M Moser Associates NYC office in historic Woolworth Building features Rockfon stone wool ceilings

For its newly renovated office on the 24th floor of the historic Woolworth Building in New York, architecture and design firm M Moser Associates created a “Living Lab” that “embodies the spirit of freedom and experimentation.” Its dynamic workplace supports creativity, innovation, collaboration and individual needs with technology, mobility, flexibility and health-conscious, environmentally responsible design.

M Moser’s New York office achieved LEED®v4 ID+C Commercial Interiors certification and WELL v1 Platinum certification, and is the first New York project to be RESET® Air Certified. It also is the first office in the U.S., and among the first in the world, to be recognized with the “Ocean Champion Badge.” This badge represents the highest level of The Oceanic Standard for adopting a holistic approach to sustainable operating practices.

Contributing to M Moser’s sustainability and wellbeing objectives, Rockfon acoustic stone wool ceiling panels were specified to enhance the office’s modern aesthetics and functionality. Rockfon® Cinema Black™ and bright white Rockfon Tropic® acoustical ceiling tiles were installed throughout the 10,000-square-foot interior. In the conference rooms, the black ceiling panels create a dramatic, sophisticated setting. Throughout the open office areas, the white tiles present a smooth, uniform appearance that extend into the team’s collaboration zones and café.

“For our New York office, the team wanted to transform the way it worked by enhancing brand identity and empowering employees. Located in the iconic Woolworth Building, the design reflects new ways of thinking and working, while honouring the original historic architecture for one of New York’s oldest skyscrapers. Adopting the best attributes from the existing culture and operating systems, the vision for the new space was an agile, future-proofed ‘living lab’ for ongoing adaptation," explained M Moser Associates.

LEED Proven
According to M Moser, the firm is one of only 27 organizations that is a LEED Proven Provider under the LEED ID+C rating system. Seventy-five percent of its LEED projects are Gold or Platinum, including the first LEED Platinum project in Africa.

LEED, WELL and RESET work in conjunction with each other and additional green building programs to enhance building performance for human health and the environment. Careful consideration of products’ material ingredients, performance and related sustainable attributes includes choosing environmentally responsible, acoustical ceiling systems. Rockfon ceiling solutions benefit the comfort, health and safety of occupants, and the environment.

For interior renovation and build-out projects like M Moser’s offices, the sustainable attributes of Rockfon acoustic stone wool ceiling projects can assist in attaining the following LEED v4 credits in the Materials and Resources (MR) and Indoor Environmental Quality (EQ) categories:
* Construction & Demolition Waste Management and Waste Management, including Planning
* Interiors Life Cycle Impact Reduction – Designed for Flexibility
* Building Product Disclosure and Optimization – Environmental Product Declarations, Sourcing of Raw Materials and material Ingredients
* Low-Emitting Materials
* Interior Lighting
* Acoustic Performance

“While pursuing LEED, WELL Platinum and RESET certifications, the design teams created an environment that enhances and empowers the team through accessibility, collaboration and cultural identity. The innovative office serves as a coworking space and enables M Moser to test and develop a broad range of workplace strategies to ensure the best results for clients. M Moser prides itself on creating workplaces for global business, including its own,” according to the ASID 2020 Outcome of Design Awards Winner Spotlight: M Moser Associates Living Lab.

Material Mindfulness
Made from stone wool, Rockfon acoustic ceiling panels chosen for M Moser’s offices consist of a blend of naturally occurring and abundant volcanic basalt rock plus recycled content and waste materials from other industries. Stone wool’s inherent material properties allow it to be non-combustible and hydrophobic. This means it resists melting, burning or creating significant smoke; it does not absorb water or sag even in 100 percent humidity; and it does not support the growth of mold, mildew or other microorganisms.

The ASID Outcome of Design Awards Winner Spotlight also noted, “A key aspect of this office is the incorporation of WELL principles like circadian lighting, air quality monitors, biophilia, plants, water filtering, healthy food, healthy materials and much more. These all allow for the team to leave work healthier than when they came in.”

Contributing to healthy indoor air quality, the Rockfon stone wool ceiling products selected for M Moser’s own workspaces are UL® GREENGUARD® Gold low-VOC certified for office and educational environments. Products with this stringent certification are recognized by LEED, WELL and other green building and occupant wellbeing programs. Further supporting material choice and transparency, Rockfon Cinema Black and Rockfon Tropic product documentation includes UL Certified Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), Health Product Declaration (HPDs) and Declare Labels.

Along with M Moser’s healthy building and finishing materials to minimize VOCs and off-gassing, its office indoor air quality is monitored with sensors. Living green walls also help purify the air along with a variety of potted plants. Access to natural light and views are supplemented with a circadian lighting system. Rockfon Tropic’s smooth, white surface reflects up to 86 percent of light as diffused illumination, which helps reduce eye strain while maximizing energy efficiency.

“Due to the air quality and health consciousness of the office, they have seen a marked decrease in the use of sick days within the year of moving into the new office, with a 50 percent reduction. The space features many leading-edge workspace elements including clean air measures and monitoring and a variety of work configurations for focus and collaboration. The flexibility of the space even allowed for the staff to nearly double in size with room to grow. And the seamless, welcoming new office reflected increased performance with both client visits and win rates increasing by 75 percent,” reported the ASID 2020 Outcome of Design Awards Winner Spotlight: M Moser Associates Living Lab.

WELL Received
Rockfon acoustic ceiling systems can contribute to several Optimization Features detailed in the Comfort section of WELL v1, which seeks to “create an indoor environment that is distraction-free, productive and soothing. Solutions include design standards and recommendations, thermal and acoustic controllability, and policy implementation covering acoustic and thermal parameters that are known sources of discomfort.”

Rockfon acoustic stone wool ceiling panels provide a high level of noise absorption to help comply with the performance requirements of LEED and WELL. In M Moser’s office, Rockfon acoustic ceiling tiles deliver best-level sound absorption and acoustical comfort. Rockfon Tropic panels have a Noise Reduction Coefficient of up to 0.90 NRC and Cinema Black offers up to a 0.95 NRC. Interior spaces with optimized acoustics not only support health and wellbeing, but also employees’ concentration, communication, creativity, collaboration, productivity and overall job satisfaction.

“Focus, or what psychologists describe as flow, happens most effectively when people are relaxed, slightly challenged, and have the cognitive capacity to work on their task. Sensory design can positively impact flow by reducing sensory overload and promoting helpful emotions through the inputs we receive through sight, smell, taste, touch and sound,” said M Moser Associates' Sophie Foster, associate - strategy and transformation.

“It’s vital to have a variety of focus spaces within the office environment to meet the needs of different people. Some prefer a quiet, isolated area, while others prefer a more collaborative environment with drop-in pods for private calls,” noted M Moser. “In conclusion, a well-designed workspace can significantly impact productivity. By incorporating a wide variety of focus spaces, companies can create a work environment that supports effectiveness and reduces stress and anxiety.”

The office design has received numerous honors, including:
2019 CoreNet New York Chapter - Winner
2019 Architizer - Special Mention
2019 Crain’s Coolest Offices - Winner
2020 American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) - Winner

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M Moser Associates, The Woolworth Building, 233 Broadway #2401, New York, NY 10279; https://www.mmoser.com
Ceiling manufacturer: Rockfon; Chicago; https://www.rockfon.com
Photographer: Eric Laignel

About Rockfon
Rockfon is part of ROCKWOOL Group and is offering advanced acoustic ceilings and wall solutions to create beautiful, comfortable spaces.

At ROCKWOOL Group, we are committed to enriching the lives of everyone who experiences our product solutions. Our expertise is perfectly suited to tackle many of today’s biggest sustainability and development challenges, from energy consumption and noise pollution to fire resilience, water scarcity and flooding. Our range of products reflects the diversity of the world’s needs, while supporting our stakeholders in reducing their own carbon footprint.

Stone wool is a versatile material and forms the basis of all our businesses. With approximately 12,000 passionate colleagues in 40 countries, we are one of the world leaders in stone wool solutions, from building insulation to acoustic ceilings, external cladding systems to horticultural solutions, engineered fibers for industrial use to insulation for the process industry, and marine and offshore.

For more information, please visit https://www.rockfon.com.

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