JEFFERSON CITY, TENN.—Longtime industry veteran, Peter Mandel, has created an exclusive collection of internationally known brands of Italian designed seating and tables to be manufactured and represented in North America under Motivo Furniture. Motivo Furniture, geared for the trade and hospitality industries, now offers more than 300 SKUs of highly styled modern Italian design that is fabricated in Tennessee, partnering with several Italian manufacturers that include: Costantini, Livoni and Softline-Allkit. Products include: exposed wood seating and tables along with mixed materials of wood, metal and plastics. Items are all inventoried, assembled, finished and upholstered in the United States.“The timing...

LAS VEGAS—This year’s Hospitality Design Expo + Conference, to be held May 15 to 17 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, will feature a Green Voice Luncheon on May 15, a series of Green Voice Conversations with Experts on May 15 and May 16, and a special session on “Creating a Sustainable ROI for Hotels” on May 15. More than 900 exhibitors’ products and services—many of which have a sustainability focus—will be included on the Expo’s trade show floor.At the Green Voice Luncheon from noon to 1:30 p.m. on May 15, David Mahood, LEED AP, Olive Designs and Olive...

TEMPERANCE, MICH.—MTS Seating announced that Josh Swy has been promoted to Director of Design. “Since being named product designer in 2012, Josh has created several new chair designs,” said MTS president Bart Kulish. “He has also completely redesigned our major trade show presence to give MTS a new, fresh image.”Swy was responsible for creation of the new Catalyst chair in an ultra-contemporary, asymmetrical design. The flex-back chairs feature multi-color upholstery treatments that offer customized design. Swy has also worked on an extended line of the company’s classic Moderne Collection, and next-generation stacking chairs for major lodging companies. Providing ‘Bold Design...

ACWORTH, GA—The facility dedicated to housing InterfaceSERVICES—the installation and maintenance business unit of modular carpet tile manufacturer Interface—has earned LEED-CI Gold certification. The interior includes 6,636 square feet of offices plus a 26,977-square-foot warehouse operation. Randall-Paulson was the architectural firm of record for the corporate campus, with Morrison-Hershfield consulting on and overseeing the sustainability aspects for Interface. Both firms are Georgia-based. InterfaceSERVICES took occupancy in May 2011.Sustainability is a corporate pillar of Interface, and it has long applied LEED-based design principles to all of its construction projects globally, including its LEED Platinum-certified Atlanta showroom.   “Interface founder Ray Anderson was...

WESTBURY, LONG ISLAND, N.Y.—The Viana Hotel and Spa announced that it has been awarded LEED Certification. The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environment Design) rating system, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), is the principal program for buildings, homes and communities that are designed, constructed, maintained and operated for improved environmental and human health performance.The Viana Hotel and Spa achieved LEED certification for implementing practical and measurable strategies and solutions aimed at accomplishing high performance in sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality.Operating Partner Alan Mindel of Samar Hospitality, the parent company to...

ALPHARETTA, GA.—BEST WESTERN PLUS The Inn at King of Prussia, a 168-room property owned and operated by RWK Enterprises, Inc., has completed a furniture refinishing and armoire conversion project led by The Refinishing Touch. Within 30 days, The Refinishing Touch restored headboards, nightstands, side chairs, benches, desks, micro fridge cabinets and armoires in 100 rooms throughout the establishment.With 2,500 square feet of meeting space added in 2011 and only 20 miles from Philadelphia, BEST WESTERN PLUS The Inn at King of Prussia caters to a large audience of corporate professionals. The most recent furniture renovations were a result of...

HIGH POINT, N.C.—Mitchell Gold, co-founder/chairman of the home furnishings manufacturing and retail brand Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, announced that the company has become the first corporate sponsor to reach the top level of the Sustainable Furnishings Council corporate sponsor program by donating $10,000. The Sustainable Furnishings Council is a nonprofit balanced coalition of industry players founded in High Point, N.C. in 2006 to promote sustainable and safe practices among manufacturers, retailers, and consumers alike. Gold is one of the board members responsible for bringing the idea of a corporate sponsorship program to the SFC board back in February...

SANTA CRUZ,  CALIF.—LittleFootprint Lighting, a pioneer of sustainably designed LED task lighting products made in the United States from recycled e-waste, announced the installation of its HeronLED Personal Task Lights in all 120 guestrooms in Seattle’s Hotel 1000. Known for its hi-tech, eco-friendly rooms and on Condé Nast Traveler’s Gold List 2013, Hotel 1000 purchased the desk lamps to provide better lighting for guests while reducing energy costs and demonstrating its commitment to sustainability and green jobs in the United States.The HeronLED Personal Task Light is the first made-in-USA LED desk lamp to earn the Energy Star and is...

CROSSVILLE, TENN.—Crossville Inc., a domestic porcelain tile manufacturer based in Crossville, Tenn., has diverted a total of 24 million pounds of porcelain from landfills since launching its Tile Take-Back program and TOTO USA recycling partnership. Both initiatives are based on Crossville’s proprietary process for recycling fired porcelain products, including post-consumer materials.Between both Tile Take-Back and the TOTO USA partnership, Crossville achieved the following in 2012: •    Recycled more than 5,550,354 pounds of fired tile produced at the company’s plants that would have previously gone to landfills; •    Received and processed more than 60,560 pounds of tile including scraps and post-consumer...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Gensler, a global design firm with more than 3,700 professionals in 43 locations on four continents, has joined the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Greenprint Center for Building Performance as its newest innovation partner. Greenprint is a worldwide alliance of leading real estate owners, investors and financial institutions committed to improving the environmental performance of the global property industry, with a focus on improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions.Gensler’s work reflects an enduring commitment to sustainability, and the firm is a global leader in green design. The firm approaches every project as an opportunity to enhance building, organizational,...