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Metropolis Editors, Natural Habitat, sustainability, sustainable architecture

METROPOLIS Introduces Natural Habitat, a Sustainable Homes Video Series

The series debuts with a tour of a tranquil upstate New York retreat designed with Passive House principles.

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Alkemis Paint provided wall color (Quetzal (92) shown here) for R & Company’s The Gilded Ghetto, artist Roberto Lugo’s first New York solo exhibition, on view last fall. Courtesy Alkemis Paint.

July 31, 2024

This First-of-Its-Kind Paint Promotes Wellness

Alkemis Paint has earned Cradle to Cradle Certified designation for its architectural wellness paint—the world’s first, circa 2023. 

By: Joseph P. Sgambati III

Alkemis Paint proves that pigment is the next frontier in conquering safe and sustainable formulations for responsible interior spaces. A proprietary amalgam containing a clear quartz base, artist-quality crystalline pigments, and earthen raw materials has earned the women-owned small business a Cradle to Cradle Certified designation for its architectural wellness paint—the world’s first, circa 2023. 

From Left: Price Latimer; Maya Crowne. Courtesy Alkemis Paint

Helmed by Wall Street veteran Maya Crowne and entrepreneur Price Latimer, the young company concocted a core collection comprising 119 unique colors in a velvet-matte finish, as well as an interior mineral primer, using renewable potassium silicate while eschewing synthetic and toxic elements, hazardous organic pollutants (HAPs), plasticizers, preservatives, biocides, and alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs). Not to mention, its U.S.-based manufacturing process is 100 percent emission-free, and its steel paint cans are recyclable in perpetuity. Also noteworthy is the product’s inclusion in Parsons Healthy Materials Lab’s Healthier Building Products Collection for interior paints.

Alkemis Paint provided wall color (Hair of the Dog 61). Courtesy Alkemis Paint
Alkemis Paint provided wall (Custom Color for R&COMPANY. Courtesy Alkemis Paint

Crowne and Latimer seek to synthesize typically superficial specifications with technical acuity. When compared with synthetics, the inclusion of organic matter in the wellness pigment results in improved interior air quality, neutralizes what would otherwise be an unpleasant, nay potentially hazardous odor, and promises to lift mood thanks to neuroaesthetics underpinning the natural color compositions. Its antistatic properties make it not only easy to maintain but cleanable without succumbing to burnish. The robust, UV-stable formula also boasts water repellency and durability. 

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