Chicago—AHF Products has unveiled Nidra and Zenscape heterogeneous sheet (HET) from Armstrong Flooring, offering a palette of organic wood grain and textile-inspired visuals. Ideal for healthcare environments, the designs are meant to help create a harmonious and therapeutic atmosphere. The flooring collections were among the newest innovations exhibited by AHF at the NeoCon show June 10-12, held here.
“With evidence that bringing nature indoors helps reduce tension and minimizes the length of stay for patients, these healthcare-inspired collections leverage biophilic design and meditative patterns so that designers can create soothing, stress relieving environments,” said Oxana Dallas, principal design of commercial products, AHF. “We’ve been inspired by the silent dialogues between natural elements and their sublime balance, channeling these elements to produce designs that are calm and inherently therapeutic.”
Design
Through subtle hues and patterns, AHF Products’ designers aimed to curate experiences that heal, balance and elevate floor installation into an art form. It is in these designs where the floor becomes more than a surface—it becomes the final note that complete the symphony of the room.
The Nidra collection is inspired by the organic beauty of wood grains and the calm energies that are said to emerge when connected to nature. Influenced by the practice of rooting down and taking intentional pauses, the aim of Nidra is to enhance peace and tranquility in healing spaces.
- Elements is inspired by mandalas —a geometric configuration of symbols typically used for meditative purposes. Elements applies a parquet design to aid in creating relaxing spaces of intent. Designed with modern healing spaces in mind, the mandala pattern is meant to help induce a sense of serenity.
- Brittnau Oak is available in nine colorways—ranging from light and airy to dark and nutty. Brittnau Oak displays an assortment of simplistic patterns with crosscut bullseyes and low to-mid-grain visuals throughout.
Highlighting linear simplicity, the Zenscape collection includes three designs: AbstrA, Aurora and Allure. Available in 16 colorways and designed to create serene, reflective spaces, Zenscape draws inspiration from elements found within nature such as ocean foam, sand and waves.
- AbstrA draws inspiration from the calm tides of water and the patterns found along sandy shores. AbstrA features a textured, gradient design and is available in six colorways.
- Aurora is designed to channel feelings of inner-peace and mindfulness. Aurora’s subtle vertical patterns and biophilic inspired colorways blur the lines between indoors and out.
- Allure embraces the movement of a gentle breeze over calm water with soothing wave-like patterns throughout. The intentionally asymmetric patterns bring forth a sense of warmth and comfort atop the cooler, textured undertones.
Performance
Nidra and Zenscape are engineered to stand up to the wear-and-tear of commercial settings. The two new HET sheet collections are designed to withstand the rough-and-tumble healthcare environments. AHF’s exclusive patented Diamond 10 Technology, which these floors protect against scratches, stains and scuffs to keep floors looking newer for longer.
“The D10 coating helps make the product easy to clean and maintain,” said Yon Hinkle, vice president of resilient, AHF. “It allows caregivers to provide more time on direct care which ultimately enables the staff to spend more time with patients.”
The floors are low VOC and FloorScore certified. Free of ortho-phthalates and heavy metals, the floors are also verified with Health Product Declarations (HPDs).
The Nidra and Zenscape HET sheet collections are supported by 10 years of overall warranty coverage by using Strong System subfloor preparation products.