Global carpet tile manufacturer, Interface has launched its latest collection, Human Nature™, designed by David Oakey longtime Interface collaborator and world leader in sustainable design practices. Available globally, the collection is built on the premise that designing spaces which evoke the senses through light, colour, texture and detail spark the human creative spirit. The collection provides a foundation for organisation’s to curate beautiful spaces that inspire beautiful thinking.
Drawing on the innate connection humans have to the earth, Human Nature takes its cues from the visual, tactile textures found in the most elemental of floor coverings – forest floors, grassy fields and pebbled garden paths.
“The more we learn about our natural world, the more we’re inspired to change the way we approach design,” said Interface executive creative director Chip DeGrace. “This collection has both brains and beauty, and we’d like to believe Mother Nature would be both flattered and impressed with what Interface has produced…what architects and interior designers can create with it…and what beautiful thinking those creations can inspire in the workplace.”
Like everything in the natural world, transitions are varied. Human Nature features five 25cm x 1m skinny plank carpet tile patterns that pair seamlessly with 50cm x 50cm square tiles, ideal for composing imaginative floor designs and encouraging design diversity. The planks are also available in a range of textures, from tumbled pebbles to freshly cut grass, helping to delineate different working spaces.
The Human Nature planks offer a significant advantage over hardwood flooring, absorbing sound and improving acoustics, creating more comfortable, productive work environments.
“Scientists have found that humans crave sensory change and variation, though our work environments are often flat, unnatural places,” Oakey said. “And though there’s no doubt that the design community is drawn to the aesthetics of concrete, stone, and wood, the physical and acoustical benefits of soft surfaces are impossible to ignore. In Human Nature we’ve combined the best of both worlds — the hard surface look of planks with the benefits of soft, textured carpet tile that feels comfortable and natural underfoot.”
Human Nature embodies Interface’s 20-year history as a sustainability pioneer. Made with 100 percent recycled content nylon yarn, it will be manufactured on 4 continents in 6 Interface factories that are, on average, 39 percent more energy efficient and consume 83 percent less water than when the company began to rethink its impact on the environment two decades ago. Additionally, these manufacturing facilities now receive an average 35 percent of their energy from renewable sources.
