Dave Snider Presents to the Interior Design Students at Sheridan College on the Topic of the Environment and Interior Design

It is graduation time for many college students across Canada and here in Ontario.  For Interior Design graduating students at Sheridan College, a renowned post-graduate design school here in the GTA, this is an exciting time as they begin their journey into their career.  There are so many questions to ask as they look to take their first steps.

• What opportunities are available to Interior Designers in 2015? 
• Will they choose commercial or residential? 
• Will they work with a large firm or a small agency?  

To help answer some of these questions, Raymond Dunning, the Course Coordinator for Interior Design at Sheridan College in Oakville, invites industry experts to present to their students some insightson current trends, best practices, and opportunities awaiting them in the workplace.  This Lunch n Learn style offers a small setting where the students can listen and ask questions to help them make educated decisions about where they would like take their Interior Design career.

To help answer some of these questions, Raymond Dunning, the Course Coordinator for Interior Design at Sheridan College in Oakville, invites industry experts to present to their students some insightson current trends, best practices, and opportunities awaiting them in the workplace.  This Lunch n Learn style offers a small setting where the students can listen and ask questions to help them make educated decisions about where they would like take their Interior Design career.

On March 18, Dave Snider, our Architecture & Designer representative here at Envirotech, was invited to speak to the graduating class of Interior Designers at the Sheridan College Oakville campus. The focus of Dave’s presentation was the importance of the environment in Interior Design, and how Envirotech is supporting sustainable design best practices.  Here are some highlights – 

Interior Designers need to consider the environment by asking these questions

Is the furniture a sustainable, environmentally friendly choice?  

Recycling

Are the parts made from recycled materials?  Is it a quality product that will have a long life so as not to end up in the landfill prematurely because it didn’t last?  Is it designed so that the furniture can be dismantled and parts recycled at the end of its life?

Remanufactured

This is an option for sourcing office furniture – workstations, chairs, paper management systems.  Remanufactured is NOT used furniture, which is sold ‘as-is’.  Remanufactured means it takes used furniture that is cleaned and updated parts are installed if old parts are worn out and cannot be used.  In the case of remanufactured workstations, cubicles can be redesigned to have a ‘bench-style’ modern design that is popular with open office environments. Envirotech Office Systems remanufactures office furniture in their Mississauga location and ships to clients across North America.

What should Interior Designers expect from an office furniture supplier that promotes environmentally friendly options?

• Quality – Environmentally friendly or not, a reputable commercial office furniture supplier should offer the quality that they claim to provide.
• Warranty – New or remanufactured, a company should stand behind their products by offering an appropriate warranty.  Envirotech offers a lifetime warranty for all remanufactured office work stations, and a 5 year warranty for all remanufactured office chairs.
• Customer Service – We work very closely with our Interior Designers to support them in whatever way we can to help them get their projects done on time and with the quality they would expect from a premium office furniture supplier. We offer support in the area of project management, scheduling, professional installation, and quality guarantee.

We want to extend our thanks to Sheridan College, Raymond Dunning, Course Coordinator, and Mary Carroll for their generous invitation to let us speak with the students.  They are the future of Interior Design, and we wish them all the best.

Dave Snider is the A&D Representative at Envirotech Office Systems.  He works with key architectural and interior design firms in the Greater Toronto Area, ensuring they are up to date about the sustainable benefits of Envirotech products and services.  For many years prior to joining the team at Envirotech, Dave was the Principal of a Toronto-based, corporate, and award winning interior design consultancy.  He has extensive experience in business development, project management, and building strong client relations.  

If your architectural or interior design firm, school of design, property management group, commercial executive group, or not-for-profit organization that is focused on building sustainable communities, and interested in having Dave speak at one of your events, you can contact us here