Lessons from the Beltline in Atlanta

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Locals and tourists alike continue to flock to the Beltline for its diverse offerings, walkability, and green space.
Experts point to how infrastructure is more than just concrete and buildings; it creates opportunities for people to live their lives in new ways.

More than just a path, Atlanta Beltline is a 22-mile loop connecting 45 intown neighborhoods. It’s a vibrant, ever-evolving public space where recreation meets the city’s soul,” says Charlene Lopez, executive vice president and chief sales officer for the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau. “As one of the nation’s most ambitious urban redevelopment projects, it’s a point of pride for locals and a must-see for visitors.”

On a warm day in spring, the Beltline was as busy as ever—couples on dates, people biking and rollerblading, young people headed to the skate park.

“The Beltline buzzes with life, offering a unique opportunity to explore Atlanta’s thriving culinary scene, craft breweries, art galleries, and local businesses,” Lopez says. “Plus, with the Westside Trail’s highly anticipated full opening this spring, it’s becoming an increasingly vital transportation corridor.”

Countless murals, places to sit surrounded by trees, and easy access into inviting, walkable neighborhoods continue to make the Beltline a destination.

Beltline Beginnings

Ponce City Market is just steps from the Beltline and today is home to more than 80 businesses as part of an impressive adaptive reuse project. Photo by Melissa McAlpine, courtesy of ACVB

Ryan Gravel studied architecture and city planning in undergrad at Georgia Tech and fell in love with cities during his senior year while in Paris. “Specifically the role of the city itself—the physical, built city—and shaping opportunities for my life, that this physical city creates opportunities or limitations to the way people live. The design of the city matters to the way we want to live,” he says.

Gravel returned to grad school, where his master’s thesis in 1999 was the original vision for the Atlanta Beltline. “I wanted to imagine a different kind of future for the city that would make me want to live here and invest my career and family and all of that here. I never imagined we would actually do it. I just wanted to propose an idea,” he says. “So the Beltline was my thesis project. It was about transforming Intown Atlanta, 45 different neighborhoods, incentivizing their revitalization and the redevelopment—specifically the redevelopment of all the industrial land that follows them by repurposing these old freight railroads for a different kind of purpose.”

At the time the area was suffering from crime and had largely been abandoned when industry moved out to the suburbs, Gravel says. Today the Beltline attracts 2 million people each year—and not just tourists. Many people use it to commute to work, says Michael Phillips, president of Jamestown, the global real estate management and investment firm best known in Atlanta for developing Ponce City Market—itself a major anchor with public green space and direct access to the Beltline.

“The Beltline was a great promise, an elastic promise for a long time until it came into fruition,” Phillips says. “It’s a really interesting alternative, transit-based development corridor despite the fact that the rail isn’t there today. It’s really proven to be this incredible connective tissue and an alternative form of transit in a really healthy way.”

Jamestown was working on Ponce City Market, which officially opened in 2014, around the same time as the Beltline was taking off. “It really created this Old Fourth Ward critical mass or epicenter of how people started to engage with all these things around the first section of the Beltline,” Phillips says. “Lots of amazing neighbors and collaborators have come together as part of that.”

Today Ponce City Market itself is home to more than 80 businesses—from high-end restaurants and retail to more casual dining, shopping, and even Skyline Park, a rooftop Coney Island–style boardwalk with games, rides, and more. An impressive 6,000 businesses are within a half mile of the Atlanta Beltline, according to beltline.org. Jamestown also recently developed Scout Living, a flexible hospitality offering steps from the market.

How We Live Matters

The Beltline is used by locals, commuters, tourists, and businesspeople on any given day. Photo by James Duckworth, courtesy of ACVB & Atlantaphotos.com

While Gravel has no official designation with the Beltline these days, his expertise continues to be valued by communities far and wide. Through his urban design consultancy Sixpitch he works with clients on dramatic city transformations using a range of approaches and partnerships he says are designed to support a more equitable, resilient, and beautiful world. He currently advises on a few Beltline-esque projects in addition to other work.

“We’ve been building cities around cars now for over half a century, and it’s not really working that well,” he says. “If we want a different way of life we need to be building something else.” The Beltline, he says, is a great and innovative example of how that can work. “It made Atlanta a different kind of place and changed people’s expectations about their own lives.”

We’ve been building cities around cars now for over half a century, and it’s not really working that well.

The challenge, he says, is the follow-through. “For these big, long-term projects you have to maintain that commitment to make sure the whole thing gets built, that it includes everybody, that we follow through on transit and housing and all the other things that make it work long-term. That’s been the biggest challenge for the Beltline.”

Gravel says the city is changing in front of our eyes, and it continues to be important to pay attention to how that change affects all people. “There are lots of lessons to learn in that. The Beltline is as much about lessons of what not to do as what to do, and that’s how the world is built.”

Atlanta’s Beltline is an inspiring greenway that continues to evolve. Photo by Gene Phillips, courtesy of ACVB & Atlantaphotos.com

For Gravel, the Beltline continues to be important because it’s a part of where he and his family live. “Love is this underrated line of thinking in terms of urban development and city planning. We act like we are making these objective decisions about things, but we’re not. We’re making decisions for our own lives and the way we want to live them and who we want to live them with. It’s really personal,” he says.

“It matters, and that’s what makes life interesting. Frankly, that’s what makes cities interesting. That’s why I was always drawn to infrastructure,” Gravel says. “Like the Beltline right now. It’s just a multi-mile slab of concrete, but what it does for people, the way that it allows them to live the kinds of lives they want to live, and what they do with it is really interesting. That’s what makes the Beltline interesting; it’s not the slab of concrete. It’s the way the people use it and the kinds of lives and opportunities it creates for them.”

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Atlanta’s Commitment to a Greener Future is Paying Off

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Urban metropolis meets serene oasis in Georgia’s capital city of Atlanta.
The city is known for its walkability, thanks to projects like the Beltline.
Piedmont Park is another evolving success, with 185 acres of trails, nature, and fitness amenities.

Atlanta is known as the “City in a Forest.”

Georgia’s capital, population 518,000, has the highest urban tree canopy coverage among comparable cities in the US—47.9% according to one Urban Tree Canopy study.

“This reflects the city’s successful fusion of urban development and robust sustainability efforts,” says Charlene Lopez, executive vice president and chief sales officer for the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau.

City of Parks

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Lake Clara Meer in Piedmont Park is a popular spot for locals and visitors alike in Atlanta. Photo by Gene Phillips, courtesy of ACVB & atlantaphotos.com

Take a stroll through any neighborhood and you won’t have to walk far before you see green. Piedmont Park, the Shirley Clarke Franklin Park, and more than 300 other parks bring life to Atlanta year-round, according to ChooseATL.

Piedmont Park itself is 185 acres and home to any number of birds and other flora and fauna. It’s so beautiful painters regularly set up their easels along Lake Clara Meer to capture the skyline through the trees.

“Visitors and locals can experience our commitment to sustainable tourism through our more than 300 parks and gardens, like Westside Park and Piedmont Park, as well as the beloved Atlanta Beltline (read more on the following pages) and PATH 400,” Lopez says. “These green spaces offer scenic and sustainable routes throughout the city.”

A Sustainable City

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Ponce City Market, just off the Beltline, is a bustling a mixed-use development in a former Sears catalog facility in Atlanta. Photo by Gene Phillips, courtesy of ACVB & atlantaphotos.com

Get around using MARTA, Atlanta’s public transit, or hit one of the many popular pedestrian and cycling paths in the heart of the city.

The city’s businesses, too, are emphasizing sustainability at every turn, Lopez says. Atlanta is ranked fourth in the country for Energy Star–certified buildings, according to the EPA.

Since August 2022 Georgia has led the nation in clean energy investment and new energy projects, Lopez says. Restaurants like Bacchanalia and The CHASTAIN have earned MICHELIN Green Star recognition for their commitment to sustainability, and green lodging is more plentiful than ever.

“Many of Atlanta’s hotels also prioritize sustainable practices such as water and energy usage, offering eco-friendly amenities.”

The city also regularly hosts major events in world-class, energy-efficient venues like the Georgia World Congress Center—the world’s largest LEED-Gold certified convention center at the time of its completion—the LEED Platinum Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and the TRUE Platinum Certified Zero Waste State Farm Arena.

A Cleaner Future

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Piedmont Park is full of beautiful vantage points and places to sit, play, or walk. Photo by Gene Phillips, courtesy of ACVB & atlantaphotos.com

Atlanta is also moving toward a cleaner future with the City of Atlanta’s 100% Clean Energy Plan, aiming for complete clean energy transition by 2035. The resolution defines clean energy as “energy derived from wind, solar, existing and low-impact hydroelectric, geothermal, biogas, and wave technology sources.”

“While Atlanta holds a strong foundation in sustainability, we understand that ‘green’ is a continuous effort,” Lopez says. “We’ve celebrated notable achievements, but we’re also focused on the next phase of our evolution. Looking 10 years into the future, I envision a city where sustainability is deeply ingrained in every aspect of life. Atlanta’s forward-thinking approach and collaborative spirit will undoubtedly take us to new heights.”

Read about some of the area’s recent successes with stories on the Beltline, Scout Living, Serenbe’s Biophilic Leadership Summit, and a new Studio Gang–designed arts center at Spelman College.

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The Biophilic Leadership Summit at Serenbe is Focused on the Future

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The Biophilic Leadership Summit takes place just outside of Atlanta—on thousands of acres of nature that participants are encouraged to interact with.
The conference takes place at Serenbe—a growing walkable community focused on health and well-being.

Waking up at Serenbe, you hear the birds chirping before the sun rises. Shortly after, colleagues do sunrise qigong next door before architects, designers, and other biophilic-minded professionals take seats in a light-filled conference room for an intimate day of learning and networking. It’s all part of the Biophilic Leadership Summit.

What is the Biophilic Leadership Summit?

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”When you’re connecting to nature and each other, you feel it.” That’s what Serenbe Founder Steve Nygren says of his growing walkable community and the benefits it provides to those living there as well as visitors like those at the annual Biophilic Leadership Summit. Photo by Foster Branding

This year’s three-day event took place in late March 2025 at Serenbe—a 30-minute drive from the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport but a world away from the hustle of one of the region’s most populous cities. Serenbe, The Biophilic Institute, and Biophilic Cities hosted the annual conference in the bucolic setting, where attendees were also invited to take long walks in nature or practice a little forest therapy during their stays.

“In our eighth year, and sixth in person, the Biophilic Leadership Summit goal remains the same—bringing together top industry thought-leaders in an intimate natural setting to network, build partnerships, and learn from each other as the only multi-day conference entirely focused on biophilic projects,” says Steve Nygren, Serenbe Founder.

Nygren founded Serenbe in 2004, years after he moved his own family to the area and started buying up land that seemed almost too good to be true. He was onto something big; it was an opportunity to live not far from the urban sprawl (with easy access to the world via the airport) but be immersed in nature.

The Growth of Serenbe

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Serenbe continues to grow, with more than 1,200 people living in more than 700 homes. The community recently announced its newest neighborhood, or hamlet, called Spela. The name translates to play in Swedish, with 70 homes in phase one and more than 350 homes planned. Photo by Foster Branding

Nearly two decades after the Nygren family moved, Serenbe has become a highly sought-after walkable community with instant forest access, more than 1,000 residents, and a bustling social calendar.

“We led an effort to bring a community together—both pro-development and pro-preservationists for a common vision—and we created our own zoning on 40,000 acres. That then became a city because it was different zoning than metro Atlanta. We broke ground on our own land to prove that this concept of biophilic, balanced growth worked,” Nygren says. “We can develop without destroying nature.”

Today Serenbe is 2,000 acres—most of it nature, including trails and farming while the city “center” is made up of the inn and facilities and nearby neighborhoods that are dense and walkable.

“Since its founding 20 years ago, Serenbe has been a model for biophilic living,” Nygren says. “The principles are ingrained throughout the community, aiming to foster personal well-being, community engagement, national security, and global balance through 12 biophilic planning and design elements. As the only multi-day conference focused on biophilia, it’s only natural to host it at Serenbe where attendees can see, and feel, the principles on the ground and in action.”

Leaders Planning for a Healthier Future

: Gail Brager, architecture professor at UC Berkeley, leads an academic roundtable on biophilic wellness design. Photo by Foster Branding

: Serenbe Founder Steve Nygren chats with Tye Farrow, founding principal of Farrow Architects, during an evening cocktail party at the 2025 Biophilic Leadership Summit. Photo by Foster Branding

Whether at the Summit or not, connecting with nature is a crucial element of biophilia, Nygren says. “While part of the sessions of the Biophilic Leadership Summit are held within a more traditional conference room setting, the room’s large windows overlook the preserved forests that are an important part of Serenbe and biophilia; you are never far from a soft breeze and natural light. The Summit’s program incorporates moments in nature throughout, including forest bathing, wellness walks, and other activities that had them experiencing the many acres of nature within Serenbe and Chattahoochee Hills.”

