emitting, compared to conventional commercial carpet and ceiling tile products. The space features large, full height clear glass windows to allow daylight to penetrate deep into the space. Automated window shades protect users from uncomfortable glare and solar heat gain. Over 85% of regularly occupied areas have access to daylight and views. Humanscale instituted flexible working policy to allow Humanscale employees to select a workstation that best suits their needs. Indirect-direct lighting fixtures provide high quality lighting and even illumination to reduce glare and shadows. The ventilation system provides 100% outside air and uses superior MERV 13 filtration media to improve indoor air quality and promote occupant health and well-being. An indoor air quality sensor measures real time indoor air quality results to ensure ongoing performance and continuous improvement.
Materials Petal: I13 Red List
Humanscale is an industry leader in material transparency and removing Red List chemicals from their products, as seen in 21 installed Humanscale products with Declare labels indicating Red List Free or Red List Approved status. Over 90% of installed building materials and finishes by cost are Red List compliant, including systems furniture, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. In total, the team evaluated over 210 installed building materials and finishes! Red List Free solutions include poured concrete flooring, electrical wiring, dedicated outdoor air system (DOAS), gypsum wallboard, tile, and paint.
Materials Petal: I14 Responsible Sourcing
The space features 42 Declare labeled products and 19 Living Products, far exceeding Imperative requirements. 98% of new wood is FSC-certified, ensuring wood was harvested using sustainable and socially responsible practices. Additional coordination was required with Construction Manager and subcontractors to ensure that fabricators were FSC-certified in addition to sourcing FSC-certified materials.
The Humanscale Chicago showroom is also a recognized Pilot Project under the Design for Freedom program. Design for Freedom raises awareness about the prevalence of forced and child labor in the modern construction industry. The team identified five products, including one product from Humanscale, to research and confirm no forced or child labor in manufacturing operations. These questions resulted in meaningful conversations with various manufacturers about how to research, document, and verify codes of conduct. This process also illuminated the interconnectedness of multiple supply chains, global manufacturing, and resource extraction. For example, Humanscale’s M10 monitor arm is manufactured in Nogales, Mexico and Dublin, Ireland. Humanscale collected statements from first- and second-tier suppliers confirming no child or forced labor. Also, Humanscale identified raw material extraction locations in South America, Asia, and Middle East.
Materials Petal: I15 Living Economy Sourcing
Careful material selection prioritized local materials with over 48% of materials by cost sourced within 500 km or approximately 300 miles of Chicago. The open grid ceiling was specifically selected because it was manufactured in Chicago versus alternate products manufactured overseas.
Materials Petal: I16 Net Positive Waste
Throughout design and construction, the Design Team considered how careful material selections support a circular economy. Wood doors were salvaged from another construction site and select Humanscale furniture was reused from a previous design conference pop-up. The streamlined materials palette prior prioritized flexible, durable, and high quality materials that are recyclable at end of life to reduce life cycle impacts of the showroom. Early in pre-construction meetings, the team prioritized how to minimize and recycle construction waste. The interior fit-out generated small amounts of construction waste compared to a ground-up building. Team recommends future projects allocate additional time and coordination to sort, recycle, and research construction waste recycling opportunities in order to meet Petal requirements within constraints of the Chicago marketplace. This project pursued an alternative compliance path due to market limitations and demonstrated 75% diversion rate.
Equity Petal: I17 Universal Access
The showroom is free and open to the public with no limitations on access or use. The intent was to utilize the large full-height windows to create a welcoming entry and invite pedestrians into the space. The main entrance is accessible from the public sidewalk. The space layout is flexible and mostly open to allow a variety of users to move around the space and experience the products.
Humanscale’s product offerings are made for users to move their body throughout the day and prevent musculoskeletal injuries and illness. For example, Humanscale’s latest and most innovative seating product is called Path. The Path chair instantly adapts to each body type without fussy controls, thereby providing greater comfort and better fit to a larger and more diverse audience.
Equity Petal: I18 Inclusion
Humanscale publishes three JUST labels across their global organization. The JUST label supplements Humanscale’s corporate social responsibility reporting each year, including commitments to human rights, diversity and inclusion, and employee benefits and well-being. The Sheward Partnership’s JUST Label contributed to the certification as well. Humanscale donated 0.1% of total project cost to a regional, community-based non-profit organization focused on equity and inclusion.
Beauty Petal: I19 Beauty + Biophilia
Biophilic design was considered at all stages of the project to enhance user experience of the space. Humanscale’s product line is designed for and in response to the human body. Natural forms and shapes reinforce human support and movement. Humanscale’s products support natural movement throughout the day, reinforcing connection to healthy, active lifestyles.
If we want to live at peace with the planet, then our factories must be like trees; our companies like a forest. Humanscale chose to pursue Living Building Challenge and biophilic design principles to support the ambitious sustainability goals already incorporated into manufacturing their state-of-the-art products. The space exemplifies their brand, as seen in both aesthetics and sustainability. The space shall be equipped with multiple living trees and potted plants to connect occupants to nature. Interior metal wall paneling references the historic, industrial past of the Fulton Market neighborhood. Large, full-height windows provide ample views of streetscape and filter dynamic natural daylight that will change color and intensity throughout the day and year. Fabric curtains additionally filter daylight and views. Natural oak finishes and wool area rugs add warmth, texture, and natural patterns to the space.
Beauty Petal: I20 Education + Inspiration
The showroom is free and open to the public. Educational components include case study, website, signage, and brochure. On-site staff are trained in providing tours and educating the public about the sustainable design story of the space.
Congratulations to the project team that achieved this incredible certification! You can read more about the wins and challenges that were part of this project at the case study here.
Project Team
Owner: Humanscale
Design Architect: Reddymade
Architect of Record: bkl Architecture
Structural Engineer: WSP
MEP Engineer: Interface Engineering, Inc.
General Contractor: CDI Construction Group, Inc.
Sustainability Consultant: The Sheward Partnership, LLC
Photo Credit: Humanscale
