LANCASTER, PA.—No stranger to the category, Armstrong led the U.S. into the linoleum age in 1909. So it’s no surprise that the manufacturer is heading its resurgence, while celebrating 100 years in the business.
However, the linoleum of today is not quite what’s remembered from grandma’s kitchen—popular spatter designs of post WWII. Applauding the comeback of an always-sustainable product, Armstrong has reinvented the style and design aspects of its linoleum while keeping the category’s inherent green story fully intact.
Still made of the same renewable raw materials as it was in the early 20th century— cork powder, linseed oil, limestone, organic pigments and jute backing— linoleum has enjoyed recent accolades due to greater environmental awareness of building materials, according to Armstrong. However, the mill has taken the initiative of stepping up even the product’s green offerings with its exclusive NATRCote low-maintenance coating.
“While green products and operations are not new to Armstrong, they continue to be the focus of our efforts,” said Kent Clauson, general manager of marketing. In line with that, the revamped linoleum supports the USGBC’s Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) building rating system, is certified as a low-emitting product under FloorScore, is compliant with California’s low-VOC emissions standards and can be easily specified usine ecoScorecard.
But what’s really catching the attention of the A&D community with its 100-year celebratory re-launch, is Armstrong’s expanded linoleum offering of five patterns and 126 colors. Expanded by more than 50%, the mill is introducing Marmorette, Linorette, Colorette, Granette and Uni Walton, which all come together as a collection of inspiring choices, said Laura Gemperline, design manager. “The collection achieves a balance between light, mid and dark tones for greater color coordination, more tonal looks and higher visual impact,” she explained. “Each product line has had significant changes to its colors in order for the collection to coordinate together and in a more comprehensive way with the rest of the portfolio.”
And to easily portray the new coordinating lines, Armstrong launched its Color Continuum—a new, systematic approach developed to deliver color in tonal steps— which unites hue, value and chroma, said Julia Pierce, senior manager, commercial product design.
“This new, flexible approach provides amazing color breadth and depth in the most organized, easiest-to-use system on the market today,” she explained. “The significance is this widely expanded palette with light, mid-tone and dark tones is distinctly North American and is arranged by color progression rather than by collection.”
Spanning five patterns in 6-foot by 7-inch wide sheet, available in a variety of gauges, both Gemperline and Pierce said the collection offers leading-edge aesthetics, high performance, economic value and environmentally friendly building design adaptable for any environment. To help Armstrong celebrate 100 years in linoleum, visit armstrong.com/commflooringna/linoleum-100.jsp.
However, the linoleum of today is not quite what’s remembered from grandma’s kitchen—popular spatter designs of post WWII. Applauding the comeback of an always-sustainable product, Armstrong has reinvented the style and design aspects of its linoleum while keeping the category’s inherent green story fully intact.
Still made of the same renewable raw materials as it was in the early 20th century— cork powder, linseed oil, limestone, organic pigments and jute backing— linoleum has enjoyed recent accolades due to greater environmental awareness of building materials, according to Armstrong. However, the mill has taken the initiative of stepping up even the product’s green offerings with its exclusive NATRCote low-maintenance coating.
“While green products and operations are not new to Armstrong, they continue to be the focus of our efforts,” said Kent Clauson, general manager of marketing. In line with that, the revamped linoleum supports the USGBC’s Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) building rating system, is certified as a low-emitting product under FloorScore, is compliant with California’s low-VOC emissions standards and can be easily specified usine ecoScorecard.
But what’s really catching the attention of the A&D community with its 100-year celebratory re-launch, is Armstrong’s expanded linoleum offering of five patterns and 126 colors. Expanded by more than 50%, the mill is introducing Marmorette, Linorette, Colorette, Granette and Uni Walton, which all come together as a collection of inspiring choices, said Laura Gemperline, design manager. “The collection achieves a balance between light, mid and dark tones for greater color coordination, more tonal looks and higher visual impact,” she explained. “Each product line has had significant changes to its colors in order for the collection to coordinate together and in a more comprehensive way with the rest of the portfolio.”
And to easily portray the new coordinating lines, Armstrong launched its Color Continuum—a new, systematic approach developed to deliver color in tonal steps— which unites hue, value and chroma, said Julia Pierce, senior manager, commercial product design.
“This new, flexible approach provides amazing color breadth and depth in the most organized, easiest-to-use system on the market today,” she explained. “The significance is this widely expanded palette with light, mid-tone and dark tones is distinctly North American and is arranged by color progression rather than by collection.”
Spanning five patterns in 6-foot by 7-inch wide sheet, available in a variety of gauges, both Gemperline and Pierce said the collection offers leading-edge aesthetics, high performance, economic value and environmentally friendly building design adaptable for any environment. To help Armstrong celebrate 100 years in linoleum, visit armstrong.com/commflooringna/linoleum-100.jsp.
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