This year’s speakers talked a lot about the impact of nature on health and well-being, including data on the years that proximity to trees can add to our lives and the human need for direct sunlight. But still, some people don’t know what biophilic design—the strategies that aim to connect architecture, and in particular a building’s occupants, to nature—is, and that underlines the importance of the event.

“We broke ground on Serenbe 21 years ago, and the first residents moved in 20 years ago. We have some kids who’ve grown up here who are coming home from college,” Nygren told attendees during this year’s opening keynote at the Biophilic Leadership Summit. “What an incredible thing to see.”

Many Serenbe residents attended the conference and shared stories with others over cocktails or breakfast, from folks who made the move away from big cities to building professionals who were looking for ways to incorporate more biophilic design principles back at work.

“Some people have been here a long time. Right, Jim?” Nygren joked during the keynote. “Ask them if living here in a biophilic design community results in health, happiness, and harmony. For those who are here for the first time, get out, talk to people, try to figure out how this is all happening in the middle of the woods. There’s nothing logical about anyone who’s moved here,” he laughed. “They don’t have a logical story as to why they needed to, but they felt it. When you’re connecting to nature and each other, you feel it. It isn’t something you logically understand. But that’s what this work is we’re all doing. And you coming here helps us spread that word.”

Looking Ahead

: Spring flora and fauna were among the many sights on nature walks at Serenbe during the 2025 Biophilic Leadership Summit. Photo by Foster Branding

: Serenbe, The Biophilic Institute, and Biophilic Cities hosted the annual Biophilic Leadership Setting at Serenbe, where attendees were also invited to walk in nature. Photo by Foster Branding

Future summits will include an immersive tour of the surrounding city of Chattahoochee Hills, which is well on its way to becoming a wellness valley of its own with extensive agriculture, from family farms to aquaponics, cultural destinations, and global integrated wellness services, Nygren says. More networking opportunities, additional CEUs, and breakout groups in an invitation-only format are also planned for the future at Serenbe.

Nygren’s first book, Start In Your Own Backyard: Transforming Where We Live with Radical Common Sense, also comes out in fall 2025. The book shares the story of Serenbe as well as Nygren’s motivations for developing the wellness community.

“The book also provides readers ways to incorporate biophilic and sustainable practices into their own sphere of influence and places that they live and work,” he says. “Start In Your Own Backyard will hopefully inspire others to take action and encourage positive change.”

An intimate annual Nygren Placemaking conference will also explore these principles, Sept. 29 to Oct. 1, at Serenbe.

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Spectorgroup on Sustainable Historic Preservation at 838 Broadway

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Spectorgroup’s 838 Broadway rehab offers insights on how to reduce material use while respecting the authenticity of historic buildings.
Authenticity was key to the interior redesign, with inspiration drawn from the building’s original facade.
Focusing on the structural features, like high ceilings, brick walls, and large windows reduced materials used for design.

There’s a common adage in the architecture and design community—the most sustainable building is the one that is already built. It’s reflective of the fact that, when you factor in the emissions from the material extraction, transportation, and manufacturing processes, rehabbing an existing building is still generally greener than building high-performance new construction.

It’s a mantra that Sara Agrest, design director and senior associate at Spectorgroup, brought to her work leading interior design and branding on the historic preservation and renovation of 838 Broadway in New York City. “This is why we did this project,” she says. “New York City has incredible buildings that need to be maintained and celebrated. Our design and construction community has an obligation to preserve these buildings; they’re intrinsic to the fabric of the city.”

In the historic Union Square neighborhood, 838 Broadway was originally built in 1876 and served a wide variety of uses over its 150-year lifespan, including housing New York University administrative offices for the past 50 years or so.

The rehab project brought the building into the modern era, transforming the lobby and three floors of offices into contemporary, amenity-rich workspaces that pay homage to the rich architectural history of the building and neighborhood.

Agrest recently sat down with gb&d to discuss her work on 838 Broadway, the importance of historical preservation, and how updated building codes drive sustainability.

What was the mission for 838 Broadway?

: Designed by Stephen Decatur Hatch in 1876, what is now 838 Broadway was built on the site of President Theodore Roosevelt’s great-great uncle James T. Roosevelt’s home. Photo by Connie Zhou, courtesy of Spectorgroup

: Spectorgroup’s transformation of 838 Broadway demonstrates the sustainability of historic preservation. Photo by Connie Zhou, courtesy of Spectorgroup

Overall the client’s goals were always office space, but they knew they wanted something really special. They realized that in order to achieve the vision they wanted, they would need to find high-end firms that would appreciate both the location—which is phenomenal—the building, and then just the general detail we were going to put into the project.

In terms of sustainability the goal was to increase efficiency by replacing all of the existing building systems, which would enable them to provide Class A office space for future tenants. Many of the building system upgrades were mandated by New York City building codes, which shows that city codes really do make a difference in the built environment.

By completely replacing all existing building systems, we were in 100% compliance with all of the latest codes, which are exponentially more efficient than those put into place in the 1970s [the last time the building was renovated].

How did the design motif inspire your work?

Authenticity was key to the interior redesign, with inspiration drawn from the building’s original facade. Photo by Connie Zhou, courtesy of Spectorgroup

As a New Yorker I was over the moon; it was this gift to me to work on this project. There was no way we’d do an imitation of the original architecture, so it had to be an interpretation and making it into this modern but edgy juxtaposition in some ways.

In our research we discovered that a lot of the competition in terms of Union Square office space in similar buildings of that era, there wasn’t a lot of consideration of incorporating the original architecture. Everything seems like it was applied to the inside; it was like you could be anywhere. You had no idea you were in this historic building. It was just your typical office space.

I realized there’s a really interesting window shape; it’s not just a simple curve, it’s an inverted curve in the corners and then arches, and that was something that seemed unique to this building. The windows became part of the inspiration for the lobby—that sort of trellis you walk through is a repeated three-dimensional image of that motif. It was very much inspired by that turn-of-the-century building with a vaulted ceiling. We’re sort of flipping that, and it’s made up of the metal pieces tracing the geometry of the windows.

That became the logo for the building, and I think that was a perfect example of creating something that was super authentic to the brand and the building that wasn’t something that was overlaid. It came out naturally.

What were the biggest challenges?

Focusing on the structural features, like high ceilings, brick walls, and large windows, reduced materials used for design. Photo by Connie Zhou, courtesy of Spectorgroup

This is a small building, which meant we didn’t have unlimited space. In that way it was like a jigsaw puzzle figuring out how to orient the stairs and elevators while ensuring everything was code compliant. At the same time, because it was a gut renovation, we had more freedom to arrange the pieces of the puzzle.

The process of installing all-new building systems required us to be creative in figuring out where the ductwork and pipework would fit in the space. We had to ensure everything was arranged perfectly in these very tight floor plans to maximize efficiency.

Many of our reconfigurations were geared toward enhancing the building experience. The original entrance layout was inconvenient for visitors who had to schlep all the way to the back for the elevators. We replaced the 50-year-old elevators and rearranged the layout to bring them further toward the front. We wanted to do everything we could to make the space feel better. The domino effect of our choices in the lobby made all of the upper floors more efficient as well.

What are the current trends in preservation and renovation?

I was thinking so much about the fact that there was this big break during Covid. In my experience we stopped focusing on trends because we weren’t around each other as much to keep those trends alive, and people went back to authenticity and a blank slate, and this was something that was really important to me. I would say that is the current trend, but it’s also a non-trend.

For a while people were slapping Instagrammable moments onto everything … now we’re getting away from that.

For a while people were just slapping “Instagrammable” moments onto everything, and that’s what you had in a lot of office spaces—kitschy, corny things that were superficial, and now we’re getting away from that. I am extremely modern in my design thinking, but that’s what I love about historic rehab; you don’t have to keep everything, but it’s incredible how the things you can keep transform the space by incorporating these different elements, and it does make it more authentic.

Why is historic preservation and retrofitting so important to sustainability?

Spectorgroup transformed 838 Broadway in New York City. Photo by Connie Zhou, courtesy of Spectorgroup

Here at Spectorgroup we do subscribe to the notion that the greenest building is a building that already exists. This building is such a gem; there was no need to cover everything up with extra materiality. Instead we let the architecture do the heavy lifting. The high ceilings, brick walls, and large windows were all natural elements that were already there.

In general using fewer materials is inherently more sustainable. Using less saves energy required for transporting materials and also reduces the amount that will end up in a landfill 20 years from now. A minimal approach helps to ensure the space will be in use for longer, without requiring additional renovations every few years.

We also saw the space as a kind of art gallery. The space will house people doing their daily work, and the architecture is intended to be a complementary surrounding rather than making its own statement. This enables the space to be more flexible for future tenants who will come in and want to make the space their own. This is the magic of a pre-built office space—it’s a blank slate with infinite possibilities.

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Chryso Quad Honored as a 2025 Concrete Contractor Top Products Award Winner

Chryso, a global leader in sustainable construction solutions and part of Saint-Gobain Construction Chemicals, proudly announces that Concrete Contractor, the nationally recognized magazine serving concrete construction professionals, has named Chryso®Quad a 2025 Concrete Contractor Top Products award winner.

The 2025 Concrete Contractor Top Products Award highlights the concrete industry’s most groundbreaking innovations that are helping contractors overcome daily challenges and preparing them for long-term success. Winners were chosen based on nominations, audience engagement at ForConstructionPros.com, and final selection by the publication’s editorial team.

“This is my favorite time of the year for the magazine,” said Jonathan Kozlowski, editor of Concrete Contractor and Rental. “This award program not only celebrates the modernization and creativity of the industry but represents how concrete work is evolving year over year. As always, I’m proud to announce the winning products of Concrete Contractor’s Top Products Awards.”

Chryso Quad is transforming sustainable concrete production with a revolutionary system that enables the use of complex and lower-quality aggregates, without sacrificing high-performance standards. Designed to meet the concrete industry’s increasing demand for low-carbon solutions and circular economy practices, Chryso Quad optimizes the use of locally sourced aggregates, including harsh manufactured sands, sands with lower gradation, swelling clay-contaminated materials, and reclaimed aggregates from deconstruction sites.

Key Benefits of Chryso Quad

Supports Circular Economy Practices: Encourages the use of local materials, reducing long-haul transportation emissions and promoting resource reuse.

Enhanced Aggregate Utilization: Unlocks the potential of complex, previously underused aggregates while maintaining superior concrete performance.

Cost Efficiency: Lowers procurement costs, minimizes supply chain vulnerabilities, and helps mitigate the impact of tariffs on imported raw materials.

Low-Carbon Concrete Production: Empowers contractors to meet green building standards by achieving measurable reductions in CO₂ emissions without compromising strength or durability.

Resilient Infrastructures: Helps build strong, sustainable structures that are better prepared for the environmental challenges of tomorrow.

“We are honored to receive the 2025 Concrete Contractor Top Products Award for Chryso Quad,” said Chryso North America Senior Director of Technical Services G. Terry Harris. “As contractors face new material challenges and growing environmental expectations, we are proud to provide solutions that help them succeed. With its powerful combination of sustainability, resilience, and efficiency, Chryso Quad sets a new benchmark for what’s possible in modern concrete construction.”

About Chryso

Chryso, part of Saint-Gobain Construction Chemicals, is a global leader in sustainable construction solutions. With a team of 3,000 experts worldwide, we develop cutting-edge admixtures and additives to tackle the toughest challenges in the concrete and cement industry. From scientists to commercial teams, we deliver tailored solutions and foster long-lasting relationships that catalyze innovation and success. Our solutions not only enhance our customers’ competitive edge, but also significantly reduce their carbon footprint and improve material performance, helping to build a better future, for both people and the planet.

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Reducing Carbon with SOM’s In-House Sustainable Engineering Studio

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SOM’s in-house Sustainable Engineering Studio (SES) assesses carbon and transforms project outcomes.
SES includes 20 professionals across disciplines in five cities. The studio started in Chicago from an MEP practice and has since evolved into a global operation.
The studio tracks the embodied carbon of every project across SOM offices and recently expanded into new services like whole life carbon accounting.

An in-house engineering department and a collaborative global team focused on sustainability is part of what makes Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) a continued leader in the field of architecture, design, and engineering.

