Corkcomfort in South Africa’s First Green Hotel

Cape Town, South Africa – 

Hollow on the Square Hotel

Located in the beautiful city of Cape Town, Hollow on The Square is a 4 star city hotel designed by M&B Architects & Interiors offering 114 luxuriously appointed rooms and suites, all designed for comfort and tranquility.  The newly added eco-friendly rooms were conceived using nature as inspiration and incorporate materials that reflect natural comfort.

M&B chose Wicanders Corkcomfort products as an innate fit for this project.  Over 8,600 square feet of Wicanders Cork flooring cover the guest rooms, hallways and elevators, earning praise from a number of visiting guests.  Products used include Corkcomfort HPS Identity Spice, HPS Identity Chestnut and WRT Linn Sepia.  

The elegance of these materials and others used at the Hollow on The Square, M&B House, as well as the suave colors and distinctive décor, bring in a sense of total serenity, persuading visitors to enjoy an unforgettable stay.

View more projects using Wicanders Cork Flooring by visiting our Press Room.

BMW and Toyota remodel with Wicanders

With the aim of creating a sophisticated atmosphere reflecting the quality and technology of the cars they market, BMW and Toyota, in Germany, have redesigned their showrooms with the new Wicanders® Woodcomfort product line in the attractive “American Walnut” wood visual

  

BMW showroom in Germany

BMW B&K, with offices in 17 different German cities, remodeled its branch in Taunusstein, a wealthy suburb of Frankfurt, with approximately 5000 square feet of the product in its offices, reception area and lounge.

Toyota showroom in Berlin, Germany

At Toyota Weller, with 10 branches throughout Germany, a first stage saw over 5000 square feet installed in the sales offices and bar of its Berlin branch.

In both cases, the excellent technical performance of the HPS surface finish was chosen for maximum resistance to wear. 

The new Wicanders® Woodcomfort product lines offer an immense range of decorative, versatile and sophisticated options, providing distinctive and customized atmospheres in accordance with the highest standards of quality and comfort.

 

 

Amorim Flooring partners with Architectural Systems, Inc.

Amorim Flooring North America, Inc. has appointed Architectural Systems, Inc. (ASI, www.archsystems.com) as its distributor in the commercial segment of Wicanders cork flooring.   ASI will cover the  Metro New York and New Jersey areas.

Founded in 1990, ASI has been known from the start for its fresh, innovative solutions for commercial interiors.  Today, the company’s products are confidently specified by the foremost architecture & design firms and installed globally in major retail, entertainment, hospitality, corporate, healthcare, education and institutional projects.

ASI’s clients return again and again for ASI’s extensive product expertise, professionalism, commitment to service, and collective eye for what’s next®, and the ability to find it all in one place.  Founders Nancy Jackson (President) and Ron Jackson (CEO) are design advocates who help their clients materialize their vision and have worked with the most prestige clientele.  ASI’s team of experts has been recognized for their involvement in every part of the contract project process from concept to installation.  Their innovative style and established relationships in the A& D community distinguish them from the rest.  Their exceptional knowledge of the industry is known globally and sets trends before anyone recognizes them as trends.

 Architectural Systems, Inc. (ASI), a family business, is acclaimed by the industry as a leading provider of architectural materials including sustainable products.

Amorim’s international flooring portfolio is known for its unique ecological properties, aesthetic design and technical attributes. 

This new strategic partnership reinforces the demand for high quality eco-efficient flooring solutions, and will strengthen Wicanders’ presence in the New York and New Jersey markets.

We welcome ASI to our family.

Team WIcanders

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Choosing the cork oak floors that are right for your green building project

As you know, with Wicanders, the possibilities are nearly endless… We put Nature’s palette in your hands, combining textures and surprising colors. The originality and exotic contrasts of each pattern gives any surface a personal and distinctive touch.

But which floors are a better fit for your commercial design needs? Glue down or floating? Xtreme WRT or HPS? Read on, as today we help you determine which Wicanders floors are most suitable for your green building project…

Finding the right finish

Xtreme WRT—Wear Resistance Technology:
Ceramic is, after natural diamonds, the hardest known substance in the world. Our floating cork oak floors coated with Xtreme WRT finish with ceramic micro-bead technology, is a perfect choice if you are looking for a matte, unique, and durable finish with low maintenance.
We want you to feel assured that you are making a good, long-term investment when you choose Xtreme WRT flooring from Wicanders. Even with its hard and resistant features, Xtreme WRT gives the floor soft and natural qualities and none of the usual slippery and cold feel provided by ordinary finishes.

HPS—High Performance Surface:
The high traffic on commercial floors puts much demand on the floor and the finish. Wicanders commercial quality floors are produced with hard-wearing surface lying between the veneer and the HPS topcoat, which makes it extremely wear resistant.
Our HPS finish is based on nano beads technology. Extremely tiny beads are embedded in the top layer giving the whole surface improved properties such as scratch, slip, scuff, and stain resistance—without compromising the natural appearance, elasticity, and beauty of of our cork floors. If you are in search of flooring for high traffic areas with an extremely durable, low-sheen finish, Wicanders Cork Flooring with HPS is the choice for you. With a 15-year commercial warranty, we are confident you will love the look and feel of our HPS floors.

