Celebrating 30 Years of Material Innovation

This year marks both the 30th anniversary of Interiors & Sources, and the 4th anniversary of our revolutionary Materials Pavilion (#ISMatPav or #materialspavilion) at the annual NeoCon show in Chicago, and to celebrate, we’re making it bigger and better than ever!

If you’re not familiar with our Materials Pavilion (and you should be!), it’s the perfect place to discover a broad and exciting selection of decorative materials and finishes all in one convenient location. This year’s Pavilion, designed by members of the nonprofit organization Designs for Dignity (designsfordignity.org), will be expanding to 4,000 square feet of exhibit space on the 8th floor of the Mart (8-2130). On tap is an inspiring array of products curated by the Interiors & Sources editorial staff and designer and materials historian Grace Jeffers, in partnership with the experts at Material Intelligence, an informational resource on surfacing solutions for designers and fabricators.

The Pavilion’s emphasis is on experience and education. Each sample is accompanied by details on the material’s makeup, environmental properties, and recommended applications. Attendees will also discover how to specify exact design matches across several different types of materials, allowing designers to select the performance and durability required for every application in a project without having to compromise on the aesthetic they want.

Also be sure to stop by on Tuesday afternoon to meet the Interiors & Sources 2014 I Like Design student internship contest winner!

The following pages feature just a small sampling of the decorative materials and finishes you will find this year. Come and discover more in person during NeoCon—we hope to see you on the 8th floor!

Combining the hard industrial look of concrete with the soft translucence of silicon-rubber, Concrete-Silicon is one of the latest innovations from Renate Vos. The meeting point of the two contrasting mediums provides a serpentine strip, and the material emits a warm glow when a light source is placed behind it, making it ideal for lighting fixtures and other visual effects.

A light-reflecting material that also displays all the practical qualities of concrete, BlingCrete™ has the capability to bounce incoming rays of light—from either the sun or artificial light—back in the same direction. With its wide range of color options and its unique, individually manufactured textures and images, BlingCrete is perfect for railway station platforms, façade elements, and tiles.

Organoid from Organoid Technologies takes unprocessed, renewable natural materials such as alpine grass, lavender blossoms, and wood chips, and combines them with a 100 percent biodegradable binder to create a decorative, durable coating. Organoid can be sprayed onto architectural wall panels, decorative accessories, furniture, moldings, and more. Available in more than 30 organic material options.

Folding-A-Part is the work of Tel Aviv designer Mika Barr, and part of a collection of fabrics that start as a flat pattern, are folded, and fractured to become three-dimensional. The textiles are made through an innovative process where a substance used to create the pattern image is applied to the flat fabric surface, which then defines where the material will drop and fold.

A material designed to improve acoustics in public places, Cullus from Abinitio is designed for use in concert halls, nightclubs, and even home theaters. Made from Trevira CS, an inherently flame-retardant polyester yarn, the knitted fibers work hand-in-hand with the distinctive egg carton shape to both absorb and diffuse sound.

Providing a more stable and lightweight surfacing solution, SibuGlas from SIBU DESIGN is a polyethylene terephthalate-based plastic material that displays the qualities of glass. The product is inherently scratch-resistant and self-adhesive, available in multiple designs and offered in an abrasion-resistant variety for high-impact, high-traffic surfaces. SibuGlas is intended for use in decorative interior applications such as bars, shop displays, hotels, and restaurants.

Mushroom Materials from Ecovative Design is a completely biodegradable packing material that is actually grown from mycelium, the fungus that forms mushrooms. Ecovative Design grows the mycelium until it fills a predetermined space, then bakes the result to halt the process, resulting in a stable product that can be used as biodegradable packaging, wall insulation, or even furniture.

Known as a premier North American manufacturer of custom cast pewter and zinc countertops, range hoods, and furnishings, Bastille Metal Works modernizes antique metal techniques for the 21st century. Each of Bastille’s slip-cast pewter and zinc designs is handcrafted and ideal for use on bar tops and work surfaces in both commercial and luxury residential projects.

A metallic, thermoplastic surfacing material from SIBU DESIGN, SL Lava Copper uses embossed, printed, and laminated layers of metalized polyester film to create surface color variations that look like molten metal. This material is non-toxic, flexible, lightweight, and easily cut with a utility knife, yet highly resistant to abrasion, making it ideal for interior surfaces like furniture, cabinetry, and paneling.

Wool-Aluminum by Renate Vos is a versatile and whimsical material that emerged from the desire to make hand-weaving recognizable as a craft, and to implement it in a new and constructive way. Wool-Aluminum is the flexible yet structural combination of aluminum and wool, and is intended for both 2-D and 3-D use—an example being a rug that can be shaped and transformed into a sitting object.

Functioning as a metal bubble wrap, researchers at North Carolina State University have introduced a new aluminum-based metallic cushioning material for automobile body panels, helmets, suitcases, and wing edges of airplanes. This cutting-edge material has proven to be lighter, stronger, and more flexible than sheet metal, and more heat and chemical resistant than plastic or other polymer-based cushioning materials.

Wooden Textiles are the product of Berlin-based designer Elisa Strozyk, something she calls “half wood, half textile—between hard and soft.” It’s a wooden surface, yet one that can be manipulated by touch, transforming the common conception of wood as an exclusively hard surface. Wood pieces are adhered to a textile base in a kind of mosaic pattern, creating hinge points.

YES Essentials is an antimicrobial textile intended for use in vehicular upholstery. Using activated carbon, not only is it protected against odors caused by bacteria, it actively works to improve air quality, negating persistent odors such as cigarette smoke, exhaust fumes, and pet odors. YES Essentials also repeats and releases stains, is anti-static as well as antibacterial at high temperatures, and incredibly durable.

Renewable and free-formable, ArboSkin from Tecnaro is a bio-plastic product that can be worked like wood. Whether it’s CNC-milled, drilled, laminated, or laser-cut, ArboSkin sheets can generate different surface qualities and structures, as well as be injection molded or extruded into shapes. Composed of over 90 percent bio-polymers, ArboSkin also contains a mix of mineral compounds which shield the material from the effects of UV light.