June 4, 2024
Inside METROPOLIS’s Sustainability Lab at NeoCon
METROPOLIS’s Sustainability Lab returns to NeoCon this year with programs, activations, and, of course, information on products and initiatives that help the A&D industry make a positive impact on people and the planet.
This year, the lab invites you to explore the latest innovations and concepts for circular, regenerative design with its showcase of design manufacturers’ progress toward a healthy future. Alongside these brand initiatives and product spotlights, the lab raises questions and provocations for a more sustainable future through two special exhibits and a Leadership Summit.
Carnegie will be launching its Changemakers experience at the lab in partnership with METROPOLIS, offering educational trips for designers interested in making an impact on sustainability and wellness through their work. And Model No. will showcase its 3D-printed and compostable Asker chair featuring a carbon-negative black pigment from OurCarbon.
METROPOLIS-curated resources and readings will challenge you to rethink design models and processes. Meanwhile, spaces designated for rest, including The ReCharge Room by Mohawk Group, will offer respite and an opportunity to prioritize well-being at NeoCon. We hope you leave the lab feeling refreshed and inspired to redefine design for tomorrow.
LOCATION:
11th FLOOR, SUITE 1120
AMERICAN BILTRITE
ABPURE INFINITY
ABPURE Infinity is a cradle-to-gate carbon-neutral rubber flooring that features an elegant tone-on-tone chip visual in 20 earth-centric colors. It is produced with renewable natural gas (RNG) made from organic waste, which has already reduced greenhouse gases at the source, to offset ABPURE’s carbon footprint as measured in its EPD.
ANDREU WORLD
CIRCULAR DESIGN CHALLENGE
The Circular Design Challenge is a call to adopt practices such as eco-design, zero-waste management, embodied carbon calculation, and the selection of sustainable materials. Andreu World has set the goal of achieving circularity by 2025—five years before the 2030 Agenda—and we want to extend this challenge to the entire global design industry.
AQUAFIL
ECONYL NYLON
ECONYL nylon unlocks endless opportunities for design excellence and environmental stewardship. Available in many forms, including carpet fiber, textile yarn, polymer chips for injection molding, and 3D printing for furniture, accessories, and more—the possibilities are truly endless.
CARNEGIE
CONSCIOUS COLLECTION
The Conscious Collection combines Carnegie’s authentic commitment to the environment with versatile functionality through materials like biobased Xorel, beautifully imperfect embossed vinyl alternatives, and printed silicone hybrids. The Conscious Collection is a flexible, holistic design system for walls, panels, furniture, and windows.
CARNEGIE ACOUSTIC SOLUTIONS
HYPER SONIC
Break the sound barrier between acoustic performance and iconic design with the new Hyper Sonic collection from Carnegie Acoustic Solutions. With five new Kirei recycled PET products and four new Xorel Artform products, you can elevate the design of any space while delivering exceptional sound
CLARUS
GO! MOBILE
GO! MOBILE is a mobile glass writing surface that’s customizable to your needs. Select from a diverse palette of colors and styles, magnetic or fixed acoustic panels, and more, ensuring you discover your ideal rolling glassboard; GO! MOBILE is sustainable and comes with EPD, Indoor Advantage, and Declare Labels. Clarus is committed to the environmental sustainability of its products and manufacturing processes, and will continue to build on its certifications.
COSENTINO
SILESTONE XM
Silestone XM is redefining mineral surfaces with exclusive Hybriq technology, enabling the creation of surfaces with a maximum 10 percent of crystalline silica content, while maintaining high performance and excellent finishes. A carefully selected range of new minerals chosen for their design and capabilities give Silestone XM its nuances, shine, color, depth, and resistance.
FORBO
MARMOLEUM
Marmoleum connects with modern nature through climate-positive floors that foster well-being and form the basis of healthy spaces to work, learn, heal, play, and relax in. The Solid collection is minimalist, pure, and timeless, providing a long-lasting foundation that connects living spaces with nature and never goes out of style.
FORMICA
FENIX
FENIX innovative materials utilize next-generation acrylic resins and electron beam curing to create ultra-matte, anti-fingerprint surfaces. With thermal-healing properties and low light reflectivity, FENIX offers a versatile, cutting-edge solution aligning with smart materials and matte design trends for diverse interior environments.
GOOD PLASTIC CO.
POLYGOOD
Polygood is a versatile, high-end surface material made from 100 percent recycled and recyclable plastic suitable for large-scale commercial projects, from retail fixtures to exterior cladding, furniture to flooring, and kitchens to bathrooms. With low-emission manufacturing processes and material sourcing, Polygood has an unbeatable global warming potential: eight times lower than materials made of virgin plastic and six times more ecofriendly than leading solid-surface materials.
GARDEN ON THE WALL
GARDEN PANELS
Garden on the Wall is the world’s only turnkey preserved garden/moss wall provider with 16 third-party tests and credentials to ensure the sustainability, transparency, safety, and material health of its installations. GOTW’s creations with highest longevity standards help designers build environmentally and behaviorally healthy human-centric environments with biophilia and circular economy in mind thanks to a take-back program for garden panels.
