We proudly completed our headquarters office at 369 Warren Street in Brooklyn in early 2025. With critical support from Empire State Development (ESD), which invested $120,000 in the retrofit based on a recommendation from the New York City Regional Economic Development Council (NYCREDC), this project represents a significant milestone for 475 High Performance Building Supply. It brings together our core values of sustainability, durability, and performance into full expression and provides us with an example to share and provides us with a living example of our ability to practice what we preach.

A Building That Walks the Talk

Our office serves not only as our headquarters but as a physical embodiment of the high-performance building principles we recommend most. The building retrofit applies Passive House strategies, mass timber construction, and foam-free, low-carbon materials to meet the most rigorous efficiency, comfort, and sustainability standards. We are proud to share that the building is on track to achieve dual Passive House certification from both the Passive House Institute and Phius.

Utilizing All the Tools In Our Toolbox

The retrofit of the existing brick and concrete structure retained core elements of the original building while personifying our building philosophy and integrating nearly every product line we sell. A few of the most notable achievements include:

• Mass timber - The NLT (nail-laminated timber) structural elements were locally sourced within New York State, assembled on-site, and protected with ADHERO VISTO membranes.
• Continuous airtightness & insulation - The building was the first pilot project of Smartrock: a product that is the result of years of collaboration between Rockwool and 475.Supply to create a stone wool insulation board designed for use as continuous insulation on the interior of concrete and masonry walls. 
• Heat recovery ventilation - Of course we relied on our Brink system for the job. The FLAIR heat / energy recovery ventilation systems have the highest efficiency ratios in North America as Certified by PHI, while also being one of the most compact units in its class.
• Foam-free - How could we NOT? Less is best for foam insulation, and we achieved a 99% foam-free enclosure by preserving the existing concrete floor and covering every surface in continuous Rockwool insulation. The limited use of foam in the project was confined to unavoidable thermal breaks.
• Net Positive - A rooftop 8 kWh solar array will produce more energy than our 18+ full-time staff consumes.

Together, these strategies minimize embodied and operational carbon while providing a healthy, productive indoor environment for our team and our visitors.

Looking Ahead

This headquarters retrofit is more than a workplace - it’s a demonstration of what’s possible. As a supplier of high-performance building materials since 2011, we’re committed to transforming how North America builds. We’re incredibly grateful to Empire State Development and the NYCREDC for supporting our growth and helping us push the boundaries of sustainable construction. We believe this project sets a standard for what’s possible, and we’re excited to welcome clients, partners, and collaborators into a space that reflects the future we’re all working toward.

If you’re in the area, come say hi. We’d love to show you around.