IRVINE, CALIF.—Known for their award-winning textiles and wallcoverings, Momentum Textiles & Wallcovering is advancing its commitment to providing the commercial design industry with smart, sustainable solutions through the introduction of Pindrop—a dedicated acoustics line featuring rigid solutions of all scales. The initial three collections launching within the Pindrop range include shapes and tiles, architectural layers, and larger scale panels, all of which are Red List Free and manufactured entirely of recycled PET. These hyper functional solutions offer designers and specifiers a new repertoire from Momentum to create calm, engaging and sound-conscious spaces across commercial, hospitality, workplace, and healthcare environments. While the brand...

SEATTLE—Urban Villages, a leading real estate developer and environmental steward, announced the summer 2024 opening of Hotel Westland, a carbon positive, adaptive reuse hotel in Seattle’s historic Pioneer Square neighborhood. Construction recently began on the 120-room hotel to modernize the historic structure, giving it a second life and ensuring it lasts for generations to come. Operated by Aparium Hotel Group and architecturally designed by The Miller Hull Partnership with interiors by Curioso, the boutique lifestyle hotel will highlight historic character maintained from the building’s 1907 construction, modern guestrooms and amenities, Pioneer Square’s first rooftop bar, and a signature restaurant, fueled by an authentic connection to...

CALHOUN, GA.—Mohawk Industries, the world’s largest flooring manufacturer, has earned a place among America’s Climate Leaders presented by USA Today. Mohawk was the only flooring manufacturer among the businesses recognized for making the greatest reductions in their carbon footprint. “To be ranked as one of America’s Climate Leaders is a great honor and reflects the great work being accomplished by thousands of our associates across our global operations,” said Malisa Maynard, Mohawk’s Vice President of Sustainability. “We are continuing to identify new and innovative ways to lower greenhouse gas emissions while creating sustainable products that improve homes and public spaces...

NEW YORK—One of Manhattan’s most prominent luxury hotels—the 463 all-suite Conrad New York Downtown—keeps pushing the bar higher for sustainability leadership in the Big Apple. Since opening in 2012, the hotel has maintained its LEED Gold certification, implemented numerous water-, energy- and waste-saving initiatives, and it just recently became the first hotel in the city and one of the first in the U.S. to utilize Power Over Ethernet (PoE) technology. The Sinclair in Fort Worth, Texas also uses this technology. PoE is used at the Conrad New York Downtown to power LED lighting in the lobby, in the newly renovated...

ATLANTA—Interface, Inc., the global flooring solutions company where everything is certified carbon neutral, launched several new flooring collections in the first and second quarter, designed to meet performance and aesthetic goals with a lower carbon footprint. With these latest resilient and carpet tile introductions, Interface continues to enhance its flooring portfolio with innovative designs that help customers meet their unique design objectives and solve challenges. The latest launches from Interface include: Third Space: Designed to support today’s workplace design trend of creating alternative spaces where people gather, converse, collaborate, and reenergize, this carpet tile collection combines the classic feel of...

MAUMEE, OHIO—Underscoring Fiberon’s commitment to sustainability, the company’s Wildwood composite cladding has earned a GREEN GOOD DESIGN Award from The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design. GREEN GOOD DESIGN Awards recognize products and projects that “are leading the global way to a design that is fully sustainable and compatible with the highest standards of good environment.” Because the composite cladding is made from 94 percent mixed recycled plastic and wood fiber content, Wildwood is a key component in Fiberon’s ability to save more than 1 million trees and repurpose an average of 100 million pounds of recycled plastic each year. “While the...

LOS ANGELES—Blair Block has begun commercial production of the world’s first ultra-low carbon concrete blocks at its concrete masonry production facility in Childersburg, Alabama. The new blocks leverage CarbonBuilt’s proprietary technology that reduces embodied carbon by 70-100+ percent compared to traditional concrete blocks. The blocks, which cost no more to produce than traditional concrete, will be used by C&C Masonry in the construction of several municipal projects across the state of Alabama. “This is not only a milestone for CarbonBuilt and Blair Block, but also for the broader concrete and building materials industries,” said Rahul Shendure, CEO of CarbonBuilt. “We’ve shown that it’s possible...

NATIONAL REPORT—The uncertainty and instability of the past several years have increased the level of stress in employees. In correlation to this, the health and wellness tourism market is growing. Indeed, the Global Wellness Institute expects that wellness tourism expenditures will likely hit $1.3 trillion by 2025. For this year, wellness packages, i.e., trips that focus on holistic well-being such as yoga retreats, are forecast to reach $29.3 billion, almost attaining the pre-pandemic level. This growing interest in health and wellness is not a surprise. The Covid-19 outbreak has shone a light on the importance of physical and mental health issues. As a result,...

SOLON, OHIO—Demonstrative of its commitment to sustainability, Tarkett, a leader in innovative and sustainable flooring solutions, has received two GREEN GOOD DESIGN Awards for its Inspired Nature and LinoFloor xf2 & LinoWall xf2 collections. Organized by the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies, GREEN GOOD DESIGN is an international program that recognizes new products, buildings, and construction and planning projects that have forwarded exceptional thinking and inspired greater progress toward a healthier and more sustainable universe. One of Tarkett’s award-winning collections, Inspired Nature, is a carbon-neutral collection of modular carpet...

PUNTA MITA, MEXICO—Naviva, A Four Seasons Resort, Punta Mita, Mexico was named one of the Best New Nature Resorts and one of the Best New Hotels in the world in Travel + Leisure’s 2023 It List. The distinguished annual It List recognizes the 100 best new and renovated hotels and resorts around the world that have made the biggest impression on the magazine’s editors and contributors. As a recognized property, Naviva, A Four Seasons Resort, Punta Mita, Mexico will be featured in the May 2023 issue of Travel + Leisure and online at travelandleisure.com. “We are excited to be spotlighted on the Travel + Leisure 2023 It List as a...