(c)bsi 2005
1.28.2005
1.19.2005
1.13.2005
Soft Vinyl Weaves Through a Designer’s Vision to Redefine Flooring
There’s no denying the creative talents of nationally acclaimed designer Sandy Chilewich, but she’s also proving to be quite the entrepreneur. Her unique brand of vinyl flooring accentuates spaces from European auto shows to the showrooms of Herman Miller, Inc. And sales of her creation continue doubling each year.
She found an “aesthetic and interesting” choice in vinyl in 2001 when looking for a versatile textile to match her interest in fabric coloration and weaving. Chilewich’s passion for reinterpreting textile applications led her and husband architect Joe Sultan to design an alternative to conventional flooring. The result of their creative vision was Plynyl™ – a woven fabric made of extruded vinyl yarn with a polyester core, and bonded to a soft polyurethane cushion. “The underlying attraction of Plynyl is that it can be used everywhere in a variety of colors and thicknesses,” said Chilewich. “It also provides a more utilitarian, modern, cool surface in place of traditional carpeting.”
The founder of HUE Hosiery, a successful company she sold in 1992, earned recognition in 1999 with her Raybowl™ creations. The bowls come in a variety of colors and unique concave shapes, each featuring a fabric fit taut around a metal frame.
Plynyl’s visual qualities and durability earned Chilewich the 2001 International Contemporary Furniture Fair Award. She’s landed installations at the 9,000-square-foot New York showroom of Herman Miller, Inc., the renowned global designer and manufacturer of contemporary furnishings and interior products. Plynyl also covered 18,000 square feet of space at the Renault International Auto Show in Geneva.
Its modern, metallic look and durability under the foot traffic of an exhibit showroom also made it a material of choice for Renault shows in Paris, Frankfurt and Tokyo over the past two years.
“Plynyl is tough enough for commercial use and for cars to park on it – but it is also perfect for businesses and even homes with dogs and children,” Chilewich said.
It is available in a multitude of rich woven textures and colors ranging from high-tech “metallics” to the natural look of sisal. It comes in rolls and pre-cut mats, providing unlimited design possibilities. Pre-cut Plynyl mats are ideal for residential and commercial environments because the edges are not bound and provide a thin sleek profile.
The true richness, softness and subtle natural weave texture of the fabric is on full display when Plynyl is installed in sheets as a wall-to-wall application, where it can be simply glued down to the floor as in the case of resilient flooring or carpet, with the polyurethane backing providing a non-skid surface.
Because the fabric and backing are soft, installing Plynyl over concrete or wood panel products and cutting with conventional carpet installation knives is easy. Installers can use either multi-purpose or releasable adhesives, or seam sealers, depending on the expected traffic and application. Since Plynyl is similar to vinyl composition tile in thickness, similar transition strips can be used if required. The floor covering is guaranteed to maintain its texture and appearance for 10 years.
Taking vinyl out of its traditional context, Chilewich has built a successful brand from her innovative use of the material for many consumer products, including bags, placemats and area rugs. She is now working vinyl into yet another innovation.
“The durability of the yarn, its tremendous design versatility and the fact that it is washable has inspired me to create a modern interpretation of lace and crochet for window treatments,” she said.
In partnership with Silent Gliss, a European shade manufacturer, she makes vinyl windowLACE, a semitransparent, finely woven vinyl-fiberglass screen in a variety of open work patterns.
For more information on Plynyl and Chilewich’s work, visit http://www.chilewich.com/. For Silent Gliss, visit http://www.homecollection.info/.
Search in... ------------ News Innovative Uses
VInyl
Few materials can stand up to the excessive cleaning of sterile environments. Vinyl flooring is impervious to water and welded seams can prevent contaminants from being lodged in the seam area.
— Mo Stein, AIA, The Stein-Cox Group
She found an “aesthetic and interesting” choice in vinyl in 2001 when looking for a versatile textile to match her interest in fabric coloration and weaving. Chilewich’s passion for reinterpreting textile applications led her and husband architect Joe Sultan to design an alternative to conventional flooring. The result of their creative vision was Plynyl™ – a woven fabric made of extruded vinyl yarn with a polyester core, and bonded to a soft polyurethane cushion. “The underlying attraction of Plynyl is that it can be used everywhere in a variety of colors and thicknesses,” said Chilewich. “It also provides a more utilitarian, modern, cool surface in place of traditional carpeting.”
