Herman Miller has transformed a 50-year-old building at the gateway to the Dallas Design District into a sleek showcase of sustainable design.  Located at 1700 Oak Lawn, the Dallas showroom is the sixth Herman Miller National Design Center to open in the United States .  

Erected in 1956, the former Beacon Hill building is a sturdy one-story brick structure along the west side of the Stemmons Freeway.  Herman Miller’s renovation of the space is registered under the USGBC LEED-CI rating system, and its pending certification would make the project the first in North Texas to achieve the LEED-Commercial Interiors status.  Herman Miller, which is headquartered in Zeeland, Michigan, has a number of facilities with LEED certification, including a LEED-CI gold certification in its Washington D.C. National Design Center.

“Herman Miller has been a pioneer in sustainability and stewardship since the early 1950s,” explained Ray Kennedy, Director of Merchandising and Customer Experience for the company.  “We’ve designed our National Design Centers around the country to be more than just a space for beautiful and functional furniture.  They are centers of knowledge and information sharing as well.  We believe that when it comes to protecting and preserving the biosphere, we don’t have any competitors - we only have collaborators.”  

The upcoming event will be highlighted by a presentation from Rico Cedro, AIA, LEED AP, the Director of Sustainable Design at Krueck & Sexton Architects.  Cedro will detail the specific steps taken in the design process to implement successful green interior design. Additionally, the program will include a comprehensive tour of the facility, which includes showroom/gallery space for Herman Miller and Geiger furnishings.    

Each of the National Design Centers is created with a comprehensive customer experience in mind, allowing Herman Miller to replicate many of the same features and encounters that a customer would have on a visit to the company’s headquarters. The Dallas showroom features window expanses and soaring 20-foot ceilings, with more than 13,000 square feet of usable space. The showroom also features hospitality and relaxation area, as well as “discovery” zones where customers are encouraged to interact and entire into a dialogue that can help identify their own work environment needs. Human-centered solutions abound throughout the galleries that feature elegant furniture solutions, along with limitless possibilities in colors, materials and finishes.  

“We are pleased to share our half-century long legacy of sustainability through this showroom in Dallas” added Edith E. Porras, an architect by training who is now a key member of the Herman Miller Dallas-based staff.  “Implementing sustainable strategies in facilities and in interior design is a huge issue for commercial projects as well as for healthcare and education-related facilities.  We want to be a key resource to architects and others who want to be practitioners of sustainable design and green spaces.”