SOM’s Sustainable Engineering Studio (SES) is a 20-person interdisciplinary engineering studio focused on solutions for a sustainable future. The team of sustainability experts was established in Chicago in the early 2000s and has recently expanded across five SOM offices in New York, San Francisco, London, and Hong Kong. Three women—Marzia Sedino in Chicago, Mina Hasman in London, and Shona O’Dea in San Francisco—lead the global practice, driving innovation in sustainability across SOM projects.

Sedino has been with SOM for 18 years, starting in New York before transferring to Chicago in 2011. “We are shape-shifters,” she says. “Among five offices are a variety of skill sets. I have been here 18 years; I feel like I’ve seen it all, and yet every day I learn something new.”

SES is integrated in the design workflow as a support from day one. “We work together as part of the design team, and we are also a go-to resource. If there’s a question that comes up or something that requires our expertise, we are there to answer,” Sedino says.

She says the group continues to be driven by the opportunity to learn more and improve projects. “Applying different knowledge and skill sets to view society’s challenges is just so very inspiring. We work at such a broad scale of projects.”

Reducing Carbon

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The LEED Platinum San Mateo County headquarters is the first net-zero energy civic building constructed with mass timber in the US. Photo by Dave Burk, courtesy of SOM

The SES team is involved from the earliest stages of concept design, working alongside architects and structural engineers to analyze design options and maximize sustainability. SOM is one of few architecture firms with these capabilities in-house, which has proven to be a major advantage in optimizing building performance and reducing carbon footprints.

The broad scale of work brings new ideas and expertise to each project, whether the SES team is providing an in-depth analysis on material selection, doing a whole life carbon assessment for a large project, or studying how best to design for comfort in a tiny hospital room, Sedino says.

SOM’s whole life carbon accounting process, launched in 2023, also helps the firm accelerate low-carbon building design and development. The team developed this system for evaluating and measuring whole life carbon emissions clearly and comprehensively from the very beginning of a project and throughout its life cycle. The work gives clients a holistic view of a project’s environmental impact while helping to inform future SOM projects.

Carbon accounting assessments are often performed at the end of design stages and often by different parties and to different standards, Sedino says, resulting in isolated calculations that are not comparable and cannot effectively illustrate a building’s accurate performance or inform design choices.

“Embodied carbon is a big buzzword in the industry now,” Sedino says. But SOM can take projects through the whole life carbon accounting process—looking both at embodied carbon and the operational carbon and even what happens after a project is renovated or demolished and rebuilt, she says. “That’s what makes it whole life—the entire life cycle of a building.”

Sometimes something we learn on a very small scale gets replicated on a much larger scale, which is the beauty of what we do.

While SOM offers this service to clients, Sedino says the firm tracks carbon on every project internally no matter what. “That’s how we learn the data, improve the way we design, and then apply it back to other projects,” she says. “That is a commitment the leadership made—dedicating budgets and time for that.”

Sedino says every project is different, and every journey teaches them something new they can then apply elsewhere. “Sometimes something we learn on a very small scale gets replicated on a much larger scale, which is the beauty of what we do.”

SOM has been a carbon-neutral business since 2023 and also releases an annual Climate Action Report completed by SES that informs much of SOM’s work. Much of their latest report focuses on their continued efforts to reduce carbon emissions across projects while pursuing high-impact partnerships and research.

In the past two years the SES team has also begun to offer its services outside SOM, from independent decarbonization work and climate action plans to post-occupancy evaluations and life carbon accounting services.

Case Study: San Mateo

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SOM designed the LEED Platinum San Mateo County headquarters and achieved an 85% reduction in structural embodied carbon. Photo by Dave Burk, courtesy of SOM

Completed in 2024, SOM designed the LEED Platinum San Mateo County headquarters and achieved an 85% reduction in structural embodied carbon. The project is the first net-zero energy civic building constructed with mass timber in the US. Given that the area is prone to wildfires and extreme weather due to climate change, the project’s mission was a sustainable one from the very beginning. “The design was focused on reducing embodied carbon as much as possible,” Sedino says.

SOM was able to reduce the amount of timber required for the structure and pared down the number of steel components. While a typical mass timber structure has 65 to 75% less embodied carbon than a conventional steel structure, the building’s structural timber design achieved an 85% reduction, according to SOM.

Eliminating materials like conventional hung acoustical ceilings, which were replaced by alternative acoustical solutions, and specifying low-carbon materials allowed for additional carbon reduction. The prefabricated timber components made the construction process faster and more precise than conventional building processes, further reducing carbon impact, according to SOM.

Case Study: Champaign, IL

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Research for structural optimization, fireproofing, and MEP was done by SOM in collaboration with engineering students and faculty at the LEED Platinum University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign – Campus Instructional Facility (CIF). The project is now part of the engineering school curriculum. Photo by Dave Burk, courtesy of SOM

SOM also invests in cutting-edge research and collaborating with universities, government agencies, and industry partners. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign – Campus Instructional Facility (CIF) achieved net zero operational carbon in its first year. Designed by SOM in close collaboration with the university, CIF opened in 2021 as a flexible center for learning and technology for the Grainger College of Engineering. “It’s a building to most people, but for us as designers and for the students, it’s more than just a building. It’s a learning tool and a place of discovery,” Sedino says.

Research for structural optimization, fireproofing, and MEP were done in collaboration with the university’s engineering students and faculty, and the building itself is now part of the engineering school curriculum. The LEED Platinum project includes a reduced window wall ratio, radiant systems, low-VOC materials, electrochromic glazing on the east/west facades for shading, ground source heat exchange partially funded by a grant from the University’s Student Sustainability Fund, and a photovoltaic allocation from the university’s solar farm. The building is all electric.

“The willingness on the client side to use this building and the design process to embody the engineering learning and engineering teaching was quite critical,” Sedino says. “The building comes to life to become a learning tool. That doesn’t happen very often.”

Working with an in-house engineering team from day one offered key advantages, Sedino says, and in close collaboration with dbHMS, the project’s MEP engineering consultant, those early efforts translated into meaningful results. “The fact that we were doing this on day one, that we were part of the design conversation along with the client before the project was even starting, was incredible. It allowed us to do all those things at cost, with the engagement of the students.”

Meet the Engineer

Marzia Sedino is an environmental engineer. She leads the firm’s Sustainable Engineering Studio in Chicago and co-leads SOM’s Climate Action Group Committee. She acts as an environmental consultant to ensure building and master plan designs respond to the environmental needs of their context, preserve the ecology of their site, and enhance their occupants’ health and adopts strategies to minimize their carbon footprint through their life cycle. She works closely with architects, urban planners, interior designers, and MEP engineers as part of a collaborative and multidisciplinary design team.

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An Expert’s Guide to Sustainable Flooring

Story at a glance:

Flooring and sustainable flooring materials are expected to rise at a CAGR of 5.1% between 2021 and 2031.
Sustainable flooring can range from hardwood to rubber to carpet and more.
Finishing and coatings can help keep floors clean, durable, and beautiful for years to come.

Whether your next project is a home renovation, a new school design, or a commercial or hospital remodel, sustainable flooring can elevate the space.

As the demand for eco-friendly flooring solutions increases, it’s important to understand your options. “Global flooring and carpet sales will grow at a healthy CAGR of over 5% through 2031, despite a period of muted growth in 2020,” according to a study by Future Market Insights.

The study reveals that sustainability has become more important to consumers. Sustainability is an irrefutably significant thought for designers and architects, as well as the customers they design for. Due to the waste that’s produced when installing flooring and carpet, choosing flooring responsibly is key.

Hardwood, porcelain, rubber, and even carpet can all be sustainable. This guide to sustainable flooring includes the many sustainable options and how you might use them.

What is Sustainable Flooring?

Sustainable flooring is any type of flooring that is produced using natural, low-carbon, and/or recycled materials and that has a low environmental impact over the course of its lifespan. In practice this starts with how the flooring’s materials are collected and ends with how the material is disposed of.

Sustainable flooring should use renewable materials capable of being harvested with minimal emissions and that can be easily recycled, repurposed, or are biodegradable.

It’s also important to consider the manufacturing process behind a product when evaluating if it’s truly sustainable. Does the manufacturer source their materials ethically? Do they recycle waste of the products they make? Do they use renewable energy to produce those products?

These are the things to consider when deciding whether or not a flooring can actually be described as sustainable.

Types of Sustainable Flooring

When people hear the words “sustainable flooring,” they typically envision one of two materials: timber or stone—and while it’s true that these (alongside dirt) are some of the oldest options, they are by no means the only choices when it comes to sustainable flooring.

Hardwood

Hardwood flooring made from ethically-sourced timber that comes from responsibly-managed forests is one of the most sustainable flooring options there is. Photo courtesy of Bona

Hardwood is a natural material that supports a circular economy. A circular economy means designing to reduce waste by elongating the life of existing products and materials. Wood is an ideal choice for a circular economy because it can easily be reused and recycled at the end of its life in a given built environment. Recycled hardwood flooring is just one example of this. Sustainably speaking, refinishing hardwood flooring surfaces can reduce the carbon footprint by more than 75% compared to floor replacement, according to a recent report from Bona.

The global hardwood flooring market is expected to reach $61.78 billion by 2028 and register a revenue CAGR of 4.3% over the forecast period, according to the latest report by Reports and Data.

Responsible sourcing and manufacturing can be seen across the hardwood flooring industry. Delta Millworks is one hardwood manufacturer that is taking sustainable sourcing seriously. “We source sustainable wood out of tree farms in New Zealand or British Columbia, where they’re pulling out less than 1% of the standing trees every year and then regrowing them, so most forests there are expanding,” Robbie Davis, Delta Millworks CEO, previously told gb&d. “We don’t touch tropical hardwoods coming out of the Brazilian rainforest. And there’s still some clear-cutting going on in Asia and Africa and other parts of the world, so we avoid those, too. Frankly, we think modified woods like Accoya, our most popular product, outperform them. It’s Radiata pine that takes about 28 years before it’s ready for harvest.”

Pros of Hardwood Flooring

Varied design options. Due to the fact that it is available in a multitude of species, varnishes, stains, and grains, hardwood flooring is a timeless design option that is capable of complementing just about any architectural style.
Easy to install. Compared to something like polished concrete or stone, hardwood flooring is fairly simple and quick to install, which helps reduce overall construction time and emissions.
Durable. While it may not be as durable as, say, porcelain tile, hardwood is nevertheless a strong, sturdy material that can last for well over fifty years with proper maintenance and semi-regular refinishing.

Cons of Hardwood Flooring

Water damage. If there’s one thing hardwood won’t stand up to, it’s water; due to its porous nature, hardwood soaks up any water that spills or leaks in, which can lead to staining, warping, buckling, and even rot.
Susceptible to termites. As is the case for most non-engineered wood products, hardwood flooring is susceptible to attacks by termites; if the damages incurred are severe enough, they can jeopardize the structural integrity of the flooring.
Can be expensive. On average, hardwood floors cost between $6 and $18 per square foot to purchase and install, which is pricier than, say, laminate or vinyl; exotic wood species and certain grain patterns can further increase the overall expense.

Eco-Friendly Carpet

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Aquafil’s ECONYL regenerated nylon fiber yarn is made from 100% recycled waste. Photo courtesy of Aquafil

Carpets hold a 60% share of the US flooring market, with 19 billion square feet sold per year. The EPA estimates that about 5 billion pounds of carpet are discarded in landfills in the US every year. Most carpets are made primarily from finite resources in the form of oil-based plastics that could be recycled.

Carpet is known to be primarily made from oil-based plastics, but not all carpet has to be made this way. One way you can make more sustainable choices when it comes to carpet is by making sure existing carpet is recyclable.

At Aquafil USA, old carpets are collected and disassembled to create ECONYL® regenerated nylon fibers and pellets. “ECONYL is made from 100% waste instead of oil. For every 10,000 tons of ECONYL raw material, 70,000 barrels of crude oil are saved, and 65,1000 tons of CO2 equivalent emissions are avoided. Using ECONYL yarn offers up to 90% reduction in global warming potential compared to nylon from fossil sources,” Franco Rossi, president of Aquafil USA, previously wrote for gb&d.

This material is then used by more than 2,000 brands around the world to create the next generation of sustainable carpets as well as clothing, chairs, handbags, sneakers, sunglasses, and tables.

Pros of Eco-Friendly Carpet

Energy-efficient. Due to their thickness and insulating qualities, carpeted floors can help keep buildings warmer in cold weather, which helps reduce heating loads and improves energy efficiency.
Comfortable. Carpeted floors are one of the more comfortable flooring options out there, both in terms of walking on and in the sense that they often make a room more inviting.
Sound-dampening. As a soft material, carpet helps absorb and dampen sound—a feature that may be ideal in shared apartment spaces and large residential complexes where voices, music, and footsteps are commonplace.

