Weber+Thompson Office, Seattle, Washington, USA

Founded in 1987, Weber+Thompson was an architectural firm, which later became a highly-qualified design agency. In January 2009, the company office received LEED Gold certification. Shortly afterwards the building achieved LEED Platinum rating in the category of Commercial Interiors, thus becoming one of the two commercial buildings in Washington with such a high rating. The office is located in the Terry Thomas building (at the corner of Tomas Street and Terry Avenue) and occupies 2510 square meters (27.000 square feet). The leader of the design team, Peter David Greaves (also principal of Weber+Thompson Office), worked in collaboration with experts of the field. As the office promotes the concept of sustainability, the main challenge for the designers was to create a model building, with a system of passive ventilation, natural lighting, operable windows and materials with low emission. The main priority was the quality of indoor conditions for the employees. The main source of light is daylight. Bright paints, light colors and white walls enhance the importance of natural daylight. Due to the sensor system, light turns on only if there is no daylight. Temperature is always under control.

By Astghik Atabekyan, www.building.am