HMTX World Headquarters is the Incredible, Sustainable House on the Hill

Story at a glance:

• HMTX Industries’ new world headquarters is set to be Connecticut’s greenest building.
• HMTX partnered with McLennan Design on the 24,000-square-foot project.
• The project emphasizes biophilic design and art, with clear views to nature, murals, and more.

Plentiful natural light, biophilic design principles, and hallways full of colorful, inspiring art—it’s all part of a vision that HMTX Industries‘ CEO Harlan Stone has had for years. Now that vision is coming to life as part of HMTX’s new world headquarters, set to become Connecticut’s greenest building when it’s completed in Norwalk in 2022. As of mid-November 2022 the building was almost complete, and the team recently celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony.

The new building, which will also meet strict Living Building Challenge standards, is designed to make the most of a dense, rocky site. It serves as an oasis for employees and visitors alike, as it’s a short distance from the highway but a world away, with calming design elements like a water wall that masks highway noise and abundant art you’ll notice from the moment you drive up.

Stone calls it his “House Up On The Hill.”

“Our new HMTX headquarters is designed to represent the core values on which our company was built and has grown,” he says. “Our House Up On The Hill will merge nature and sustainability with innovation and collaboration. It will provide a unique space for artists, engineers, developers, and architects, as well as creative and disruptive thinkers, to exchange ideas and thoughts in this modern day salon.”

HMTX worked with McLennan Design and its founder Jason F. McLennan, founder of the Living Building Challenge, on the 24,000-square-foot project.

All of the building’s energy will be supplied by onsite solar, and compelling design features like wood and glass make a striking, sustainable exterior. Rainwater harvesting and many sustainable building materials fill out the building’s design.

The HMTX world headquarters is designed to sit above the ground in an effort to preserve as much of the existing landscape as possible, and it will produce zero carbon emissions. The building will also provide spaces for artists-in-residence design studios.

“Working with Harlan on this Living Building Challenge project has been an incredible experience,” says Jason F. McLennan, CEO of McLennan Design. “This facility will be groundbreaking, not only for its design, but for the pioneering product development work taking place inside.”

The new HMTX World Headquarters is on track to become the first Living Building Challenge Petal Certified project in Connecticut, and the first project in Norwalk to pursue the Living Building Challenge—the world’s most stringent green building rating system. This system promotes the concept of regenerative design to create spaces that give more than they take. As a living building, the HMTX facility is intended to be largely self-sufficient while creating a positive impact on the people and natural systems that surround it.

“This project is very special to me,” Stone says. “Norwalk has been home to HMTX for more than 20 years, and I have every hope and belief that this new building will be a proud addition to the community.”

HMTX Industries is a global new materials flooring company and a leader in luxury vinyl tile (LVT) manufacturing whose brands service a diverse cross-section of the construction marketplace.