2024 Planet Positive Awards > Retail and Showroom > Winner

The new 4,000-square-foot Humanscale showroom in Chicago is designated Living Building Challenge 4.0 Ready by ILFI, and designed to comply with the standards for Design for Freedom by Grace Farms, which mandates ethical material selection and procurement practices. 

“Our top priority when working on this space was to uphold the highest environmental standards, even if it had never been done before,” says the company’s chief sustainability officer, Jane Abernethy. “We hope this encourages other manufacturers to be more considered regarding their physical footprint.”

More than 90 percent of installed building materials and finishes are Red List compliant, including poured concrete flooring, electrical wiring, a dedicated outdoor air system (DOAS), gypsum wallboard, tile, and paint. The space features 42 Declare-labeled products and 19 Living Products. New wood is FSC certified, and wood doors were salvaged from another construction site. Nearly half the materials by cost were sourced within approximately 300 miles of Chicago. 

For the Design for Freedom research initiative, the design team worked with 20 leading manufacturers to collect provenance documentation, such as raw material extraction locations, supplier lists, receipts, and written statements and/or certifications indicating responsible labor practices. These manufacturers shared statements confirming no forced or child labor within the organization, their business ethics policies, and their supplier codes of conduct that require their vendors to adhere to responsible labor practices.

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