NEW YORK—The International Hotel, Motel + Restaurant Show (IHMRS) has announced the winners for the 34th annual Gold Key Awards for Excellence in Hospitality Design. A record number of entries of over 280 international projects were considered by a team of nine prominent judges for these awards, which recognize outstanding hospitality design worldwide for properties completed or renovated from March 1, 2013 to March 1, 2014. Winners of the Gold Key Awards were revealed at the annual gala on Monday, November 10, 2014 at New York’s Mandarin Oriental Hotel. The Gold Key Awards were sponsored by Boutique Design and...

CROSSVILLE, TENN.—Executives with Crossville, Inc., a domestic manufacturer of porcelain tile collections, have announced the unveiling of the company’s 2014 Sustainability Report. The report was compiled with input from Crossville’s stakeholders as gleaned through a formal survey and follow-up discussions conducted by a third party sustainability consulting firm and is based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) sustainability reporting and ISO 26001 frameworks. Additionally, it meets the requirements of LEED V.4 MRc3 Credit. This is the first such sustainability report in the company’s 28-year history, and it is also the first GRI-based document released by a tile-only manufacturer, denoting...

LAGRANGE, GA.—Interface has drawn on the natural beauty found in salvaged matter and materials for the design of its new Reclaim carpet tiles. The 25cm x 1m skinny plank series echoes the look of worn, weathered wood, lending interiors a feeling that’s both warm and inviting yet completely modern. Constructed of 100 percent recycled content fiber that combines reclaimed carpet fiber with salvaged fishing nets, Reclaim remains true to its name and at the same time is in lockstep with the company’s Mission Zero promise to eliminate any negative impact is has on the environment by the year 2020....

ST. PAUL, MINN.—A partnership between 3M Architectural Markets and designer Todd Bracher has resulted in the development, and now the commercialization of Lightfalls, an innovative new architectural lighting fixture. The fixture capitalizes on the laws of physics to distribute light from a single LED source over a large space, pouring light from one highly reflective surface to another.“Lightfalls is the result of physics meeting design,” said Bracher. “We are able to extend the reach of a single LED further than ever before—it is the work of optical engineers with unique materials who created it to steer light in efficient...

EVERETT, WASH.—Electric Mirror, a global leader in lighted mirrors and mirror TVs, announced its Best of BDNY (Boutique Design New York) award for its innovative and energy saving feature called Keen.Keen Technology is an energy-saving, environmentally-friendly feature that can be added to any of Electric Mirror’s collection of lighted mirrors. Keen has capacitive touch controls for eight levels of lighting and a night light. Offering almost a 60 percent reduction in lighted mirror energy costs, Keen has an intelligent sensor that automatically dims the mirror after one hour of non-use.“Hotels are responding enthusiastically to Keen,” said Jon Johnston, Senior...

HIGH POINT, N.C.—Custom Contract Furnishings (CCF) will be the first hospitality manufacturer to debut an innovative new natural foam, Enviro-Fiber Foam™, for use in its upholstery products, at BDNY. The company will be in booth No. 486 on November 9 and 10.Enviro-Fiber Foam™ is a natural alternative to polyurethane foam and carries with it many advantages. Not only does it feel and sit like traditional foam, but due to its natural fiber content, it is more environmentally friendly without the indoor toxicity concerns of polyurethane foam.According to Chris Morris, Director of Sales & Marketing at CCF, “The new Enviro-Fiber...

SAN FRANCISCO—Bamboo innovator Smith & Fong Co. announced the appointment of Stacy Willard to the position of Chief Operations Officer (COO), according to Smith & Fong founder and CEO Dan Smith.Willard, who joined the company in 2007 as inventory and logistics manager, has been instrumental in both shaping and organizing this area of the company’s operations. “Over the past eight years, Stacy has come to know the company and our mission in a broader dimension, and he was the natural choice to take on this new and challenging position,” Smith said.“Stacy has played a key role in Smith &...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the American Chemistry Council (ACC) recently announced a new initiative designed to ensure the use of sustainable and environmentally protective products in buildings by applying technical and science-based approaches to the LEED green building program. This new initiative acknowledges USGBC’s success in leading the transformation of the built environment and sets up a pathway to take advantage of the materials science expertise of ACC and its members.“USGBC and ACC share the goal of advancing sustainability in the built environment, and we will work together to take advantage of our collective strength...

NEW YORK—Sina Pearson, New York City-based designer/manufacturer of innovative commercial textiles, introduces a new collection titled Jubilee. Confetti, an indoor/outdoor fabric woven with Sunbrella Contract yarns, harmonizes with Sparkler, a glittery, sustainable polyurethane. Offered in many colorways, both patterns are beach cleanable, stain-resistant and durable.The new twosome complements Pearson’s All Spaces and Geometry 101 collections and is ideal for contract, healthcare, institutional, hospitality and residential use.Confetti combines its geometric motifs and color contrasts in unexpected, lively rhythms. The eight colorways, with names like Fruit Punch and Crayon, blend vivid hues with neutrals for effects that pop. Confetti complements Sparkler,...

SALEM, N.J.—Concurrent with a ribbon cutting ceremony at its newly-expanded manufacturing facility in Madison, Ga., Mannington Mills, Inc. announced that it has committed to yet another major investment at that same location.  The ribbon cutting celebrates the opening of its expanded manufacturing facility, which broke ground just one year ago. That facility’s footprint has doubled in size and quadrupled in capacity and, with that, significantly increased Mannington’s local workforce. By early 2015, 219 new jobs will have been added at this site.  “Thanks to Governor Deal and officials at the Georgia Department of Economic Development and the Madison-Morgan Chamber...