HBF
DIGITAL BLOOM 2.0, SKIM COAT, AND CRUMPLED PAPER
HBF Textiles has launched three textile patterns made from 100 percent postconsumer recycled polyester. Better yet, the three contain a catalyst that makes them 91–93 percent biodegradable. HBF Textiles patterns Digital Bloom 2.0, Skim Coat, and Crumpled Paper were all recently introduced with these innovations in materials technology.
IMPACT ACOUSTIC
ARCHISONIC COTTON
ARCHISONIC Cotton is made from natural raw materials and enables a closed-loop system through the use of cellulose. Unlike conventional acoustic materials, which rely on synthetic binders that are difficult to recycle, this solution allows the acoustic materials to be fully reintegrated into the production process at the end of life.
KEILHAUER
LOUNGE CHAIRS
Working with world-renowned designers, Keilhauer thoughtfully manufactures seating and tables for commercial spaces to make work comfortable for all. Sustainability has long been at the core of its operations, designs, and materials, and it continues to achieve new milestones. Keilhauer’s four new lounge chairs are a blend of beauty, function, and sustainability. All four chairs are Certified Carbon Neutral, made of FSC-certified wood, and were purposely designed with the environment in mind.
LX HAUSYS
HFLOR
Introducing HFLOR, the resilient flooring solution by LX Hausys. HFLOR offers SPC, LVT, and sheet products that achieve a natural look with innovative technologies such as C-EIR (Continuous Embossed-In Register), M-EIR (Multi-Gloss Embossed-In Register), TrueMatte, and TrueView.
MILLIKEN
SUSTAINABLE FLOORING
Milliken’s carpet tile products have full transparency, are fully recyclable, carry Environmental Product Declarations, and can contribute up to 14 points toward the WELL Building Standard. Milliken’s Merge Forward PVC-Free Resilient Tile is Declare Red List–free of harmful materials, while all production waste for Milliken LVT is granulated and recycled into backing production to create an internal closed-loop recycling process.
MOHAWK GROUP
PATHMAKERS
How can design nurture a culture of care? Pathmakers carpet by Mohawk Group finds inspiration in bees, whose collective pollination helps sustain all life. Designed to support multifaceted communities with sustainable materials, Pathmakers creates nurturing paths of connection between people, the built environment, and our natural world.
NYDREE
ENGINEERED HARDWOOD
Nydree manufactures a new Red List–free version of its world-renowned acrylic-infused wood flooring that meets the most stringent environmental standards. This engineered hardwood is 300 percent more durable than traditional wood, making it durable enough for some of the most high-traffic projects in the world. Acrylic-infused wood is made from natural wood that is a resin for a stronger, tougher floor. Nydree invented the process in 1963 and continues to perfect it.
REGUPOL
REVOLUTION
With unmatched sustainability, ultimate durability, and a high-end aesthetic, REGUPOL commercial flooring is a high-performance blend of postconsumer recycled tire rubber, postindustrial EPDM, and low-VOC binder. REGUPOL upscale, luxury rubber tile and planks serve as an alternative to terrazzo, ceramic tile, and LVT. REGUPOL revolution offers 46 colors in rolled-sheet format.
RULON INTERNATIONAL
WOOD PRODUCTS
While wood is often seen as inherently ecofriendly, its environmental impact depends on factors like harvesting methods, processing techniques, and chemical treatments. At Rulon International, we’re dedicated to ensuring that every project we embark on adheres to the most stringent transparency standards. Together, our commitment to sustainability is unwavering.
SHAW CONTRACT
ART + SCIENCE
Art + Science is changing the way we think about hard-surface performance and sustainability. With a material chemistry similar to that of Shaw Contract’s EcoWorx carpet tile backing, this new EcoWorx Resilient collection is PVC-free, fully recyclable, low embodied carbon, and carbon neutral.
TURF
STONE TEXTURES
An expansion of Turf’s texture finishes, Stone Textures is a curated collection of nature-inspired, digitally printed patterns. Each texture—Marble, Travertine, and Granite—pairs with the exclusive Hues palette, highlighting Turf’s mastery of its 60 percent recycled PET felt as the textures embrace its color and materiality.
ULTRAFABRICS
VOLAR BIO
Debuting in 2019, Volar Bio reflects Ultrafabrics’ sustainable vision with a 66 percent mix of recycled, rapidly renewable, and biobased content. The collection’s evolution includes certified REPREVE recycled polyester, ECOVERO viscose, and Susterra propanediol biobased resin. Volar Bio showcases a commitment to high-performance materials that are both ecoconscious and innovatively designed.
UNIFI
REPREVE OUR OCEAN
REPREVE Our Ocean is a recycled polyester option that sources postconsumer plastic bottles at high risk of ending up in the ocean. The bottles are collected from areas within 50 kilometers of coastlines without formal waste or recycling systems and certified by an independent third-party organization.
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