Plastic products win architecture, design awards

From flooring to ceilings to laminated doors and outdoor decks, plastics plays a prominent part in many of the products selected for 2014 Awards for Design Excellence (ADEX).

About 500 companies entered more than 2,000 new products for recognition by a panel of anonymous judges from the architectural and design industry. More than 400 entries received platinum, gold or silver awards based on the total points earned from the judges.

New London, N.C.-based Fiberon LLC was recognized with two honors — a platinum award for its premium line of cellular PVC decking called Paramount and a gold award for its more affordable Good Life line of capped composite decking.

The judges noted the Paramount decking, which is made of cellular foam with a coextruded PVC cap bonded to the core, comes in five realistic hardwood colors and grain patterns, resists mold and moisture, and is low maintenance.

Fiberon's Good Life decking has a composite core of wood and high density polyethylene that is capped with a scratch and stain resistant surface the company calls PermaTech. The line is priced closely to wood and is expected to bring wood-alternative decks into the price range of more homeowners.

Both of the company's decking lines hit the market this year.

“The ADEX platinum and gold awards reinforce our position as the innovative leader with the introduction of our two products in 2014,” Fiberon President Doug Mancosh said in a statement.

Some of the other ADEX honorees that incorporate polymers include:

PLATINUM WINNERS

• Flexco, based in Tuscumbia, Ala., received three platinum awards for its flooring products.

One went to its floor base trim made of thermoplastic rubber, which looks like finely crafted wood but offers increased durability, easier installation, decreased maintenance and lower prices. The rubber-and-vinyl based surface can be painted, too, for infinite color possibilities.

It was honored again for a solid vinyl tile that buffs to a shine with no waxing required and resists minor scuffs so it looks cleaner longer when compared to vinyl composite tiles, and took home a third platinum award for ESD static-control vinyl that has a specially formulated conductive adhesive grounded by a copper strip that makes it a good product for electronics manufacturers, high-tech workplaces, munitions facilities, surgical suites and radiology rooms.

• Halstead Ceilings & Walls of Norwalk, Conn., took two platinum level awards. Its Top Tile, which is a line of beveled, sealed-on-all-sides fiberglass ceiling tiles that reduces noise, resists mold growth, and meets fire and air-quality standards.

Halstead's Teknotile ceiling tiles, are made of calcium sulfate laminated with vinyl on the surface for easy cleaning, and coated on the back with aluminum foil for thermal insulation and moisture resistance.

• Asso Abloy Door Group of Sweden took home three platinum awards. Its StormPro Ceco doors, which have cores of polyurethane or polystyrene in honeycomb patterns to add structural strength for use in tornado shelters and safe rooms. The doors passed tornado pressure and missile-load impact tests and meet requirements of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Asso Abloy's Graham line of high-pressure decorative laminate doors made of particle board, agrifiber, mineral and composite cores with laminate faces from Wilsonart, Formica, Pionite and Nevamar while its fiberglass reinforced doors were developed for high-traffic areas like schools and restaurants.

• CBDisegno, a design lab of architect Claudia Bignoli in Novara, Italy, for its Tata pendant lamps made of single laser-cut sheet of acrylic.

• Tarkett Inc. of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, for its Harmonium xf2 linoleum, which has a proprietary surface with a matte finish for commercial and sports uses. The tile comes in 93 colors.

• Raskin Industries LLC of Boca Raton, Fla., for its Loft Collection of luxury vinyl tile and planks, which have a non-skid backing of fiberglass for stability and a surface coating of ceramic that allows it to be installed with or without grouting.

• Swiftspace Inc. of Ayr, Ontario, for its Foresight Desking System, which unfolds without tools into a complete work station for up to four people in seconds. The desk has a laminate surface and side and center privacy panels made of frosted acrylic, laminate or fabric.

• Peter Pepper Products of Compton, Calif., for its Slalom EcoWalls, which are modular partitions with flexible PVC panels in solid, translucent and striped designs that can be set up in any kind of configuration.

GOLD WINNERS

• Halstead also was honored with a Gold for its Top Tile Polyester system for ceilings and walls, which changes the dynamics of living spaces with bevel-edged squares in a dozen color options.

• Swiftspace for its Rendezvous Mobile Meeting room, which creates office space with seating for up to six people in under a minute. The aluminum frame has 60- to 72-inch walls made of melamine privacy panels that come in 15 colors.

• Allermuir US of Maumee, Ohio, for its line of Tonina contemporary-styled, injection-molded polypropylene stackable chairs with a smooth, almost-lacquered finish. Made of 100 percent recycled material with UV stabilizers, the chairs can be used indoors and outdoors at cafes and bistros.

• Altro of Letchworth Garden City, England, for its Easyclean Maxis floors that are made of vinyl for hospitals and labs and places that needs floors resistant to chemicals and stains.

SILVER WINNER

• BuzziSpace, which is based in Antwerp, Belgium, for its BuzziHive — a stand-alone, private meeting room or temporary work space that has a foam fabric shell likened to an acoustic cocoon.

The company also recently announced that it is locating its North American manufacturing headquarters to High Point, N.C. and would invest $1.75 million in a vacant building and add 113 jobs during the next five years.