Cons of Eco-Friendly Carpet

High maintenance. As with any carpet or rug, eco-friendly carpets require more maintenance and cleaning than other types of flooring; they require frequent vacuuming to remove trapped dirt and regular professional cleaning to remove embedded dirt.
Shorter lifespan. Even high-quality carpet made from natural and recycled materials has a much shorter lifespan (between 5 and 20 years) than most other types of flooring materials, which means it will need to be replaced more frequently.
Retains moisture. Unless you install wool carpet or some other moisture-resistant carpet type, your carpeted floors won’t be able to handle spills or leaks well, as carpet easily retains moisture; if left unchecked, this can lead to mold/mildew growth or rotting below the carpet.

Recycled Rubber

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REGUPOL’s sustainable rubber flooring is used in Arbor Grove Elementary in Oklahoma City. Photo courtesy of REGUPOL

Rubber ranks as a sustainable material for flooring because of its durability, capacity to be recycled, and low maintenance. Rubber is an ideal flooring option for high traffic buildings such as schools and health care facilities. Adding recycled rubber flooring to these types of projects helps bring public spaces one step closer to sustainability.

Made of 100% post-consumer tire and post-industrial EPDM rubber, REGUPOL Revolution is inherently slip-resistant, durable, and comfortable underfoot. This rubber flooring is ideal for schools and hospitals because of its noise reducing capabilities. “Commercial rubber flooring like Revolution is known for its sound-absorbent qualities and proven effectiveness in minimizing sounds associated with echoes in the hallway and heavy foot traffic to a more tolerable, less distracting level,” Wil Younger, marketing manager at REGUPOL, previously told gb&d.

REGUPOL’s products can also help architects and designers earn points in two out of five LEED categories—Materials and Resources and Indoor Environmental Quality.

Pros of Recycled Rubber Flooring

Slip resistant. Rubber has a naturally high coefficient of friction, which means it provides excellent traction and is fairly slip-resistant, reducing the probability of falls and other potentially dangerous accidents.
Absorbs impact. Due to its elastic molecular structure, rubber flooring is exceptionally good at absorbing impacts without damage, making it ideal for gyms and high foot traffic areas.
Incredibly durable. Thanks to its natural elasticity and shock-absorbing qualities, rubber flooring is incredibly resilient and capable of withstanding heavy foot traffic; on average, you can expect rubber floors to last between 20 and 50 years.

Cons of Recycled Rubber Flooring

Strong smell. Depending on the flooring, some rubber floors may give off a strong scent that some people find undesirable; the rubber smell tends to dissipate over time but can make rubber flooring an unwanted option for smaller enclosed spaces.
May fade over time. While some rubber flooring can be made UV-resistant, many recycled rubber floors lack this quality, which can lead to fading and loss of color over time.
Can be difficult to install. Before rubber flooring can be installed, the subfloor needs to be prepared properly to ensure the correct adhesive is used to counteract any existing slab moisture; this means rubber flooring always requires experienced professionals to install.

Linoleum

True linoleum—as opposed to synthetic vinyl linoleum—is considered to be sustainable as it is manufactured from 100% all-natural materials. Consisting of a mixture of rosins, wood flour, powdered cork, ground limestone, pigments, as well as jute and linseed oil, linoleum is fully biodegradable and will not release harmful toxins into the environment.

Traditionally linoleum is applied in sheets or tiles but linoleum is also available as a liquid. Developed in the Netherlands by Duracryl, liquid linoleum features many of the same all-natural ingredients as its solid counterpart: cork, vegetable oil, linseed oil, limestone, and a coloring agent. Liquid linoleum is mixed on-site and applied using a trowel or roller to create a uniform surface without joints or seams.

Pros of Linoleum

Water resistant. While not completely waterproof linoleum is nevertheless incredibly water-resistant, making it an ideal option for kitchen and bathroom floors; prolonged exposure to water can, however, cause linoleum to warp and swell.
Durable. Linoleum is inherently scratch-resistant and hides wear-and-tear well; as long as it is properly cared for linoleum flooring can conceivably go 20 to 40 years before needing to be replaced.
Low maintenance. Aside from occasional sweeping and mopping linoleum flooring does not require intensive maintenance.

Cons of Linoleum

Requires professional installation. To ensure it is laid down and affixed properly, it is recommended that linoleum be installed by professionals, which can increase a project’s overall costs.
Ambering. Though it isn’t permanent, linoleum that is continuously shielded from sunlight will undergo ambering and turn darker as a result of the linseed oil in the product; once exposed to sunlight, however, the ambering will gradually disappear.
Can be dented. While it is a long-lasting and relatively resilient flooring option, linoleum can still be dented by heavy furniture over time.

Luxury Vinyl Tile

Kährs’ LVTs include glue-free Click joint options for a quick, easy install. They also come in wood, stone, and herringbone designs. Photo courtesy of Kährs

Luxury vinyl tile (LVT) is a type of flooring designed to realistically mimic the appearance of stone, wood, marble, or other natural materials. It is an ideal flooring option for those who want the look of natural materials but don’t want the high upfront costs or maintenance requirements that typically come with said materials.

“Especially for a building owner, LVT is a very easy product to put in because of its low maintenance. And it’s hard to damage,” Sean Brennan, US president of Kährs, told gb&d in a previous article. “It’s a good alternative to carpet. It’s easier to clean, it has some water-resistant features, and can be less expensive than other flooring alternatives.”

Founded in Sweden, Kährs is a leading manufacturer of engineered floors, offering a range of solutions for projects that need wood, resilient, and LVT flooring for both the commercial and residential markets. Kährs’ LVTs are all phthalate free and are offered with the option of glue-free click joints, a feature that streamlines installation and reduces VOC emissions.

Metroflor is another well-known manufacturer of low-toxicity, durable, and environmentally conscious LVT flooring solutions. Metroflor is one part of HMTX Industries, a global LVT manufacturer that’s hyper-focused on material transparency, carbon reduction, and water/energy conservation.

HMTX envisions their business model through three distinct pillars, which include design excellence, supply chain superiority, and sustainability, transparency, innovation, and quality. “We believe that resonates with the design community. We believe that resonates with millennial shoppers. And we believe sustainability and transparency leads to good quality and the ability to be innovative,” Harlan Stone, CEO of HMTX, previously told gb&d.

Pros of LVT

Lightweight. LVT is a very lightweight product, a quality that makes it easy to handle and install.
Low-maintenance. Once installed LVT flooring requires very little maintenance, necessitating only occasional sweeping/vacuuming and mopping.
Water resistant. As a vinyl-based product, LVT is naturally water resistant and therefore essentially immune to moisture damage; this makes LVT an ideal flooring option for bathrooms.

Cons of LVT

Can be scratched and dented. Despite having a fairly high durability, LVT is still susceptible to denting from heavy furniture and can be scratched or pierced by sharp objects.
Difficult to remove. LVT flooring that is installed using glue-down or other adhesive-based methods can be difficult to remove later on.
Discoloration. Most LVT flooring has a low tolerance for UV rays and is prone to fading/discoloration when regularly exposed to sunlight.

Polished Concrete

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The concrete look in this restaurant provides a shiny, also mirrored feel. Photo courtesy of Westcoat

Concrete is an extremely popular flooring option, one that typically serves as the foundation upon which other types of flooring or coatings are installed. This is not, however, the case for polished concrete, which holds its own as a separate type of flooring altogether.

Achieved through mechanically grinding and honing the surface of a concrete slab using densifiers, grout materials, and guards, polished concrete takes all of the desirable qualities of concrete and ups the ante: it’s incredibly resilient, non-toxic, slip-resistant, and—thanks to its highly polished surface—even helps make efficient use of natural light.

Polished concrete can also support a wide variety of design options depending on the desired level of aggregate exposure. “In layman’s terms what you’re doing is exposing more of the aggregate as you cut deeper into the concrete; generally the size of the aggregate will increase,” Todd Cook, Westcoat’s product manager, previously told gb&d. “A light grind will get you that salt and pepper exposure whereas further into that concrete matrix you get into larger aggregates.” This customizability makes it easier to match polished concrete with a building’s existing aesthetic preferences.

Because polished concrete is very durable, low in toxic compounds, and uses material that has already been placed, it is generally considered to be an extremely sustainable flooring option.

Pros of Polished Concrete

Extremely durable. Concrete is already a very strong substance, but the polishing process actually creates an even harder wear surface, making polished concrete resistant to scratches, scuff marks, abrasion, and many other damaging forces.
Easy to maintain. Once installed polished concrete floors are incredibly easy to keep clean. All you have to do is vacuum or sweep every so often and clean with a damp mop once every one to two weeks.
Low VOCs. Due to the fact that polished concrete does not require the use of sealants—of which often contain toxic chemicals—it is extremely low in VOCs, thereby improving indoor air quality.

Cons of Polished Concrete

Uncomfortable. It should come as no surprise that polished concrete is, well, a very hard substance. In many cases this would be a plus, but it can also be hard on employees who have to stand on it for long periods of time.
Relies on proper installation. In order for it to look right, polished concrete flooring relies heavily on the concrete slab’s initial pour; this can make it difficult to have an existing concrete floor polished if the installation of the slab itself was poor.

Porcelain Tile

The Luxury collection comes in multiple sizes and trims and four modern colors, including Amani Grey, pictured here. Photo courtesy of Milestone

Porcelain tile is both a versatile and eco-friendly flooring solution that offers nigh-unparalleled beauty, durability, and recyclability. Typically made from abundant natural resources like clay, silica, kaolin, and feldspar, porcelain tile is fired at extremely high temperatures to create hard, dense flooring tiles with a 60 year lifespan.

This long life cycle allows them ample time to offset the emissions produced during their manufacturing—though many companies are taking steps to make the production process cleaner. “Common sustainability efforts in the manufacturing process include high scrap recycling rates, use of offsite recycled material, water reuse, and efficient use of energy (natural gas and electricity),” Don Hayes, environmental/sustainability manager for Florim USA, previously wrote for gb&dPRO.

Florim—a family-owned tile and porcelain company based in Italy—is an industry leader when it comes to sustainable porcelain. Each year the company internally recycles 99.9% of its materials and all water used during production is collected and reused in other processes. “We want a clean environment to live in. We want our products to be sustainable long-term, for us now and for our children later. It’s how we look at our business and the world around us,” writes Haynes.

Pros of Porcelain Tile

Water resistant. Due to the fact that porcelain tile is much less porous than some other ceramics, it has a much higher resistance to liquid penetration; this makes it easy to clean up spills and helps prevent unwanted staining.
Low maintenance. Once installed, porcelain tile flooring is pretty easy to maintain, as it only requires periodic sweeping and occasional mopping to keep it free from dirt and grime.
Durable. Porcelain tiles are made using very fine clay that is then fired at an extremely high temperature; this process hardens and strengthens the tile, which makes it incredibly durable and long-lasting.

Cons of Porcelain Tile

Expensive. One of the major downsides to porcelain tile flooring is its cost, both for the material itself and installation; on average a single square foot of porcelain tile costs anywhere from $14 to $63 to install.
Grout lines. When porcelain tiles are installed, grout needs to be put down, forming grout lines between each tile; grout is a very porous material and is highly susceptible to mildew and mold if improperly sealed.
Heavy. Like stone, porcelain tiles are very heavy; this can extend both the shipping and installation process by a considerable margin.

Bamboo

Bamboo has served as a traditional flooring material in many Southeast Asian countries for many generations, but it has only recently started gaining popularity in Europe and North America. This is largely attributed to the material’s natural beauty as well as bamboo’s extremely fast growth and maturation rate.

Unlike hardwoods that take approximately 20 years to reach maturity, bamboo reaches its full height in as little as nine months and the same culm may be harvested every three to five years. When cultivated using traditional methods bamboo requires very little supplemental watering or fertilizing and does not require the spraying of pesticides for successful growth—characteristics that sustainability-minded companies like Trinity Bamboo prioritize when sourcing their materials.

“These are largely naturalized strands of bamboo that require no irrigation or pesticides,” Tom Goodham, president of Trinity Bamboo, told gb&d in a previous interview. “Because bamboo culms are harvested and transported off the mountain by hand, the soil and ground cover is not disturbed, which reduces or eliminates human-caused soil erosion.”

Bamboo can either be cut into slats and used as is or shredded and woven back together to create strand-woven bamboo flooring—the latter of which creates a plank comparable in hardness to exotic, rainforest-grown hardwoods like teak and mahogany.

