FEATURED PHOTO

 
Product: Flex Series

Market: Education

Wall Frame Finish: Warm White

Description: Flex Series floor-to-ceiling 1/4” clear tempered single pane glass office with warm white aluminum framed swing door. Office sidewall notch-out integration with existing light fixtures.

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The post Despite global supply chain disruptions – NxtWall continues to have one of the fastest lead times in the demountable wall industry appeared first on NxtWall.

The question of this week has been “What are your plans for the fourth?” The fourth of July holiday  in the States is premier vacation time. Kids are out of school, the temps are typically warm but not sweltering and we relish the great outdoors. As we surround ourselves with colorful sunsets on smooth-like-glass lakes or toast marshmallows over cozy bonfires the stress of the office melts away. Recent studies show that incorporating natural elements in interior wall designs in offices, healthcare facilities, and higher education can emote similar well being responses as when we immerse ourselves in nature.

Human responses to natural elements in the built environment are similar to when we’re in nature.

Bamboo panels in interior demountable walls at NxtWall Chicago Showroom

Canadian Research Center FPInnovations compiled a report indicating the benefits of adding wood to interior spaces. Wood as a Restorative Material in Healthcare Environments focuses on healthcare environments but can easily be applied to other residential and commercial interior spaces. Participants experienced reduced stress, improved well being and a plethora of physical and physiological benefits when they were exposed to natural materials. Previous blog articles cite studies on the benefits of daylighting including synchronized circadian rhythms and enhanced productivity with the use of demountable interior glass wall partitions. From wood, water, natural light, plants, nature views and sounds of nature, natural elements in interior commercial environments offer large returns in productivity and improved health for the occupants. Incorporating natural elements in interior wall designs and commercial spaces promotes sustainability while increasing workplace satisfaction and productivity.

NxtWall Flex Demountable wall panels with wood and grass inserted.

Examples of Natural Elements in Interior Wall Designs:

• glass – try embedding natural elements in glass!
• wood – hard wood, bamboo, etc.
• grasses
• stone – rocks, slate, granite, etc.
• water features
• and other organic materials

NxtWall’s View demountable walls are a cost-effective solution for popular moveable interior glass walls. Used in many corporate office construction for conference rooms and offices View glass demountable walls are also installed frequently in higher education settings. From student lounges to administrative offices glass walls are a commercial interior design trend that’s not fading anytime soon. Some of the benefits of glass demountable walls include daylighting, reduced waste, sustainable reuse and recycling of components at the end of use.

Our Flex demountable wall series is an open palette for creative types. NxtWall Flex interior wall series lets you add natural elements in interior wall designs that are limited only by your imagination. Did you find petoskey stones on your Pure Michigan adventure, sea shells in the Florida Keys, driftwood off the Atlantic shore?  The natural elements discovered during your explorations can be incorporated into demountable wall panels. Reap the rewards of nature and bring them back into the office for all to enjoy.

Enjoy your visits to the lakes and streams this summer. Leave the stress of the office behind and get inspired to incorporate that vacation feeling into your next commercial interior design. Maybe the inhabitants of the administrative offices at Michigan State University or the other top 10 universities NxtWall products have been installed in won’t break out into Kumbaya every morning but they’ll likely have less stress and enjoy coming into work more!

Contact us for more information on the best demountable wall series for your next commercial project. Test us with your creativity – we love to showcase unique material uses of our Flex walls!

The post Be Adventurous! Use of Natural Elements in Interior Wall Designs is Growing appeared first on NxtWall.

This month brings us to the MIAPPA 2014 conference. NxtWall has decided to attend this year because it is being held at Mackinac Island. This motor-free historical setting will give us the opportunity to see how easily our eco-friendly school building products and displays for demountable walls can be transported by bicycle. It’s all part of our product life cycle analysis and choosing the less emissions from transportation approach.

Seriously, we are most looking forward to connecting with our college and university facility managers, aka higher education physical plant administrators to see how we can serve them best. We are proud to work in partnership with higher education to ensure that every student has the best space for learning with the least amount of impact on the environment.

How does Nxtwall Partner with Higher Education as an Eco-Friendly School Building Products Manufacturer?