Glue-down versus Floating

Floating:
Wicanders Cork Oak floating floor planks are engineered with the patented CorkLoc® system on all four sides. Each edge is comprised of durable compressed cork fiberboard and Cork Protect®, a natural parafin-based all-around edge sealing system. This tightly pressed seal seamlessly vaccum locks against any and all moisture and debris, setting Wicanders CorkLoc® system apart from other floating floors.

Glue-down:
If your project calls for glue down tiles because of the area of application or the size of the job, Wicanders Series 200 and Series 2000 are the ideal products for you.

Wicanders Series 200 WRT "Natural"

And for a complete guide with detailed info on dimensions, LEED qualifying points, approximate installed cost, and our best-in-the-industry warranty, please be sure to download our 2008 Commercial Flooring Guide.

We’d also like to remind you that we have just launched a new Technical Info page right here on our blog. You can visit it by clicking here. Or if you have any questions you’d like answered, our master installers are always handy, so be sure to drop us a line.

Until next time…
Team Wicanders

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Tate Access Floors and Wicanders Cork Oak Floors Join Forces!

Tate Access Floors is the largest access flooring company in North America, so needless to say…we’re excited about our recent affiliation!! We have joined forces with another world leader in sustainable building solutions. Tate will supply Wicanders’ new line of access floors; Wicanders UP. Check out our News Release to learn more.

Tate Access Floors, Inc. has over 45 years of experience. The company is a recognized worldwide leader in the research, design, manufacture, distribution, sales, and installation of raised access floors. We can’t wait to see what happens when a world-renowned distributor like Tate, and Wicanders combine forces…we’re partial of course!

Wicanders UP Access Flooring

Wicanders UP is 3.2 mm thick and has HPS, our High Performance Surface, with a 15 year commercial warranty. Wicanders UP was created specifically for high traffic areas. It is protected from scratches, scuff marks, dents, abrasions, stains and UV damage, and the low gloss level of the HPS prevents slipping! Like our other flooring, Wicanders UP still provides thermal insulation, acoustic dampening, health benefits, resiliency, and is free from allergens and hidden germs, and well as being naturally anti-microbial, anti-bacterial, and hypoallergenic. Long story short, it is a GREAT option for your commercial places and spaces with high and unforgiving foot traffic!

We hope you join Tate Access Floors and Wicanders Cork Oak Flooring in the effort to promote green design and green building. With your help, we can create more sustainable and eco-friendly places for all of us.

Until next time,

Team Wicanders

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Wicanders is a Building Block of Sustainable Design!

The building blocks of green home design, like LEED certified products and sustainability, are important…but did you know that some projects are actually made from building blocks?

The ‘Harbinger’ is a two-story, 1700 square foot home built from reused shipping containers! These shipping containers, or “building blocks” are the foundation for this show-house that is displayed at West Coast Green, the nation’s largest green building, business and design conference.

In fact, if you are on the West Coast, you should stop in and check it out! The San Jose Convention Center will be displaying The Harbinger on the tradeshow floor September 25-27. Want more info? You can check it out here.

The interior of the home was designed by ecofabulous, and showcases over 20 eco products. We can’t say that we are surprised that they chose Wicanders Cork Oak Flooring for the bedrooms and hallways…but we sure are happy they did! Wicanders was a great choice for so many reasons, but we would like to remind you of just a few.

Wicanders’ Cork Oak Floors are a healthy alternative, because unlike tile and carpet, they don’t trap dirt and bacteria. This makes Cork Oak Floors a great option for kids’ bedrooms and kitchens. Wicanders’ flooring is also an environmentally responsible choice. Cork trees are not cut down, instead the bark is harvested. That means they absorb even more Carbon Dioxide!

Wicanders Cork Oak Floors are a great building block for your next green project or installation. Going green is a responsible choice, and Wicanders is happy to be a part of it!

Team Wicanders

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Green Building? Think Wicanders Cork Oak Flooring

You’d almost think architect Eric Gjerde, AIA, was writing our cork oak blog! Posted at 7:09 am and 9:25 am on Saturday, July 26th, seems like Eric was up early writing about cork floors on his GreenBuildingToday blog. Yes, cork is a really ‘green’ building product, which is why we all believe he spent several hours of his time writing about it on Saturday when he could have been sleeping in.

Two articles by Eric, “The Top 10 Reasons Why I Like Cork”, and “Cork is a Green Building Product”, are excellent. Of course, we’re a bit partial…but that’s to be expected.

He ends one post with, “Love that Cork” and “Remember to Tread Lightly or Less, Be Green, Be Happy.”

We couldn’t have said it better. Thanks Eric!

And to all the architects out there thinking about using cork in your flooring projects, we’ve got some great samples we can send to you. Just ask by leaving a comment or send us an email at projects@wicanderscorkoakblog.com.

Team Wicanders

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