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, president and vice president, respectively, of VaST Architecture, opened the Candy Shop after renovating the mixed-use 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 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, and it’s one of my favorite rooms in the entire building. It has a real soft, soothing feel to it.”

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, fax: 541-552-0861, or email: info@hakatai.com. Check out the Hakatai Enterprises, Inc., website at: www.hakatai.com.