ANTRON® Brand Showroom Renovation Targets New Designers

INVISTA Will Pursue LEED CI Certification for the Redesigned Showroom and Seminar Space

Atlanta (June 4, 2008) - INVISTA, manufacturer of ANTRON® carpet fiber, will unveil a completely renovated showroom at NeoCon 2008, created by Design Collaboratives, Inc. of Chicago. The sleek and intriguing space is intended to deliver both an informational and inspirational experience for 'new' designers, and was carefully executed to meet the criteria for the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Commercial Interiors (LEED CI) Green Building Rating System™, for which INVISTA is seeking certification.

"Design Collaboratives helped us realize our vision of demonstrating within our showroom the leadership, integrity and credibility of the ANTRON® carpet fiber brand, and we are so pleased with the results. The space brings our brand to life, allowing us to showcase an abundance of mill carpet styles and a host of experiential opportunities, at the same time minimizing waste and improving energy efficiency," said Melissa Noebes, ANTRON® brand manager. "By personalizing the ANTRON® brand through its ever-evolving dimensions of aesthetics, performance and sustainability, the showroom will become a great place to learn, play and find inspiration."

"Our goal was to create a multi-use, transformable space similar to black box theater that can easily come alive with personality and functionality depending on the event," said Mary Beth Rampolla, principal of Design Collaboratives. "We also wanted to showcase ANTRON® carpet fiber, a very scientific product, in a smart and technologically savvy way. The theme "Inspired by Science" was developed to capture the excitement of INVISTA's ongoing product development and creative applications that continually bring new possibilities to carpet performance and styling."

The project team, led by Rampolla, took a minimal approach to create the open, airy environment. New features include:

  • Dynamic "system of carpet" capable of displaying 176 - 18" x 18" style samples from mills featuring carpets of ANTRON® carpet fiber in a cohesive format
  • Color wheel demonstrating the science behind the ANTRON Lumena® solution dyed nylon color line build-out, currently featuring 225 colors
  • Custom-designed floor carpet highlighting the fiber and aesthetic potential enabled by ANTRON® Legacy™ and ANTRON® Brilliance™ white dyeable nylon, featuring ANTRON® FiberEffects™ carpet fiber texture variations, subtle-to-bold color gradations and color to neutral ramping. There is no repeat on the entire floor yet the construction is a continuous 12' wide product which is cut into lengths and beck dyed for a front to back gradation over the 70 foot showroom floor. There is virtually no waste in this application
  • Creativity stations with colored fiber, extreme custom carpet samples and yarn poms, so designers can play and imagine current and future projects
  • Lab stations equipped with hands-on experiments, microscopes, beakers and comparative examples, so designers can see and experience the performance characteristics of ANTRON® carpet fiber
  • Three-dimensional visualization of a polymer's lifecycle, including flake, BCF, carpet, shredded carpet, recycled polymer pellets and engineered thermoplastic car parts made from recycled carpet

Carefully planned to meet LEED CI criteria for certification, Design Collaboratives and INVISTA worked closely together to minimize waste by creating a space with minimal internal structure and reusing many of the existing materials (some over 20 years old) including multiple glass space dividers, 600 feet of millwork surfacing and select furniture. Technology was also used to minimize materials needed for graphic updates. LED accent lighting, zero-VOC paints and adhesives, 100% recycled no-formaldehyde substrates, Energy Star appliances and the EPP certification of Antron® carpet fiber all contribute to LEED CI certification.

Following NeoCon 2008, INVISTA will host a series of seminars in the showroom targeting new designers. "We are excited to offer up the space as a landing point for newer designers who may not have the chance to go to NeoCon, but who are hungry to experience the Merchandise Mart," said Noebes.

ANTRON® carpet fiber is one of the most recognized brands of commercial carpet fiber, known for its advanced soil resistance, stain resistance, and exceptional fiber technology. ANTRON® carpet fiber is third-party certified as an Environmentally Preferable Product by Scientific Certification Systems. For more information on ANTRON® carpet fiber, please call 1-877-5ANTRON or visit ANTRON.net.

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