Friends Center set out to create a healthy place to work and worship.

We began by seeking nontoxic materials and furniture.  This includes low emission paints and finishes,  nontoxic adhesives and backings for carpeting, and formaldehide-free building materials and furnishing.  Advanced ventilation and filtration systems remove any remaining indoor or outdoor pollution.  A visitor who experiences severe allergies observed, “the longer I sat there in Friends Center, the better I felt.”

Open design with daylight and views at every desk has been documented in other buildings as increasing productivity and lowering absenteeism.  Not only does nearly every desk have daylight and a view, most look out on trees and gardens.  Interior spaces are furnished with a variety of large and small green plants as well.