Pros of Bamboo Flooring

Durable. High-quality bamboo flooring—and especially strand-woven bamboo flooring—typically has a durability that rivals that of most hardwoods; it is highly resistant to insect damage, can sustain minor impacts, and has an average lifespan of 20 to 50 years.
Can be refinished. Similar to traditional hardwood flooring, bamboo flooring can be refinished multiple times, thereby extending its lifespan and reducing the frequency of full flooring replacements; this helps to reduce both the waste and carbon emissions produced by manufacturing, shipping, and installing new flooring.
Hygienic. In its natural state, bamboo has antimicrobial properties and is largely resistant to mildew, mold, and other potential allergens; this makes bamboo flooring ideal for use in homes and other residential spaces.

Cons of Bamboo Flooring

Susceptible to moisture. While bamboo can be engineered to be water resistant, no bamboo flooring is ever waterproof; spills, leaks, and even high ambient humidity can cause planks to cup, swell, and warp.
Fewer design options. Unlike hardwood there aren’t a wide variety of bamboo species to choose from and most bamboo flooring—with the exception of shredded bamboo—only have horizontal and vertical grains; this can make it difficult to pair bamboo with non-contemporary architectural designs.
Prone to scratches. Despite its durability bamboo flooring isn’t immune to being scratched, which can impact both the aesthetic value and longevity of the flooring itself; this can be mitigated in part by putting slip pads underneath furniture and retouching the floor on a semi-regular basis.

Cork

In recent years cork flooring has exploded in popularity thanks to its extremely sustainable production process. Unlike hardwood or bamboo flooring, cork flooring does not require that the entire plant be harvested—rather, the bark of cork oak trees is all that’s needed. As long as this process is done correctly, a single cork oak tree can be harvested every nine years without sustaining damage.

Harvesting cork bark is already a low-emission process and the fact that cork oak trees don’t need to be cut down means they can continue absorbing carbon from the air. “Cork has a soft look, and it is a carbon sink material,” HKS architect Allison Smith previously told gb&d. “Natural materials store carbon, so they are inherently low in embodied carbon.”

After the cork bark is harvested it is ground up, compressed into thick sheets, and baked in a kiln to form flooring tiles or planks. Once it eventually reaches the end of its life cycle, cork flooring can be recycled or composted, thereby reducing construction and demolition waste.

Pros of Cork Flooring

Provides insulation. Due to its porous nature, cork flooring is an excellent insulator, one that both dampens sound and helps regulate temperature, which in turn helps reduce a building’s heating and cooling loads.
Pest and mold resistant. Cork is naturally resistant to termites, mildew, and mold and the material itself is naturally hypoallergenic, making it an excellent choice for residential spaces.
Comfortable. Thanks to its insulating properties and relative softness, cork makes for a comfortable flooring option. It doesn’t get as cold as stone or tile and provides better support for walking or standing for long periods of time.

Cons of Cork Flooring

Higher maintenance. While cork is capable of shrugging off minor scratches and dents, it needs to be regularly resealed and varnished to prevent deterioration and breakage.
Susceptible to humidity. Unlike hardwood, which only expands in one direction when exposed to high humidity, cork expands in all directions, which can compromise the look and integrity of the floor planks.
UV damage. In its natural state cork is prone to yellowing and fading over time when exposed to direct sunlight; fortunately, the worst UV damage can be avoided by finishing cork flooring with a UV-resistant finish.

Terrazzo

The Duke Ellington School of the Arts in DC features poured-in-place epoxy terrazzo. Photo courtesy of Terrazzo & Marble Supply Companies

While terrazzo has existed for thousands of years, today’s terrazzo takes its roots from 20th-century Italian quarrymen who combined leftover granite and marble chips with cement to pave their terraces. As a composite material terrazzo provides ample opportunity to utilize stone refuse that would otherwise be discarded.

“We take a lot of things that would be put into the waste stream that we can reclaim and reuse in a terrazzo floor,” James Bateman, terrazzo division manager of Terrazzo & Marble Supply Companies, previously told gb&d.

Today Terrazzo & Marble Supply Companies casts its terrazzo in epoxy resin instead of cement, which helps reduce VOCs—and because they make all of their epoxy themselves, Terrazzo & Marble is able to offer an even wider variety of colors and design options. “You can select any paint manufacturer’s color from their fan deck and we’ll match the epoxy to it,” Bateman says.

Many terrazzo suppliers, including Terrazzo & Marble, continue to uphold the tradition of recycling local quarry waste, which can help reduce carbon emissions incurred through the shipping process.

Pros of Terrazzo Flooring

Long-lasting. Much like cut stone, terrazzo flooring is very durable and lasts for a long time—on average, a terrazzo floor lasts between 40 and 100 years before it needs to be replaced, with most lasting upwards of 75 years.
Easy to clean. Once installed, terrazzo flooring requires very little maintenance and is incredibly easy to clean—all you need to do is sweep periodically and clean using soap and water to remove dirt and grime buildup.
Customizable. Because terrazzo is a composite, there are a wide variety of aesthetically-pleasing colors, designs, and material types to choose from; marble and granite are traditional, but terrazzo can also accommodate glass, quartz, silica, and many other materials.

Cons of Terrazzo Flooring

Expensive. One of the main disadvantages of terrazzo flooring is its upfront cost—you can generally expect to pay between $20 and $60 per square foot of terrazzo, which can seriously increase a project’s overall construction costs; these costs are typically justified, however, by terrazzo’s long lifespan.
Difficult installation. Terrazzo has an incredibly precise installation process that requires the hiring of experienced professionals; improper installation can lead to visual defects and compromised structural integrity.
Uncomfortable. Like stone or concrete flooring, terrazzo floors are extremely hard and can be uncomfortable to walk or stand on for long periods of time; terrazzo is also largely ineffective at retaining heat, meaning it can be quite cold during the winter months.

Stone

This neoclassical private residence in Vancouver was built with Polycor’s SAINT CLAIR Fleuri Marble from Oklahoma, fabricated and installed by Red Leaf Stone. Photo courtesy of Polycor

One of the oldest sustainable flooring options on the market is stone. Strong, durable, and aesthetically pleasing, stone floors are a hallmark of sustainable design thanks to their status as a 100% natural, low-carbon material. “Stone has an extremely low embodied carbon footprint because it was formed by the planet itself,” Hugo Vega, vice president of commercial and institutional sales at Polycor, previously told gb&d.

As long as stone is sourced ethically and efficiently, the production process is relatively low in carbon emissions and toxic chemicals, as stone just needs to be extracted, cut, and polished before it is ready for use in flooring. Companies like Polycor focus on sourcing high quality stone right here in North America, so as to ensure that it is not extracted using slave or child labor.

Add on to that the fact that stone has an extremely long lifespan and can be recycled, and it’s not hard to see why stone is touted as one of the most sustainable flooring options on the market. “Various limestones, marble, and granite have been made by nature millions of years ago and, when used in construction, will last as long as the underlying structure lasts,” Vega says.

Pros of Stone Flooring

Extremely durable. Out of all the flooring options in this article, stone flooring is probably the most durable; on average a stone floor will last well over 100 years and can withstand heavy foot traffic with ease.
Easy to clean. After it is installed stone flooring is very easy to keep clean. All you have to do is sweep every so often and clean with a damp mop every couple of weeks to prevent dirt and grime buildup.
Energy efficient. Stone floors stay relatively cool year-round, which can help reduce cooling loads in summer; if a radiant heat system is installed underneath stone flooring, it can help distribute heat evenly throughout the colder months, making for a more energy efficient heating system.

Cons of Stone Flooring

Expensive. Similar to terrazzo, stone flooring typically comes with a high price tag—depending on the type and style of stone you use, expect to pay between $8 and $50 per square foot.
Can be chipped. Depending on the type of stone used, stone flooring can be susceptible to chips and scratches, which can detract from the visual appeal and provide a home for dirt and bacteria to gather.

Types of Floor Coatings

Sustainable coatings and epoxies for concrete floors can prevent damage, keep spaces cleaner, and even help a variety of commercial spaces earn LEED credits.

Epoxy

Epoxy flooring as seen in an architect’s office. Photo courtesy of Westcoat

One of the most common types of floor coatings is epoxy, a resinous substance that becomes extremely hard and durable as it cures. “Resinous flooring covers a wide variety of chemistries and technologies,” says Cook. “It’s well known for its durability, adhesion, and seamless nature, which is a really important aspect with regards to cleanability, antimicrobial maintenance, and you don’t have any of the grout lines or seams like you would with vinyl.”

Restaurants, breweries, and many other commercial retailers often have concrete flooring with epoxy coating because it’s relatively easy, quick, and safe to install. Westcoat is one of the leading innovators and manufactures of epoxy and other specialty coatings used in the construction and design industries.

Polyurethane

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FasTop was used at Loose Ends Brewing in Centerville, Ohio. FasTop is designed for use in industrial and commercial environments like food and beverage plants, breweries, commercial kitchens, manufacturing facilities, garages, and more. Photo courtesy of Sherwin-Williams

Companies like Sherwin-Williams are a go-to resource for commercial facilities like breweries looking for the best in flooring solutions. FasTop, a family of urethane concrete systems by Sherwin Williams, is tougher and more sustainable than their chemical-heavy contemporaries. Flooring products like FasTop have become an important part of environmental certification for many commercial facilities.

Flooring solutions from Sherwin-Williams earn more points toward LEED credit for customers than any other coatings manufacturer, for everything from helping to reduce VOCs to building product disclosure and optimization, Ball told gb&d. FasTop is made with water-based components and plant-based oils, bringing natural materials more easily to the commercial environment.

Polyaspartic

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Polyaspartic floors offer increased durability while still allowing plenty of design options to choose from. Photo courtesy of Bona

Concrete floors can be coated with a polyaspartic coating, a two-part coating system that consists of both a primer/base-coat and a clear topcoat. Polyaspartic coatings are technically a subset of polyurea coatings, but they are generally considered to be even more durable than both polyurethane and epoxy coatings.

Due to the molecular composition of polyaspartic esters, polyaspartic coatings have little need for sealants—as a result, they are either low- or zero-VOC products, which in turn helps improve indoor air quality.

Another major benefit of polyaspartic coating is its wide design range—similar to epoxy, it can be pigmented in an array of colors, but polyaspartics also support flaking, or the inclusion of quartz, vinyl, or paint chips to create a speckled appearance.

Types of Floor Finishes

Bona is an industry leader in both floor care and floor renovation solutions. Photo courtesy of Bona

Once you’ve got that beautiful floor, you’ll want to maintain it. That’s where choosing eco-friendly finishes and cleaning products comes in.

For hardwood, you can choose from oil-modified polyurethane, waxes, natural penetrating oils, and acid cured, among other solutions. “But the best and most sustainable choice is always a waterborne finish, which not only offers a highly durable and long-lasting finish but is low in VOCs and overall less impactful on the environment and better for indoor air quality,” David Darche, national market manager for Bona US, wrote in a previous gb&d article.

“Additionally, waterborne finish provides a quicker cure time than many other finishes, allowing for hardwood floor refinishing projects to move along faster. Waterborne finish also allows the floor color to remain true over time as opposed to yellowing or dulling, which can happen particularly with oil-modified polyurethane finishes,” Darche writes.

Using a sealer is another step you can take to maintain clean and durable floors. A sealer will even out the surface of the wood, prevent tannin bleed and side bonding, increase durability of the floor and finish, and reduce the chance of a negative reaction between the wood and finish. Including this step can preserve, customize, or enhance a floor’s existing color.

How Can Flooring Earn LEED Points?

If you’re looking to get a new construction project LEED-certified, flooring offers a number of ways to help you earn LEED points. Combined with other parts of your project, flooring can earn credits in LEED’s “Materials & Resources” and “Indoor Environmental Quality” categories, for example

Materials & Resources

One of the easiest ways that flooring can help a project earn LEED points is by making sure it is constructed using low-impact and ethically sourced materials.

Building Life Cycle Impact Reduction (up to 5 points). Employing floor materials that can be recycled or that will biodegrade (e.g. reclaimed wood and cork) can help earn LEED points by reducing the building’s lifelong environmental impact. Reusing an existing floor can also count toward this credit.
Responsible Sourcing of Raw Materials (up to 2 points). If your flooring is constructed using recycled/reused materials, bio-based materials, or USGBC-certified wood, it can help your project earn points for responsibly sourcing its raw materials.
Material Ingredients (up to 2 points). Similarly, sustainable flooring products that are low in toxic substances can go towards earning points in the “Material Ingredients” credit, which requires the use of at least 20 permanently installed products whose chemical inventories have been recorded to at least 0.1%.

Indoor Environmental Quality

Flooring can also help earn LEED credits in the Indoor Environmental Quality category:

Low-Emitting Materials (up to 3 points). Sustainable floor materials like stone, bamboo, polished concrete, and solid hardwood typically contain little-to-no toxic compounds or VOCs that would evaporate into the air over time and pollute indoor air quality.
Thermal Comfort (1 point). Installing flooring—such as polished concrete or cork—that helps regulate temperature and disperse heat evenly throughout the structure can help you qualify for LEED’s thermal comfort credit.
Acoustic Performance (1 point). Certain flooring materials (e.g. carpet, cork, rubber) that are adept at dampening sound can help your project earn a point for acoustic performance by facilitating acceptable sound transmission.

The Future of Sustainable Flooring

As more and more designers, architects, developers, and customers come to appreciate the benefits—and sheer necessity—of building sustainably, sustainable flooring options will only become more creative and varied.

HempWood flooring, for example, is a new alternative to wood flooring that uses compressed hemp fibers, FSC-certified plywood, and a soy-based adhesive to create strong, durable planks comparable in hardness to most hardwoods. Due to the fact that hemp is a natural material, stores carbon, and is ready to harvest in just six months, HempWood is considered to be a promising, low-impact flooring solution.

In recent years there have also been several advancements when it comes to rammed earth, adobe, and even concrete floors—just two years ago in Switzerland, a new type of concrete flooring that halved the amount of used material and reduced embodied carbon by 80% was developed by Philippe Block, the Block Research Group, and Holcim.

All in all, it’s extremely likely that the demand for sustainable flooring will only continue to rise, resulting in an increasingly varied array of recycled, renewable, and non-toxic flooring options.

Jessica Powers contributed to this article.

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Ceramics of Italy 2025 Tile Competition Winners Celebrate Unique Uses

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Confindustria Ceramica (the Italian Association of Ceramics) recently announced the winners of the 2025 Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition at Coverings, the largest tile and stone exhibition in North America.
The international jury chose five winners and three honorable mentions—all showcasing exceptional use of Italian tile in designs from top North American architecture and design firms.

This year’s Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition entrants were creative and diverse—from an academic research building using large-format porcelain to residential projects with tile-wrapped islands and more. Winners were announced at the 2025 Coverings Expo, this year held in Orlando. The contest was divided into residential, nonresidential, and design and new applications.

Projects were judged on overall design, sustainable attributes, the degree to which Italian tile enhances the setting, the amount of ceramic or porcelain tile from Ceramics of Italy member companies used throughout the project, and the quality of the tile installation.

This year’s competition follows the successful merger of two historic initiatives—the Design Competition in North America and Europe’s La Ceramica e il Progetto, which now operates in alternating cycles between continents. In 2025 the focus returned to North America, celebrating architecture and design firms that demonstrate exemplary use of ceramic and porcelain tile from Ceramics of Italy member brands.

The 2025 winners reflect the latest in design and technology—from exterior cladding and ventilated facades to 3D textures, handcrafted aesthetics, bold color palettes, through-body veining, large-format materials, and a strong emphasis on indoor-outdoor living.

Here are this year’s winners.

RESIDENTIAL WINNERS

Living Lounge, Winnipeg

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Living Lounge is a hotel-inspired bungalow designed by Secter Architecture + Design to blur the line between indoor comfort and outdoor entertaining spaces. Photo by Lindsay Reid

Along the Assiniboine River, Living Lounge is a hotel-inspired bungalow that blurs the line between indoor comfort and outdoor entertaining spaces. Designed by Canada-based firm Secter Architecture + Design, the residence centers on a sprawling open-plan living, dining, bar, and lounge space, oriented to capture optimal light during evening gatherings.

The interior flows effortlessly into exterior entertainment zones, including a sauna and an alfresco kitchen with river views. Mirage’s Glocal collection unifies the design and lends a clean, contemporary surface to the main entrance, laundry, and powder room floors, while the brand’s textured Quartziti line adds depth to the powder room walls. In the kitchen and dining areas, Laminam’s Pietra Grey porcelain surfaces wrap the backsplash, buffet, island face, and countertops, creating a refined, cohesive visual thread throughout the home.

Firm: Secter Architecture + Design
Tile Manufacturers: Laminam, Mirage
Distributor: Julian Tile
Installer: Harris Builders LTD

House in the Hill, Pelham, Ontario

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Designed by These Architects, House in the Hill in Pelham, Ontario, reconnects the home with the surrounding forest. Photo by Scott Norsworthy

Tucked in the wooded hillside of Ontario’s Fonthill Kame, House in the Hill is a reimagined residence that reconnects the home with the surrounding Carolinian forest. Designed by These Architects, the new structure builds on the original foundation, balancing preservation with a bold new architectural identity.

Large-format Italian porcelain flooring from Emilceramica’s Tele di Marmo Reloaded collection unifies living spaces, kitchens, hallways, and bathroom, while the brand’s Tele di Marmo Revolution series adds dramatic, marble-look veining to the kitchen backsplash, island, and appliance garage. Marazzi’s Lume collection complements the kitchen walls and animates ensuite bathrooms in shades of blue, green, and white, while the brand’s Essenziale White Flora 3D tile adds texture to the gym bathroom, contrasted by Mirage’s stone-look Norr tiles on adjacent walls.

With sustainability central to the design, the project features high-performance glazing, passive ventilation, and a tightly sealed envelope that exceeds code requirements.

Firm: These Architects
Tile Manufacturer: Emilceramica, Mirage, Marazzi
Distributor: Stone Tile Canada, CIOT, Centura
Installer: DB Custom Homes

RESIDENTIAL HONORABLE MENTIONS

Hidden Pond House, Old Westbury, NY

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Hidden Pond House, designed by Mojo Stumer Associates, reinterprets the classic barn structure through a modernist lens. Photo by Mark Stumer

In the lush landscape of Old Westbury, Hidden Pond House reinterprets the classic barn structure through a modernist lens. Designed by Mojo Stumer Associates, the home balances raw materials—featuring washed gray wood, concrete, and exposed steel—with refined architectural elements.

A defining material throughout the home is the Matrice series by CEDIT—a large-format porcelain tile used on both the exterior and interiors. On the facade and rear elevation, the tile contrasts against dark wood slats, creating a striking rhythm, as bold, triangular roofs and distinctive windows invite light and frame the surrounding greenery.

Inside, CEDIT’s Matrice tiles appear on a dramatic double-height entry wall, accent walls in the halls and stairways, and above the fireplace, drawing the eye upward. The tile’s consistent presence—including moments in bedroom entries and alongside the owners’ art collection—unifies the interior palette while strengthening the home’s seamless relationship with the outdoors.

Firm: Mojo Stumer Associates
Tile Manufacturer: CEDIT
Distributor: Florim
Installer: Jon Bijari Custom Homes

NONRESIDENTIAL WINNERS

Tikka Charcoal Grill, Hicksville, NY

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Water was a key inspiration for the Tikka Charcoal Grill, designed by by Olbos Studio, in Hicksville, NY. Photo by Filippo Tommasoli

Tikka Charcoal Grill by Olbos Studio brings a sensory underwater world to life through immersive design and vibrant materiality.

The restaurant’s focal point is a sculptural bar wrapped in overlapping, three-dimensional Calathea tiles by Acquario Due. The design mimics the movement of water in four oceanic blues. Marine-inspired tones and forms create intimate dining zones in pill-shaped volumes that glow like lanterns behind translucent curtains. In the bathrooms Acquario Due’s tiles make another bold impression, from peachy tones and warm golden hues to dark blue tiles complemented by coral colored sinks.

Each thoughtfully curated space continues the aquatic narrative, emphasized by metallic water ripple panels applied across the bathroom ceilings.

Firm: Olbos Studio
Tile Manufacturer: AcquarioDue
Distributor: AcquarioDue
Installer: Dumani Contractors

Academic Research Building at Wharton School of Business – University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

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MGA Partners designed this academic research building at Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Photo by Halkin Mason Photography

Part of the dense urban fabric and landscaped spaces that define the University of Pennsylvania’s campus, the Wharton School of Business is a cluster of prominent buildings now joined by its latest addition: a 74,000-square-foot academic research building designed by MGA Partners.

Occupying one of the last available sites on the main campus, the LEED Gold building is both an architectural anchor and connective link. A sophisticated ventilated facade clad in 12mm large-format porcelain panels by Florim—chosen in a charcoal tone to reflect the traditional slate roofs of neighboring historic structures—integrates with a high-performance curtainwall. The rainscreen incorporates ceramic frit patterns that vary in density, carefully balancing daylight, transparency, and solar control.

Inside, the same Florim panels reappear throughout corridors, unifying the material palette, while white porcelain panels from the brand provide a contrasting color field that frames a sculptural, cantilevered spiral staircase. The design as a whole balances tradition and innovation, supporting dynamic student life through a rich layering of classrooms, study zones, and informal gathering spaces.

Firm: MGA Partners
Tile Manufacturer: Florim
Distributor: Florim
Installer: Hunter Roberts Construction Group

NONRESIDENTIAL HONORABLE MENTION

The Overlook Cafè, San Francisco

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The Overlook Cafè in San Francisco features bold yet classic aesthetics. Photo by Eric Rorer

Arcsine designed the Overlook Café to take people back to a time when mid-century modern architecture and design flourished. Above the pool room at The Olympic Club— a historical athletics club operating since 1860 in downtown San Francisco—the café combines the club’s sports-driven heritage with stylish and contemporary accoutrements.

Overlooking the club’s swimming pool, the multipurpose space features bold yet classic aesthetics such as white ceramic picket tiles from Settecento’s Crayons collection at the servery wall, adding a clean yet visually intriguing backdrop. Original decorative posters from past sporting events at The Olympic Club provide a sense of artistic whim among the sleek furniture and chic elements, including custom red button-tufted banquettes and leather lounge booths, while the wooden ceiling adds texture and blocks sound amplified by the swimming pool with acoustic felt and wooden veneers.

Firm: Arcsine
Tile Manufacturer: Settecento
Distributor: Statements Tile
Installer: HP Build

DESIGN & NEW APPLICATION WINNER

2020 Stradella, Bel Air, CA

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In Bel Air, Stradella—designed by DI Group and Adeet Madan Home Design—uses Italian porcelain tiles at every turn. Photo by Adrian Tiemens

High in the hills of Bel Air, 2020 Stradella is a luxury residence by DI Group and Adeet Madan Home Design that exemplifies restrained modernism through finely tuned materials and meticulous detailing. Italian porcelain tiles from Ceramiche Refin, Florim, Laminam, Infinity, and Supergres play a starring role throughout the home, with their refined aesthetic and technical performance viewed across clever interior and exterior applications, including living areas, bathrooms, kitchens, and outdoor spaces.

Outside, impressive applications of Ceramiche Refin’s matte-finished tiles define the exterior facade, pool coping and a cascading pool waterfall, while slip-resistant surfaces from the brand ensure safety across patios, walkways, staircases, and other high-traffic wet zones. Inside, new applications of porcelain continue to take on unexpected roles, including an integrated induction cooktop set into a porcelain counter by Laminam, paired with seamless indoor-outdoor flooring transitions that reinforces spatial continuity. Across all surfaces, the design prioritizes durability, modern elegance, and a seamless material language that elevates the experience of everyday living.

Firm: DI Group, Adeet Madan Home Design
Tile Manufacturers: Ceramiche Refin, Florim, Infinity, Laminam, Supergres
Distributor: DI Group
Installer: Social Homebuilders

DESIGN & NEW APPLICATION HONORABLE MENTION

Fort Lauderdale Waterfront Homely Estate, Fort Lauderdale

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DKOR Interiors, STRANG Architecture, and Bomar Builders designed this Fort Lauderdale house to stand up to the coastal climate. Photo by Alexia Fodere

Along the waterfront in Fort Lauderdale, this 12,300-square-foot residence by DKOR Interiors was designed to embrace its tropical setting through calm materiality and open spatial flow.

Created in collaboration with STRANG Architecture and Bomar Builders, the two-story home balances industrial warmth with modern simplicity, pairing clean architectural lines with natural finishes. On the exterior, a distinctive design feature is the innovative use of wood-look porcelain tile by Emilceramica, applied across vertical fins and overhead ceilings.

Tasked with sourcing an extremely durable, low-maintenance, weather-resistant alternative to natural wood, the chosen material captures the warmth and texture of timber while standing up to Florida’s humid, salt-rich coastal climate. The palette throughout is rooted in the landscape, complemented by open design that reinforces the transition between interior and exterior spaces. The result is a home that fosters connection, ease, and a deep sense of retreat.

Firm: DKOR Interiors
Tile Manufacturer: Emilceramica
Distributor: Emilgroup
Installer: Bomar Builders

About the Jury

The international jury was chaired by Louisa Hutton, architect and founder of the Berlin-based practice Sauerbruch Hutton, and included Domitilla Dardi, historian and design curator at MAXXI in Rome; Luca Molinari, architect and professor of architectural theory and design at the University of Campania; Steve Clem, principal at the Atlanta- and Tampa-based firm TVS; and Emilio Mussini, chairman of the Promotional Activities and Trade Fairs Commission of Confindustria Ceramica.

Ceramics of Italy contributed to this article.

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Scout Living in Atlanta is Flexible Hospitality Designed Sustainably

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Scout Living, connected to Ponce City Market, brings the comforts of home to flexible stays.
All units at Scout Living include custom, adjustable furniture and all of your kitchen needs.
The project largely responds to the needs of multiple generations, according to Jamestown, who developed Scout Living to fill a void.

Stepping into Scout Living feels warm and cozy. A vibrant foyer offers plenty of spots to sit and read, hang out, or simply wait for an Uber, and staff are welcoming—though it’s also easy not to interact if preferred, with app-based check-in and keyless locks (SALTO Systems) to rooms. Stays are flexible—in length, type of accommodation, and service.

The 22-story project is set up to feel like apartment living—even one-bedroom units have a full kitchen with everything you need—but with the flexibility of hotel stays. The new concept is from Jamestown—the real estate firm behind projects like Chelsea Market in New York, Industry City in Brooklyn, Ponce City Market in Atlanta, Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco, and more.

“The Scout Living product really came out of—given the cost of housing in America being so high, particularly in cities—how do we create a really efficient, ESG-forward, furnished apartment community that also can toggle and create efficiencies for people who don’t want a full-time spot or who want the ability to be fluid in what they do?” says Michael Phillips, president of Jamestown.

How do we create a really efficient, ESG-forward, furnished apartment community?

The project offers more than 400 one- and two-bedroom units, many of them with a great view looking out over Ponce City Market or toward downtown Atlanta, plus building amenities like a rooftop pool. “It toggles between a hospitality product of one-plus night stay to an annual product, like a year lease,” Phillips says.

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Scout Living’s 405 units are designed to provide a place of respite, featuring a warm and tonal palette. There are 301 one-bedroom units averaging 397 square feet and 104 two-bedroom units averaging 767 square feet, all with 9-foot ceilings. Photo courtesy of Jamestown

Scout Living’s fully furnished living experience is sustainable, too, with thoughtful design details and natural elements throughout, from wood tambour and natural cork flooring to pops of color, art, and timeless decor.

Natural light fills the fully furnished and serviced units, stocked with cooking essentials, a dishwasher, and washer-dryer combo as well as separate living and sleeping spaces. And it’s all steps from Ponce City Market, the Beltline, and the surrounding Old Fourth Ward neighborhood. The building includes 12,000 square feet of retail with 21-foot ceilings on the ground floor, which was set to be occupied by Necessary Purveyor, an all-day restaurant and gourmet market, in spring 2025.

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The bedrooms at Scout Living are intentionally small with felt-lined walls to create an intimate, cozy environment. Photo courtesy of Jamestown

The project largely responds to the needs of multiple generations, Phillips says. “The 55- to 65-year-olds are at a point in their careers where they want to be more urban and more centric to amenities and walking and health and wellness, and the 20- to 35 or 40-year-olds want the same, but they want slightly different products in that offering.”

Scout Living is part of Ponce City Market’s second phase, which also includes 619 Ponce—a four-story mass timber loft office building that opened in 2024, and Signal House, a new residential building designed with active amenities. The new development aims to generate greater community connectivity and be a walkable microcosm near the Beltline, with onsite bike and scooter parking, designated rideshare drop-off sites, electric bike and car share programs, and electric car charging stations. All three buildings are targeting net neutral operational carbon, LEEDv4 Core & Shell certification, and Fitwel certification (already achieved by Signal House). The new development is also targeting all-electric operations and efficient building systems to reduce emissions to achieve net zero carbon operations. The 619 Ponce project sources all of its timber locally, within 200 miles, which in and of itself is unique. The technical services team at Georgia-Pacific worked with SmartLam to make it happen. “That’s been a great test bed,” Phillips says.

We define the buildings that we build, and then they define us for the rest of our lives.

With European roots, Jamestown’s sustainability department dates back to 2007 and builds upon a continued mission to understand energy consumption in terms of environmental impact as well as from an investor appetite standpoint, Phillips says, in terms of giving buildings the best chance to win in the future from a tenancy and capital market standpoint. “At 619 and at Scout and at Signal House we really leaned into the most compliant ESG mechanisms we could—whether it’s the way we dealt with sound attenuation in 619 or recycled material quotients in our interiors at Scout, as well as energy consumption management systems,” Phillips says. “We have a digital twinning process on our building so we can monitor all our systems in a real-time way, which I think has been very helpful.”

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The lobby at Scout Living is in stark contrast to corporate hospitality offerings, with a clean, classic design lined with open ash shelves and National Geographic magazines. Photo courtesy of Jamestown

Jamestown continues to lean into innovation and work with like-minded sustainable partners when it comes to material selection and connecting people and places. “I think all these things ladder up to a similar thing, whether it’s about health and wellness or nutrition or food security or impact programs and lifting up communities,” Phillps says. He turns to a famous Winston Churchill quote—“We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.”

“We define the buildings that we build, and then they define us for the rest of our lives,” Phillips says. “I thought that was really an interesting way to frame it. We don’t realize that our built environment does define us in some way. And later we take it for granted, but the spaces we inhabit, the spaces we work in, the places our children are educated in, they all are the things that define who we become in our lives. And so being intentional about those choices is really important to us.”

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Scout Living offers more than 400 one- and two-bedroom units, many of them with a great view looking out over Ponce City Market or toward downtown Atlanta, plus building amenities like a rooftop pool and warm, inviting places to hang out. Photo courtesy of Jamestown

Project Credits

Project: Scout Living
Location: Atlanta
Architect: Handel Architects
Completion: September 2024
Contractor: JE Dunn
Construction Client: Jamestown

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Studio Gang Designs Spelman’s New Arts Center to Connect to the Community

Story at a glance:

Screens on the facade of Spelman College’s new Center for Innovation & the Arts were designed to provide thermal comfort, allow in natural light, and reduce energy use and glare.
Indoor and outdoor spaces on the ground level—including shaded “porches” that provide open-air areas for studying, dining, and gathering—create opportunities for the public and Spelman to come together.
The Mary Campbell Schmidt Center for Innovation and the Arts is the first building to be located outside Spelman’s campus walls.

The first new academic facility at Spelman College in 25 years opened its doors in April 2025. The Mary Schmidt Campbell Center for Innovation & the Arts was designed by global architecture and urban design firm Studio Gang and will provide students at the historically Black college with a cross-disciplinary and collaborative learning environment.

Project Challenges

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Screens on the facade were designed to provide thermal comfort, allow in natural light, and reduce energy use and glare. “The deepest fins are on the southern and western sides, while the northern side has shallower ones since it doesn’t receive as much direct sunlight. We used standard steel and metal sizes for the screens to control costs and simplify fabrication,” says Margaret Cavenagh, who led the Studio Gang design team for the project. Photo by Tom Harris, courtesy of Studio Gang

“The Mary Campbell Schmidt Center for Innovation and the Arts is the first building to be located outside Spelman’s campus walls. That meant we had to find a way for the building to feel connected to the surrounding neighborhood, while also providing students and faculty with direct, secure access to the private campus,” says Margaret Cavenagh, who led the Studio Gang design team for the project. “To achieve this we oriented the building to act like a ‘front door’ to the campus and created outdoor ‘porches’ that invite the local community in at the ground level. On the upper floors students and faculty have access to an elevated walkway that provides a safe and seamless link to the campus.”

The team also had to create opportunities for collaboration between distinct and different academic programs. “This was a challenge because of the varying acoustic and technical requirements of each program,” Cavenagh says. “For instance, some spaces are used for recording and rehearsing music, so we acoustically and structurally separated these from programs that need quieter environments.”

Providing flexible spaces throughout the building was crucial. The ground floor lobby is designed for multiple uses—including performances, lectures, exhibitions, and casual and formal social gatherings—and the outdoor “porches” provide students and the public with space for studying, dining, and socializing,” Cavenagh says.

The shaded “porch” areas also extend thermal comfort hours, allowing people to be outside for more weeks of the year. “At the heart of the center is the Forum, a double-height space surrounded by classrooms so that everyone can see into it. It has pinnable walls, adjustable lighting, flexible furniture, and large desk surfaces, so it can be used for different types of activities.”

More Sustainable Details

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A skylight brings light deep into the interior at the Spelman College Center for
Innovation & the Arts. Photo courtesy of Studio Gang

The materiality and color of the building’s distinct facade draws from regional geology and Spelman’s architectural tradition. Flemish bond brick, seen all across campus, recalls Georgia’s red clay soil and is used on the ground level, while flat metal panels on the upper volume give the building a contemporary character that reflects the innovation happening there.

The facade’s layered screens and brise-soleils create a sense of transparency by revealing glimpses of activity, as well as offer several functions, like shading the interior and bringing in natural light.

A central skylight also brings light deep into the core of the building and the center of the Forum. “We also included windows in almost every teaching and office space to provide connections to the exterior and bring natural light into the interior. Having this visual connection to the outdoors allows people to see the passing of time and changes in the weather, which is important for their health and comfort,” Cavenagh says.

The Center for Innovation & the Arts is designed to welcome a mix of people and ideas from across the campus and community.

The central skylight extends across collaboration spaces on the second and third floors, daylighting both spaces. “We also used fewer, larger pieces of glazing to reduce the number of joints. The panels are angled to the north to permit daylight to stream in, but limit heat gain from direct sunlight. The southern side, which is opaque, also limits heat gain. The skylight is set into the fourth floor, reducing the building’s overall height and allowing it to not be visible from the exterior.”

The design integrates several passive shading and cooling strategies to improve the building’s environmental performance. Patterned sunshades and screens on the upper levels are tuned to the sun’s angles to provide thermal comfort and allow in natural light while reducing energy use, glare, and the building’s mechanical load.

Landscape features like soft gardens and rainwater swales help manage stormwater onsite and reduce stress on local infrastructure. A large, healthy pecan tree on the site was also protected and retained as part of the landscape. Today it provides shade over the elevated walkway to the campus and helps to naturally cool grassy seating areas on the south side of the building.

Making Connections

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Inside the Arthur M. Blank Innovation Lab at Spelman College. Photo by Tom Harris, courtesy of Studio Gang

As the first building outside of the college’s walls, the center needed to help strengthen the connection between Spelman and the Westside Atlanta community. “To create a sense of welcome for the local community and nearby institutions like Morehouse College, we oriented the building to face out toward the neighborhood,” Cavenagh says, further emphasizing the “front door” concept.

Learning and study spaces, along with the Innovation Lab, on the upper floors also provide views outside and create a sense of floating among the tree canopies, so the project fits seamlessly into its environs.

“The Center for Innovation & the Arts is designed to welcome a mix of people and ideas from across the campus and community. We wanted the building to create new connections between disciplines and to help find synergies between Spelman and the broader neighborhood,” says Jeanne Gang, founding partner of Studio Gang. “Flexible spaces for learning and gathering throughout the building make it a place where collaboration can thrive.”

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The Prince Theater at Spelman College. Photo by Tom Harris, courtesy of Studio Gang

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Drawing courtesy of Studio Gang

Project Credits

Project: Spelman College Center for
Innovation & the Arts
Location: Atlanta
Architect: Studio Gang
Completed: April 2025
Size: 82,500 square feet
Cost: $96 million
Associate Architect: Goode Van Slyke Architecture
Structural & Facade Engineer: Thornton Tomasetti
Civil Engineer: Long Engineering
MEP & Sustainability Engineer: dbHMS
Utilities Engineer: RMF Engineering
General Contractor: Turner Construction
Acoustic Consultant: Threshold Acoustics
Lighting Consultant: Morlights
Theater Consultant: Theatre Projects
AV, Telecom, & Security Consultant: Newcomb & Boyd
Landscape Architect: SCAPE

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CannonDesign on Designing for Everyone at the Petrocelli Surgical Pavilion

Story at a glance:

The new Petrocelli Surgical Pavilion was designed with different types of people in mind.
Natural materials were introduced more in public areas to bring in warmth.

The design of a new 280,000-square-foot surgical pavilion aims to consider everyone. “The shifts in our practice have been about this notion of experience—mapping what the different personas are feeling as they come into a space and how to accommodate them. We talk about all the different factors and stresses anyone coming into a health care environment may be feeling,” says CannonDesign’s Dale Greenwald, who oversaw the interior design of the new Petrocelli Surgical Pavilion.

The addition to Northwell Health’s flagship North Shore University Hospital (NSUH) campus on Long Island has 18 operating rooms, including three hybrid ORs and 132 ICU rooms. As with many hospital campuses, there were many moving parts. “It was with a series of different buildings and additions. We were asked to fill in a portion of the site that faces Community Drive and to make a new front door at that end of the campus, which would be for the Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital,” says CannonDesign’s John Reed, a lead architect on the project.

The design team sought to blend the materiality and scale of the existing NSUH complex and create an open and inviting facility to make the patient and caregiver experience as comfortable as possible. The patient journey starts at a sheltered entry court that leads to a light-filled lobby. The double-height lobby is framed by a luminous glass bridge that connects the new operating room suites and the first of the ICU floors with the existing surgical suite and hospital. “It’s a big footprint to do those sorts of things and have it connect back to the hospital in a seamless way while adding three floors of ICU rooms,” Reed says.

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Natural materials were introduced more in public areas, Greenwald says, including the natural stone in the lobby that brings in warmth. “There’s also this wood wrapping element that shields the families from the direct view to the elevator and at the same time creates an enveloping space with different kinds of seating to accommodate activities or people who come in who are visiting their families but are also trying to accommodate work at the same time while they’re there.” Photo by Laura Peters, courtesy of CannonDesign

The project began just before Covid, and Northwell made the decision to continue building at the height of the pandemic. “Where some floors were going to be shells, they decided to fill them all in with ICU rooms,” Reed says. “There was some interesting gymnastics we went through to get all of it to fit together.” For example, the surgical suites have a mezzanine floor above them, so maintenance can drop down in each room to work and get back out while the rest of the floor remains in operation. “It’s a commitment to an approach you don’t see very often in health care,” Reed says.

Designed for Different Needs

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Natural light and warm wood looks bring warmth to the Petrocelli Surgical Pavilion public spaces. Photo by Laura Peters, courtesy of CannonDesign

There’s a growing emphasis in health care design to create experiences unique to the varied populations served, Greenwald says. “You’ve got patients, visitors, and staff all coming into an environment under different moments of stress or anxiety. For a long time we approached health care as a hospitality environment. It’s not a hospitality environment. It’s a clinical care environment. There are a lot of factors that come into how we develop those spaces to make them comfortable but to also make them respond to clinical needs and not be overly decorative.”

There are a lot of factors that come into how we develop those spaces to make them comfortable but to also make them respond to clinical needs and not be overly decorative.

Spaces must function well in times of great need, and they must be durable, efficient, cleanable, and operational 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, he says. Caregiver spaces are also getting more attention. “Caregivers are wonderful people who contribute to the outcomes of patients, and there are a lot of stresses,” Greenwald says. “Their care and their well-being is really important—that they can have a place where they can get out for a moment to compose themselves.”

On the surgical floor, more design is centered around not just creating a clean corridor, but also providing places where staff can gather, collaborate, or simply pause to make a call or take a breather. “Those respite spaces are the kinds of spaces that are now being incorporated that were more ad hoc in the past,” Greenwald says.

Control & Confidence

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A connector bridge connects the surgical suites to the ICU. “It forms a canopy over the reception desk, but it’s really critical to the operation of the surgical suite above,” Greenwald says. It also forms a backdrop for the art and for the full glazing of the facade of the building of the entry. Photo by Laura Peters, courtesy of CannonDesign

Giving patients a feeling of control is also crucial, Greenwald says, with more access being given to lighting, shading, temperature, and entertainment in a patient’s room. “It’s important to have these controls so people don’t feel helpless. They need to feel they’re able to have some control over their environment.”

There’s also the idea of being seen. At times a patient may want privacy, while at other times they want to know someone can see them. That’s where innovative door solutions can come in. “You want to know there are people out there who are looking in on you, but at the same time you want to have a sense of privacy and dignity. It’s a balancing act to pull these things together in ways that satisfy the institutions we work for.”

Some doors incorporate electric smart glass, film, or blind systems. Depending on the nature of the room, more visibility is necessary. “When we start our projects we’re very cognizant of that, and we model sight lines to see who can see what from where,” Greenwald says.

The CannonDesign team thinks a lot about the patients themselves, too. “People experience a space lying on their backs in a bed or on a gurney, so how lighting works in a health care environment is very different. We look at lighting for both wayfinding and helping the visitors move around the space, but we also look at lighting and ask, ‘What do people see when they’re looking up at the ceiling?’ You’re looking at a ceiling in a bed a lot,” Greenwald says. “We’ve been doing a lot more studies in 3D looking at things like what the patient sees from the bed as opposed to what the room is like at the point of entry.”

Project Credits

Project: Petrocelli Surgical Pavilion
Location: Long Island
Architect: CannonDesign
Completed: February 2024
Size: 280,000 square feet
Structural Engineer: Thorton Tomasetti
Civil Engineer: Vanasse Hangen Brustlin
MEP/FP Engineer: Bard Rao + Athanas
Contractor: Skanska
Landscape Architect: Vanasse Hangen Brustlin
Project Management: Peter J. Romano & Company
Acoustics, Audiovisual, and IT: Shen Milsom & Wilk

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5 Stone Looks Inspiring Design Inside and Out in 2025

Story at a glance:

These are some of the latest in stone and stone-inspired looks, indoors and out.
More and more stone looks are going large-format and emphasizing cleanability.

Modern stone and stone looks are giving architects and designers more sustainable options for residential and commercial projects alike.

Here are some of the top looks of 2025.

Trail by Landmark Ceramics

modern-stone-looks-Landmark-Ceramics_TCNA-Trend-4-Photo-1_Courtesy-of-Tile-Council-of-North-America

Landmark Ceramics, a 100% American Ceramic Tile company, specializes in producing high-quality porcelain from its home in Mount Pleasant, Tennessee. Photo courtesy of Tile Council of North America

Travertine is a hallmark of classical architecture, celebrated for its elegance and strength, with warm tones and distinctive veining that make it timeless.

Trail reinterprets travertine’s beauty in two aesthetic expressions. The result is a surface that combines sophistication, superior performance, and the allure of the natural material for indoor and outdoor applications.

This collection from Landmark Ceramics includes 11 colors in a variety of finishes, plus seven available in Landmark’s outdoor 2-centimeter pavers.

Alabastri by Casalgrande Padana

Alabastri can also eliminate pollutants in the air with added Bios Ceramics technology. Photo courtesy of Casalgrande Padana

The new Alabastri collection from Casalgrande Padana emulates the ancient beauty of alabaster.

This original take on the extraordinary sheen and vibrant color of the highly sought-after material creates memorable ornamental motifs and decorative friezes.

Alabastri’s delicate shading, subtle mother-of-pearl transparencies, and the interplay of light and shadow make for a remarkable, rich look.

The new collection comes in five colors (Alabastri Black, Blue, Green, Pink, and White) in a variety of sizes. Like all the Casalgrande Padana stoneware collections, Alabastri is made from natural raw materials.

It is eco-compatible, fire-resistant, non-absorbent, antibacterial, and self-cleaning.

Marblique by Crossville

modern-stone-looks-4609_CROSSVILLE_MARBLIQUE-MBQ03_INVISIBLE-GRAY_HQCourtesy-of-Tile-Council-of-North-America

Invisible Grey, Marblique by Crossville. Photo courtesy of Tile Council of North America

Marblique’s revolutionary Visual Touch technology, manufactured by Crossville in partnership with Italy’s Ceramica del Conca, brings design to life with rich, textural realism.

The four stone surfaces that make up Marblique are rendered to have a look and feel that is out of this world, with meticulous veining alongside the nuanced textures of acid etching, brushing, and bush hammering.

Seen here in Invisible Grey, Marblique is also available in four other colors. Choose from 24-by-48, 24-by-24, or 12-by-24 field tiles.

Versetta Stone by Westlake

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Glen Canyon is one of the newest looks within Versetta Stone by Westlake—a warm, earthy blend of neutrals. Photo courtesy of Westlake

Versetta Stone is now available in three fresh colors—Granite Peak, a sophisticated dark gray; Lunar Drift, a clean, modern white; and Glen Canyon, a warm, earthy blend of neutrals.

The versatile modern stone siding solution offers easy panelized installation for the hand-crafted look of traditional stone masonry without the complexity. The collection’s convenient, panelized design features a tongue-and-groove interlocking system that ensures perfect spacing, a virtually seamless look, and easy installation with screws or nails in any weather.

Versetta Stone is also designed to maintain its beauty over time with minimal upkeep, as there’s no need for painting, coating, or sealing once installed.

Versetta Stone features an advanced moisture management system, offers wind resistance up to 110 miles per hour, and carries a Class A fire rating for protection against water intrusion and harsh elements.

ProBrick by Tando

TandoStone ProBrick in Racinette color and TandoStone Stacked Stone in Lewiston Crest is seen here for a mixed material look at the Newcomb Senior Apartments in Vineland, New Jersey. Photo courtesy of Tando

Tando Composites, a division of Derby Building Products, now includes the new ProBrick, an extension of the TandoStone line. ProBrick is Tando’s latest composite brick and is a natural extension of the TandoStone composite stone offering, according to Ralph Bruno, CEO of Derby Building Products.

“Adding ProBrick to our Stacked Stone and Creek Ledgestone TandoStone lines will continue to elevate our brand leadership. Our complete TandoStone line, now including ProBrick, meets the industry needs of a masonry product that the siding installer wants to install. The word composite has baked-in connotations as superior, and the receptivity is very high, but today’s consumer demands products that have authenticity and natural looks. That is what ProBrick delivers, along with faster, easier installation and no need for masons, scaffolds, or special tools; it installs in panels rather than painstaking individual bricks.”

Tando Composites’ products, including ProBrick, require less labor, faster job cycle times, and require virtually no upkeep, Bruno says. “Additionally, unlike concrete-based products, ProBrick is impervious to moisture.” ProBrick can also be recycled. TandoStone ProBrick is available in two colors—Madeira, a rich, classic red, and Racinette, a deep, earthy brown. The ProBrick line also includes the aLL-Pro Corner, a one-piece corner designed to save time and labor no matter the project.

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Lessons from the Beltline in Atlanta

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Beltline Beginnings

How We Live Matters

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Atlanta’s Commitment to a Greener Future is Paying Off

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City of Parks

A Sustainable City

A Cleaner Future

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The Biophilic Leadership Summit at Serenbe is Focused on the Future

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What is the Biophilic Leadership Summit?

The Growth of Serenbe

Leaders Planning for a Healthier Future

Looking Ahead

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Spectorgroup on Sustainable Historic Preservation at 838 Broadway

Story at a glance:

What was the mission for 838 Broadway?

How did the design motif inspire your work?

What were the biggest challenges?

What are the current trends in preservation and renovation?

Why is historic preservation and retrofitting so important to sustainability?

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Chryso Quad Honored as a 2025 Concrete Contractor Top Products Award Winner

Key Benefits of Chryso Quad

About Chryso

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Reducing Carbon with SOM’s In-House Sustainable Engineering Studio

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Reducing Carbon

Case Study: San Mateo

Case Study: Champaign, IL

Meet the Engineer

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An Expert’s Guide to Sustainable Flooring

Story at a glance:

What is Sustainable Flooring?

Types of Sustainable Flooring

Hardwood

Pros of Hardwood Flooring

Cons of Hardwood Flooring

Eco-Friendly Carpet

Pros of Eco-Friendly Carpet

Cons of Eco-Friendly Carpet

Recycled Rubber

Pros of Recycled Rubber Flooring

Cons of Recycled Rubber Flooring

Linoleum

Pros of Linoleum

Cons of Linoleum

Luxury Vinyl Tile

Pros of LVT

Cons of LVT

Polished Concrete

Pros of Polished Concrete

Cons of Polished Concrete

Porcelain Tile

Pros of Porcelain Tile

Cons of Porcelain Tile

Bamboo

Pros of Bamboo Flooring

Cons of Bamboo Flooring

Cork

Pros of Cork Flooring

Cons of Cork Flooring

Project: Scout Living
Location: Atlanta
Architect: Handel Architects
Completion: September 2024
Contractor: JE Dunn
Construction Client: Jamestown