HAWORTH TO THE CORE
New showroom opens
Showrooms are built to show off, and the new showroom Haworth opened downtown is not only a tasteful display of its products but also a statement of the company’s big presence in Calgary and its desire to invest in the commercial district where most of its clients are located.
Doug Martineau, vice- president of sales for Canada and architectural interiors for North America, has transferred his Calgary sales team from the former Haworth building on 52nd Street S. E. to a prime street- level space in Fifth Avenue Place, at 5th Avenue and 1st Street S. W.
Covering an area of 5,400 square feet, it was designed by Tina Mitchell, Haworth’s senior architectural and design market manager, in collaboration with Mode Design as a showcase of sustainable design principles from floor to ceiling. The company’s exposed concrete tile TecCrete flooring provides the architectural bedrock for flexibility to distribute air, power, voice and data with a variety of applications. It’s also used as a base for seating in the large presentation area that’s designed as a theatre space but with a sunken living room atmosphere.
A huge screen not only shows off Haworth’s products, it’s also made available for architects, interior designers and building owners to share their ideas with clients.
Martineau said Haworth has shown confidence in Calgary by being the first major manufacturer to invest in a downtown facility, one that has turned a former restaurant into Class A office space at the base of a 35- storey tower; a model for other downtown building owners and tenants interested in transforming their spaces.
The new showroom is flanked by floor- to- ceiling exterior windows on the east and south sides, and the interior windows allow people walking through the mall a ‘ jewel box’ view of Haworth’s latest line of products that are made in the company’s Italian plant.
It also includes several small offices available to clients who want some privacy with their customers.
Office furniture, flooring, LED lighting fixtures, fabrics and finishes are all represented in the showroom’s decor. As is the Haworth movable wall systems and Integrated Pallete products that work together to transform space quickly and economically as needs change.
Martineau, who leads the sales offices in Calgary and the 14,000- square- foot showroom in Toronto, is responsible for wall and raised- floor sales for all of North America. A team that’s still in 20,000 square feet in the southeast building where more than 90 employees work is responsible for all of Haworth’s wall product design, development and project management.
Nine of his people have relocated into the downtown showroom that demonstrates Haworth’s research and workplace knowledge and where they occupy clean and simple work spaces in a variety of modes.
While it’s not a retail shop, people are encouraged to wander in and check out the flexible interior designs and individual product items that are currently being used in some of Calgary’s finest office spaces — like Shaw Court and Gowlings.
NEWS AND NOTES
The Calgary Centre for Global Community is honouring retired lieutenant- general Romeo Dallaire for his many contributions in the areas of human rights, genocide prevention, mental health and the prevention of the recruitment and use of child soldiers. Dallaire will receive the 2015 Calgary Peace Prize at a reception and award ceremony on April 9, at the Magnolia Banquet Hall on Falconbridge Blvd. N. E. A question and answer session will be led by Ken Low, founder and president of Action Studies and facilitator of the Leadership Calgary and Leadership Edmonton programs.
Driving into downtown on Centre Street, I had to reflect on David Neill’s vision and hard work in converting the old building at the corner of 7th Avenue into Art Central, a haven for many galleries, studios and shops. The building has been demolished to make way for Telus Sky, the 56- storey office and residential tower. I also looked over to the other corner where the York Hotel used to be and wondered again if anyone knows — or cares — where the brick facade with its art deco motifs is today? It was lovingly taken down with the intention of being reused.