7.21.05 | Midland , MI | Even though individual products are not eligible to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED™) certification, products like WOODSTALK™ Gold MR Fiberboard play a key role in the overall ability of a project to earn sustainable distinction.

7.21.05 | BusinessEurope.com | Businesses can greatly improve their staff productivity with better office design, a new report suggests. Research from consultancy firm Gensler shows that improving work environments can boost staff morale and drive up productivity by nearly a fifth, adding up to £135 billion to firms' bottom lines. The study of service sector businesses reveals a fifth of workers claim they would be embarrassed to show their office to a customer. Another 58% say it has not been designed to support their firm's business objectives, let alone their job function. Only half rate their working environment as above average. Business owners are failing to realise, said Gensler's Gary Wheeler, that a comfortable working environment indirectly leads to more money in their coffers. Proof office design, he said, is a false economy.

7.9.05 | Washington Post |Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but what Target has done to the venerable Emeco Navy chair shows disrespect. The Web store Target.com offers a "Cafe Aluminum side chair" from Asia for $249.99 a pair. The online listing describes the chair as a "classic design." That's true. The image closely resembles a trademarked American classic: the Emeco 1006 Navy chair. Target's response to lawyer's letters has been less satisfying. A champion of design might have whisked the knockoff from its lineup. Target won a Smithsonian National Design Award for corporate excellence in 2003, but now the discounter is behaving like a discounter: The knockoff is still online.

By Linda Hales, Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday