photo credit: Erik Paulsrud Photography		photo credit: Brandy LeMae

Boulder, CO 3/3/09 -

The concept of “co-working,” referring to groups or individuals working independently in a shared office space, is an emerging trend in commercial design. The recently opened Candy Shop Creative Offices in Boulder, Colorado, exemplifies this idea. Joseph Vigil and Brandy LeMae, architect and designer, respectively, of VaST architecture, opened the Candy Shop after renovating the building for their own office headquarters.

The building, located in a residential neighborhood near Boulder High School, has a long and interesting history dating back to 1913. For about 10 years of its existence, the building was home to Morris Candy Shop, but later housed an egg roll restaurant and most recently an adult bookstore. VaST purchased the building in March of 2008, and in just under one year introduced the Candy Shop Creative Offices to a welcoming neighborhood.

VaST is devoted to designing green environments that are inspired, architecturally distinct, energy efficient and perform at a high level, and the new Candy Shop is no exception. The 2,488 square-foot building is an open work environment with 13 different work spaces available. The building currently houses the VaST offices, as well as several other business including a landscape designer, graphic designer and a sustainable energy consulting company. The co-working concept allows these small businesses to operate independently, but still have a community-oriented work environment. To help create a sustainable workplace, VaST incorporated PV awnings to harvest electric energy from the sun and help offset the building’s carbon footprint. The Candy Shop also features a reclaimed gymnasium floor, cork flooring, carpet tiles, LED lighting, and high-efficiency windows. Recycled content glass mosaic tile from Hakatai was used in the shower room.

“We wanted to use the recycled glass tiles from Hakatai and we designed the bathroom with that in mind,” said LeMae. “We created a spa-like shower using the gorgeous glass tile and hand-applied, water-proof plaster by Artesano Natural Plasters, and IceStone in Alpine White for the threshhold and sills. It really is my favorite room in the entire building. It has a real soft, soothing feel to it.”

ABOUT Hakatai -

All tile in Hakatai’s Ashland-e series is comprised of between 30 and 70 percent glass from bottles and/or other waste glass that would otherwise have entered the solid waste stream. This waste glass is a mix of approximately 90 percent post-consumer and approximately 10 percent pre-consumer material. The Ashland-e series is available in a variety of colors, finishes and sizes. VaST architecture selected the Siberia Blend of paper-face mounted 1” x 2” tile, which features a mix of iridescent and matte finish tile.

For more information, please contact Hakatai Enterprises at: 701 Mistletoe Road, Ashland, Oregon 97520, or by phone: 541 552 0855, or email: info@hakatai.com. Check out the Hakatai Enterprises, Inc., website at: www.hakatai.com.

ABOUT IceStone -

IceStone manufactures their products with 100% recycled glass in a cement matrix, diverting hundreds of tons of glass from landfills each year. They operate out of a renovated, day-lit factory in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, creating U.S. green jobs for workers in an eco-friendly, safe, and respectful environment.

For more information, please contact IceStone at: Brooklyn Navy Yard, 63 Flushing Avenue, Unit 283, Building 12, Brooklyn, New York 11205, or by phone: 718 624 4900, or email info@icestone.biz. Check out the IceStone website at: www.icestone.biz. The distibutor in Colorado is: Belterra Stone Co., 303 377 3544, gary@belterrastone.com. Hart Stonewoks can install IceStone in Colorado: 719 277 7484, chris@hartstoneworks.com.

ABOUT Artesano -

Artesano is Spanish for Artisan, is defined as: A skilled manual worker who uses tools and machinery in a particular craft. Artisans were the dominant producers of goods before the Industrial Revolution. The word Artesano can also be used to describe something that is handmade.

Tadelakt is a completely waterproof, polished plaster made from lime and finished with olive oil soap. The history of this highly specialized plastering technique dates back thousands of years. It has its origins in and around the ancient city of Marrakech in Morocco at the foot of the High Atlas mountains. There the Berbers, some of the original people to inhabit North Africa, discovered the magical water resistant chemistry of lime combined with olive soap.

For more information, please contact Artesano at: PO Box 1810, Nederland CO 80466, or by phone: 303 718 4932, or email: ryan@artesano-home.com. Check out the Artesano website at: www.artesano-home.com.

ABOUT VaST -

VaST offers architecture, site planning, interior, space planning, LEED consulting, landscape and signage design services for commercial and residential clients. Our dedicated team provides the technical expertise and creative skill to help every client realize a project that melds their needs and desires. VaST’s objective is to design the most appropriate, stylish and energy-efficient project for the budget.

For additional information on VaST, contact Brandy LeMae at 303 442 3700 or visit www.VaSTarchitecture.com.

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