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Materials Pavilion at NeoCon

After a weekend of ASID leadership training, I had the chance to attend NeoCon for a day.  What a incredible and crazy day of sensory (and people) overload!  

Of all the beautiful showrooms and furniture and fabric, one thing that really caught my attention (must be because of the cabinet geek in me), was the Interiors & Sources Materials Pavilion.

Per the NeoCon website:

The materials you choose for furniture and interiors can make or break a project. Durability, sustainability, economy, availability and, of course, design and form compatibility are all factors, but gathering and making sense of the all the information you need is often a daunting task.In the Interiors & Sources Materials Pavilion you’ll find hundreds of material samples displayed side-by-side, with details on their origin, makeup and recommended applications. This experiential, educational exhibit is curated by design historian and materials specialist Grace Jeffers, and populated with the help of Material Intelligence (www.materialintelligence.com.), an information resource on surfacing solutions for designers and fabricators.

 Some of my favorite materials from the exhibit:

Textured Thermofused Melamine panels, from Stevens Melamine

Unfortunately I don’t have the source for this material, but this is an example of the great textures and patterns that can be produced with 3-dimensional laminate technologies.

Moz Architectural Metals, hand-etched patterns and brilliant colors on solid-core metals.  Beautiful sheen and intense colors… seen also on the column display below:

PYRLOLAVE Glazed Volvic Lava Stone – this product is a great alternative for countertops.  While expensive, it holds up better than anything else I know of… heat resistant, stain resistant, bleach and acid-resistant… you can pretty much do anything on this surface.  Plus, it’s beautiful and artistic and can look good in any setting.

Perennial Wood:  Real wood tweaked so that it behaves like composite decking material yet doesn’t look like plastic.

Roseburg Duramine Decorative Melamines – more textured wood-grains (Can you tell this is a big trend?)

Alkemi, an acrylic recycled-content product using aluminum scraps

Alusion architectural foam, from aluminum (looks like it’s made from tin foil)

Ambro – exotic wood panels with strips of opaque material that would look incredible with some back-lighting!
TorZo is a sustainable surface material manufactured from agricultural byproducts and recycled wood. 

More TorZo.  Check out their website, as these photos don’t do it justice.
Olon panels, called 3-d laminate

Lucem light-transmitting concrete.  Yes, this is a light-transmitting stone with optical fibers inside… see the sparkle on the bottom?  So many possibilities for a material like this!

Advanced Technology features MirrorFlex decorative thermoplastic panels, FusionTech products, and NuMetal high pressure laminates.  A lot of possiblities with these materials for wall coverings, backsplashes, and even just as artwork.  The wood grain geometric pattern on the bottom is amazing in person.

More wood-grain melamines (I didn’t catch the brand on this one, but I love the 2 on the bottom right.)

(SSI) Surface Source International had several great 3-dimensional laminate products, though I was especially drawn to these Zenolite high-gloss acrylic panels, which come in great colors and have the appearance of a back-painted glass.
Just a small taste of all the materials out there – isn’t fun to let your mind wander with all the possibilities?
6/22/12 UPDATE:  Here is a link to all the materials showcased at the Materials Pavilion.

Join the discussion One Comment

  • relationship advice online says:
    June 27, 2012 at 10:46 am

    Always was interested in this theme! While expensive, it holds up better than anything else I know of… heat resistant, stain resistant, bleach and acid-resistant… you can pretty much do anything on this surface. Plus, it's beautiful and artistic and can look good in any setting.