On January 30th, 2016, Enviro-Stewards completed retrofitting an additional 2,500 ft2 of space in the 100-year-old Roxton Furniture factory building. Sustainability measures incorporated into the design were featured in Retrofit magazine. They include:
- Replacing 100 feet of inefficient (single pane) windows with low-e double pane windows and then reusing the original windows as internal windows to transmit light into offices and the new conference room;
- Tying a living wall (and CO2 sensor) into the ventilation system’s return air duct to humidify the air and reduce the quantity of outside air needing to be heated or cooled to control CO2 levels;
- Harvesting and purifying rainwater from our roof, which presently meets 100% of the water required to operate the living wall; and
- Dimmable LED lighting, occupancy sensors and provision of extra switches to accommodate daylight harvesting.
The renovated office space also includes a 500 ft2 conference room/creative space that makes use of sliding whiteboards to preserve the original brick wall (Elmira Furniture sign in photo below).
If your social venture or NGO is interested in renting the creative space for a half day, it is potentially available for the sponsorship of a biofilter through Enviro-Stewards’ Safe Water Projects (www.thesafewaterproject.org). The locally owned & operated projects provide local employment and safe water (each $100 biofilter provides about 10 people with safe water for 25 years).
