Article Number: 3927
A&D community applauds Armstrong’s Migrations BBT, Sustainable product keeps performance and design in check
By Sarah Zimmerman
Since it’s first-quarter launch, Armstrong’s Migrations BioBased Tile (BBT) has continued to win praise from designers and architects for its “game-changing combination of sustainability and affordability,” said Dominic Rice, vice president of commercial resilient. “Environmental evaluation of a product is now given equal weighting with design, performance and cost in product selection.”
So, what’s making BBT such a hit in the green arena? Mostly its innovative patent-pending polymer binder BioStride, which contains renewable ingredients such as corn. BioStride—unveiled at Greenbuild ’07—is the result of a multi-year, multi-million dollar research and design project pushing the envelope on sustainability, noted Frank Ready, president and CEO. “With BioStride, Armstrong has made a giant leap forward with the integration of rapidly renewable ingredients [such as corn], reducing reliance on limited resources such as petroleum and fossil fuels.”
As BioStride’s first application, Migrations BBT is a commercial tile that provides a sustainability story while keeping performance and style in check, Rice continued. “Customers told us they did not have a product available to them that had a good balance of all these criteria, especially cost. Migrations offers enhanced environmental attributes combined with enhanced performance, classic looks and affordability.”
Manufactured at Armstrong’s Jackson, Miss., plant, Migrations BBT is made from 75% limestone, 14% BioStride, 10% pre-consumer recycled content and 1% pigment, and is available in 28 coordinating colors. Other features include two times the indent resistance of VCT, five times greater resistance to impact and is two-and-a-half times more resistant to crackingfrom uneven sub floors. It also contributes to LEED credits and is FloorScore certified for low VOC emissions.
Industry takes note
Due to the product’s innovative green attributes, enhanced performance and design details, Migrations BBT has already made its impact on the A&D community.
Beth Brant, project architect for Brown Reynolds Watford Architects in Dallas, explained the particularly compelling piece of BBT is that for minimal cost increase, a sustainable product can be used in every project. “We are interested in environmental design, although most clients cannot absorb that extra cost. Migrations is better for the environment and won’t cost the client any more money—akin to using low-VOC paint,” she said.
Brown Reynolds Watford is considering BBT for a large senior center and recreation center, which formerly had specified standard vinyl tile. “The BBT palette corresponds precisely with what we already had in mind, so I do not have to compromise in terms of design— and the client gains an even more durable, great-performing—and greener product,” Brant said.
And, aside from performance, Paul Shahriari, founder of GreenMind, a consulting and technology development firm, said with Migrations BBT, Armstrong makes it easy to go green. “A specifier no longer has to choose between a greener product and the project’s budget, which opens up enormous opportunities in virtually every market—education, healthcare, retail and more.”
Since it’s first-quarter launch, Armstrong’s Migrations BioBased Tile (BBT) has continued to win praise from designers and architects for its “game-changing combination of sustainability and affordability,” said Dominic Rice, vice president of commercial resilient. “Environmental evaluation of a product is now given equal weighting with design, performance and cost in product selection.”
So, what’s making BBT such a hit in the green arena? Mostly its innovative patent-pending polymer binder BioStride, which contains renewable ingredients such as corn. BioStride—unveiled at Greenbuild ’07—is the result of a multi-year, multi-million dollar research and design project pushing the envelope on sustainability, noted Frank Ready, president and CEO. “With BioStride, Armstrong has made a giant leap forward with the integration of rapidly renewable ingredients [such as corn], reducing reliance on limited resources such as petroleum and fossil fuels.”
As BioStride’s first application, Migrations BBT is a commercial tile that provides a sustainability story while keeping performance and style in check, Rice continued. “Customers told us they did not have a product available to them that had a good balance of all these criteria, especially cost. Migrations offers enhanced environmental attributes combined with enhanced performance, classic looks and affordability.”
Manufactured at Armstrong’s Jackson, Miss., plant, Migrations BBT is made from 75% limestone, 14% BioStride, 10% pre-consumer recycled content and 1% pigment, and is available in 28 coordinating colors. Other features include two times the indent resistance of VCT, five times greater resistance to impact and is two-and-a-half times more resistant to crackingfrom uneven sub floors. It also contributes to LEED credits and is FloorScore certified for low VOC emissions.
Industry takes note
Due to the product’s innovative green attributes, enhanced performance and design details, Migrations BBT has already made its impact on the A&D community.
Beth Brant, project architect for Brown Reynolds Watford Architects in Dallas, explained the particularly compelling piece of BBT is that for minimal cost increase, a sustainable product can be used in every project. “We are interested in environmental design, although most clients cannot absorb that extra cost. Migrations is better for the environment and won’t cost the client any more money—akin to using low-VOC paint,” she said.
Brown Reynolds Watford is considering BBT for a large senior center and recreation center, which formerly had specified standard vinyl tile. “The BBT palette corresponds precisely with what we already had in mind, so I do not have to compromise in terms of design— and the client gains an even more durable, great-performing—and greener product,” Brant said.
And, aside from performance, Paul Shahriari, founder of GreenMind, a consulting and technology development firm, said with Migrations BBT, Armstrong makes it easy to go green. “A specifier no longer has to choose between a greener product and the project’s budget, which opens up enormous opportunities in virtually every market—education, healthcare, retail and more.”
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