NxtWall has answered the call for eco-friendly school building products by installing our demountable wall systems in nearly all of the top 10 schools and in many other colleges and universities throughout the United States. The MIAPPA conference grants us the opportunity to visit directly with the decision makers responsible for the selection of eco-friendly school building materials for their campuses. These physical plant managers and administrators are the workers who may benefit most from products with long life cycles like NxtWall demountable walls. The facility managers in higher education jump through hoops annually to re-configure college facilities on limited budgets with more demands for eco-friendly school building products and environmentally conscious practices, often with shortened time lines.

Facility plant managers in higher education schools are currently under pressure to find eco-friendly school building products that will assist them in meeting a variety of certification goals. By specifying eco-friendly school building products like re-usable demountable wall partitions, colleges and universities have a one time investment that can be reconfigured time and time again. With recycled and recyclable content our moveable classroom walls, and demountable glass office walls deliver multiple tick marks for sustainability rating systems used by many colleges and universities today.

Some of the sustainability rating systems for higher education schools include:

• LEED v4
• Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) www.chps.net.
• Green Globes
• Society for Environmentally Responsible Facilities (SERF)

How NxtWall demountable walls meet eco-friendly school building products guidelines:

• green building materials
• recycled content
• recyclable content
• lower emissions
• increased daylighting with View glass demountable wall systems
• less remodeling and construction waste
• increased life span of school building interiors
• more… depending on product line chosen…

We are looking forward to this opportunity to speak one on one with physical plant managers and workers to receive more feedback about how NxtWall demountable walls are performing, how they may be improved or how they may be a sustainable solution to help physical plants in higher education meet the LEED v4 and other building sustainable certifications as re-usable eco-friendly school building materials.

The post Eco-Friendly School Building Products with Long Life Cycles appeared first on NxtWall.

NxtWall – Demountable Walls Retrofit with Old School Construction

Facility engineers, architects, and interior designers are all aware of how versatile demountable walls can be. Customers who are outside of the commercial construction industry often have reservations on how demountable walls work with their existing building structures. We pulled together this short video from photos of a recent NxtWall demountable wall installation at Michigan State University (MSU).

MSU was established as the first agricultural college in the United States in 1855.  As one of the oldest colleges / universities in the United States and  Michigan the campus began with only three buildings.  None of the original buildings from 1855 are still in existence but there are many close to a century old. The beauty and reverence associated with these structures aside their use continues to evolve. This of course presents a challenge for building facility engineers. The efforts to maintain the integrity of these respected edifices while answering the call for modern classrooms, common spaces, and offices can seem daunting.

Welcome demountable wall systems by NxtWall. NxtWall is the popular go-to shop for Michigan State University and we’re been installing demountable walls in over ten other university campuses throughout the country in the last two years. Demountable walls are a great solution for higher education because they can be retrofitted  to an existing structure. NxtWalls’ field fit installation solution is a ‘made-to-order’ system that is well suited for the imperfections and variety of architectural styles found in many college and university buildings. Cinder block, brick and mortar, gypsum, drywall, plaster, existing wall systems – we’ve met every foe imaginable. NxtWall demountable walls pass every test.

Reduce Remodeling Expenditures in Colleges and Universities

Demountable walls are not only practical for retrofitting existing structures they are also a popular sustainable solution for spaces that change frequently. Colleges and Universities are notorious for increasing and reducing classroom size or changing an administrative office building into a laboratory or library. Variances in student enrollment, additions to curriculum or new college studies demand construction to be quick and cost effective. Demountable walls can be re-configured time and time again, updates can even be made to panels and framing can stay the same. Want a different door to your office or classroom? Add a seamless glass door to the demountable wall system installed previously. Want to divide the size of a lecture hall into a classroom and break room? Demountable wall solutions are affordable and stylish. Read more about the value of  ‘Greening our schools’.

Will Demountable Walls Look Out of Place in an Old Building?

Engineering has solved the logistics of retro-fitting materials – now what of the aesthetics? As you see in the photos, demountable walls with clerestory windows are combined with bright, contemporary panels that marry well with the decades old solid wood school house doors.  These are just a few of the photos of demountable wall installations in higher education classrooms, common spaces, dormitories, students unions and administrative buildings. NxtWall has also installed demountable walls in a variety of older buildings from open concept offices in old factories, to libraries and hotels. We love the challenge of mixing contemporary solutions with historical architecture. We are well schooled in designing solutions that balance affordability, aesthetics, accessibility and usability.

Call us today with your latest challenge.

The post Demountable Walls Retro-fit with “Old School” Construction appeared first on NxtWall.