2016 Flooring Design Award Winners Named

From a critically acclaimed, environmentally conscious airport project to the renovation of a national treasure that plays host to astronauts and space-flight enthusiasts, the winners of the 18th Annual Starnet Design Awards had judges and competitors seeing stars.

Starnet® Worldwide’s annual flooring design competition recognizes creativity, professionalism, quality and versatility, and this year’s winners encapsulated the power of innovative and bold flooring installation in commercial interior design. The winners were announced on April 15, 2016 in Miami, FL during Starnet Worldwide Commercial Flooring Partnership’s Annual Meeting, April 14-16.

“Once again, we are awestruck and proud of the work done by Starnet Members throughout the country,” said Jeanne Matson, President and CEO of Starnet. “The Design Awards allow us to come together and recognize this talent and creativity. This year’s winners demonstrate to the entire industry that outstanding flooring design and craftsmanship can achieve amazing results in the commercial market.”

Gold, silver and bronze prizes were awarded in six judged categories: Healthcare, Corporate, Education, Hospitality/Public Space, Environmental Achievement and Unique Installation Challenge. Votes from Starnet Members, Vendor Partners and members of the trade press selected the winners of the third annual People’s Choice Awards.

flooring designGrand Prize Winner/Gold in Corporate

The most prestigious award, the 2016 Grand Prize, was presented to Resource Colorado of Denver, CO for its work at IMM TI. The installation at the Boulder, CO-based digital agency also captured the Gold in Corporate.

“The entire team is honored to win both Gold in Corporate and the Grand Prize at the 2016 Starnet Design Awards,” said John Stanfield, Owner of Resource Colorado. “This project allowed us to flex our design and installation muscles and create a space that supported IMM’s staff and exuded their branding. The finished product represents our original mission for the building: revitalization, productivity and identity,” he added.

IMM TI is a brand driven by data, digital technology, and culture. The full-service agency needed a space that reflected its personality as a forward-thinking, modern, and youthful company but also provided a zen-like balance through the integration of greenery and blend of interior and exterior design elements. This project was selected as a winner because of the balanced combination of materials that resulted from this vision, along a well-edited approach.

“The project is a great accomplishment, with woven elements and a unified final design,” said Design Awards Judge Scott MacMeekin.

“The spaces are well integrated and the interior design elements look like architectural exterior components,” added Judge Megan Walker. “Planters integrated into the floor, an interesting interior/exterior connection, and a balanced selection in flooring products all came together well. It could easily have gone over the top, but it didn’t.”

The overall aesthetic was an industrial, neutral palette to which the flooring team added pops of color in the carpet, the greenery, and specific paint locations in order to align with the client’s professional but playful persona. A variety of collaborative and individual workspaces were integrated into the plan to support a range of staff work styles. Built-in “nooks,” standing height touchdown spaces and informal “living room” style meeting areas were all key factors in designing for company productivity, flexibility, and staff satisfaction.

flooring designGold in Environmental Achievement

The Gold in Environmental Achievement was awarded to Rubenstein’s Contract Carpets LLC for its work on the Portland International Airport (PDX) Terminal Recarpeting. The project, which gained national attention through coverage in the Wall Street Journal, Smithsonian, New York Times, and on NBC Nightly News, was done over 10 months in a fully operational airport. It saw the complete removal, reclamation, and replacement of 14 acres of carpeting, in an airport that was known for its iconic carpet pattern.

The environmental story at the Portland Airport goes beyond recycled content, sustainability, and LEED points. This project was all about the direct reuse of 14 acres of used carpet, without additional processing and direct recycling into carpet pad. Rubenstein’s Contract Carpets LLC was able to re-purpose and upcycle many of the products into entry mats, area rugs, wall art, Christmas ornaments, community center carpet, flooring for a renovated a 100-year-old building, baseball practice hitting facility, etc.

