June 26, 2009—Global architectural firm HOK and Mannington Commercial have teamed up to introduce what they say is the industry’s first collection to include both carpet and hard surface floorcoverings. The Spectrum Collection unites HOK design with Mannington performance in modular carpet and premium rubber flooring tiles. The initial collection was displayed at the Mannington showroom in the Merchandise Mart during the NeoCon World’s Trade Fair.
HOK designers Tom Polucci and Natalie Banaszak of HOK Chicago collaborated with Mannington with the intention of developing the collection so that it works for projects in every sector that HOK designs for corporate, education, healthcare, retail, and other contract interiors.
The modular carpet in the collection, Elemental Spectrum, was inspired by spectrograph readings of the wavelengths of elements from the Periodic Table including carbon, hydrogen, iron and zinc and using the linear construction with a six-foot repeat to create a unique design for each tile.
For colorways, HOK paired bold or neutral backgrounds with lines of vibrant color or tonal sophistication, combining into 30 colorways that enable designers to mix and match. Many installation methods are accommodated, including brick ashlar, monolithic and quarter turn.
Elemental Spectrum carpet was designed with both sustainability and cost in mind. It is backed with the InfinityRE modular backing system containing 30 percent recycled content by total product weight, including 10 percent post-consumer carpet reclaimed through Mannington’s LOOP reclamation program and 20 percent pre-consumer content.
 |
The premium rubber tiles, Audio Spectra, were designed based upon wavelengths of sound made visual. The 12 x 24 inch tiles come in 15 neutral and bright colors to create color fields, or mix and match. The hard surface tiles are a high quality vinyl alternative. Mannington is already pursuing ways to incorporate significant recycled content into this newly launched line, which builds upon Mannington’s acquisition of Burke Industries last year.
The unique shape of the premium rubber tiles creates flexibility, allowing a variety of installation methods. The three patterns are based on spectrograph readings of Silence, the Spanish word Hola and the Tic-Toc of a metronome. Each can be used alone or in combination, combining pattern and color within the rubber tiles and coordinating with the modular carpet.
For more information, see the Mannington Commercial Web site.
