July 8, 2025
Highlights from the METROPOLIS Sustainability Lab at NeoCon
On the 11th floor of the Mart, inside SANDOW’s DesignScene, the METROPOLIS Sustainability Lab returned to NeoCon with fresh exhibits, activations, and hands-on experiences focused on helping the architecture and design industry make smarter, more sustainable material choices.
This year’s Lab, themed “Material World,” welcomed more than 10,000 visitors to engage with over 20 forward-thinking materials and products—each ready for specification across a wide range of project types.
Among the standout installations was “Designing from the Soil Up” by Common Object Studio, a furniture exhibit that explored the intersection of regenerative agriculture and material reuse. A curated display of Planet Positive Award–winning projects highlighted the latest in low-impact, high-innovation material strategies. The Material World Palette Challenge invited attendees to build their own palettes from product samples provided by Lab partners, drawing more than 70 participants.
Brand activations from Carnegie, Impact Acoustic, Lutron, and Mohawk highlighted planet-friendly design solutions that also advance human well-being.
The Lab also hosted guided sustainability crawls with active specifiers and students from the IIDA Student Charette, led by METROPOLIS editor in chief Avinash Rajagopal and editor at large Verda Alexander. “Designers today are more open than ever before to suggesting new, sustainable, and healthy alternatives to their clients,” says Rajagopal. “I could see how curious and engaged the visitors to the lab were, and—judging by their questions to our exhibitors—how eager to learn they were.”
From inspiring product launches to thought-provoking exhibits, the 2025 METROPOLIS Sustainability Lab delivered practical resources and bold ideas to push the industry toward a healthier, more regenerative built environment.
This year’s lab partners included 3form, Allsteel, American Biltrite, Behr, BIOME, Calyx by Claridge, Carnegie, Clarus, Duvaltex, Econyl by Aquafil, Fry Reglet, Garden on the Wall, Hyphyn, Impact Acoustic, Keilhauer, Lingrove, Lutron, Milliken, Mohawk Group, Parador/Matter Surfaces, Shaw Contract, Turf Design, UNIFI, ZIP WATER
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