In the end, they were able to salvage or repurpose:

  • 10,080 square yards (25.2 tons or 2.08 acres) of iconic PDX carpet
  • 10,930 square yards (38.12 tons or 2.26 acres) of “other carpet from project”

In addition, the company recycled the balance of the material into a variety of materials, and all scraps of the new carpet (in excess of two feet) were saved and have been given to a vendor to make entry mats and area rugs for resale.

flooring design

Gold in Unique Installation Challenge

This year’s Unique Installation Challenge prize was awarded to Mr. David’s Flooring International, LLC for its work on a national treasure. The Kennedy Space Center’s Astronaut Encounter on Merritt Island, FL recently underwent a total system reboot. The dated complex, which includes a lobby/holding area, theater, gallery and corridors, was given a thorough refresh, and a futuristic new look promises to keep visitors enthralled for years to come.

While some areas required simple modifications, the newly redesigned 1,500-square-foot lobby and 4,000-square-foot theatre were a complete redesign and rebuild. Along with new theatre carpet flooring and wall carpeting, the lobby included black hexagonal tiles with an integrated LED programmed light show.

The challenge was to integrate the LED light system with the multi-angled hexagonal tile. Each tile side was intricately inset with aluminum LED track, lighting, and acrylic face. This exercise took two weeks to complete, impressive for the size and scope of a project located in a remote and high-security location. Even more impressive was that the flooring installation happened at the exact same time as all other projects, requiring much coordination and planning.

flooring designGold in Healthcare/Gold in People’s Choice

Mr. David’s Flooring International, LLC was also awarded the Gold in Healthcare and the Gold in People’s Choice for its work at the Rush University Medical Center Pediatric Intensive Care Unit in Chicago, IL. Born out of the idea that sick children often look down at the floor (instead of up at colorful wall graphics and images in the pediatric ICU) Mr. David’s and Designer Proteus Group worked with doctors, nurses, and a worried father to create a flooring solution that was both inspirational and provided a sense of escape from the reality of a very serious healthcare setting.

Divided into the ICU’s four quadrants, the installation includes images of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, all unique to the Chicago area. From Spring’s budding trees and dragonflies to Summer’s beach balls and footprints in the sand, the flooring motif led to Autumn’s falling leaves and footballs, and finally arrived at Winter’s frozen puddles, snowmen, and hockey sticks. The floor has since become a tool of healing for all ages. Soothing colors and gently flowing shapes encouraged very young children to find peaceful distraction, while still creating “find the flying kite” or “seek the sun” walking games for school-aged children who realized that they had recuperated enough to walk again.

As the center of a multi-layered visual program, the flooring imagery interconnects the various images of Chicago’s seasons on the walls, at light sconces, on patient boards, and even at room signage stations throughout the Unit. The highly successful flooring design has been credited for bringing a cheerful, healing environment with many layers of visual interest for all ages, one-time patients or frequent flyers, the medical/nursing staff, and the patients’ families.

flooring designGold in Education

The New Jersey City University for Business, a master class in color, scale, and material selection, was selected as the winner in the Education Category. Completed by Consolidated Carpet, the design adapts 52,000 square feet of former warehouse space, maximizing natural light and views of Lower Manhattan while allowing for future flexibility. The existing concrete columns and much of the ceilings are exposed, taking advantage of the character of the original architecture, and the floors were partially removed at the main entry to create a dramatic, two-story lobby with lounge seating, a monumental stair, a donor wall and direct views into the “trading room.”

The new spaces feature glass walls, bright colors, dramatic textures and cutting-edge, sustainable materials, providing NJCU with a state-of-the-art business school, right in the middle of the financial center of the world.

flooring designGold in Hospitality/Public Space

HarborChase of Shorewood, a retirement community with an “Urban Lodge” theme, took the Gold in Hospitality/Public Space for 2016. Completed by Mr. David’s Flooring International LLC, the four-story, 59-resident assisted living center and single-story 41-resident memory care building feature an array of destinations to fuel body, mind, and spirit.

A mix of neutral-toned flooring is found throughout the grand entrance, corridors, five different hospitality-infused dining spaces, salon, Wii bowling alley, memory care wing, living rooms, and light-filled double-height activity space.

“The result is a sense of warmth,” said Judge Megan Walker. “It is a combination of spaces that integrate everything from warm wood beams to warm textures and colors on the floor. HarborChase also offers an excellent sense of unity, with design consistency throughout.”