The founder of HUE Hosiery, a successful company she sold in 1992, earned recognition in 1999 with her Raybowl™ creations. The bowls come in a variety of colors and unique concave shapes, each featuring a fabric fit taut around a metal frame.
Plynyl’s visual qualities and durability earned Chilewich the 2001 International Contemporary Furniture Fair Award. She’s landed installations at the 9,000-square-foot New York showroom of Herman Miller, Inc., the renowned global designer and manufacturer of contemporary furnishings and interior products. Plynyl also covered 18,000 square feet of space at the Renault International Auto Show in Geneva.
Its modern, metallic look and durability under the foot traffic of an exhibit showroom also made it a material of choice for Renault shows in Paris, Frankfurt and Tokyo over the past two years.
“Plynyl is tough enough for commercial use and for cars to park on it – but it is also perfect for businesses and even homes with dogs and children,” Chilewich said.
It is available in a multitude of rich woven textures and colors ranging from high-tech “metallics” to the natural look of sisal. It comes in rolls and pre-cut mats, providing unlimited design possibilities. Pre-cut Plynyl mats are ideal for residential and commercial environments because the edges are not bound and provide a thin sleek profile.
The true richness, softness and subtle natural weave texture of the fabric is on full display when Plynyl is installed in sheets as a wall-to-wall application, where it can be simply glued down to the floor as in the case of resilient flooring or carpet, with the polyurethane backing providing a non-skid surface.
Because the fabric and backing are soft, installing Plynyl over concrete or wood panel products and cutting with conventional carpet installation knives is easy. Installers can use either multi-purpose or releasable adhesives, or seam sealers, depending on the expected traffic and application. Since Plynyl is similar to vinyl composition tile in thickness, similar transition strips can be used if required. The floor covering is guaranteed to maintain its texture and appearance for 10 years.
Taking vinyl out of its traditional context, Chilewich has built a successful brand from her innovative use of the material for many consumer products, including bags, placemats and area rugs. She is now working vinyl into yet another innovation.
“The durability of the yarn, its tremendous design versatility and the fact that it is washable has inspired me to create a modern interpretation of lace and crochet for window treatments,” she said.
In partnership with Silent Gliss, a European shade manufacturer, she makes vinyl windowLACE, a semitransparent, finely woven vinyl-fiberglass screen in a variety of open work patterns.
For more information on Plynyl and Chilewich’s work, visit http://www.chilewich.com/. For Silent Gliss, visit http://www.homecollection.info/.
Search in... ------------ News Innovative Uses
VInyl
Few materials can stand up to the excessive cleaning of sterile environments. Vinyl flooring is impervious to water and welded seams can prevent contaminants from being lodged in the seam area.
— Mo Stein, AIA, The Stein-Cox Group
Vinyl Tops Canada’s Busiest Airport
Architectural firms charged with creating a new terminal at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport found vinyl was the best roofing material to meet all the demands of this unique design. Read more about why vinyl was chosen in this part of a $4.4 billion redevelopment project at Canada’s busiest airport.
Is PVC Green?
Our interactive forum allows you to speak your mind on the pvc issue by voting. Classic American Democracy. You can also download the USGBC's draft report on the issue.
Click here to check out our forum vote and download the report
Click here to check out our forum vote and download the report
1.12.2005
USGBC Draft Report Shows Vinyl Building Products Have Comparable Impacts to Products Made of Competing Materials
Expert Group Recommends No Credit for Eliminating Vinyl Or 'Any Particular Material'
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Dec. 22, 2004)
Contact: Allen Blakey
(703) 741-5666
allen_blakey@plastics.org
ARLINGTON, Va., -- A new draft report from the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) PVC Task Group finds that the environmental and health impacts of vinyl used in building products are comparable to those of competing materials, the Vinyl Institute said today.
The Task Group, which for nearly two years studied vinyl and some of the principal competing building product materials, recommended against a credit for excluding vinyl in the LEED rating system, stating that "the available evidence does not support a conclusion that PVC is consistently worse than alternative materials on a life cycle environmental and health basis." The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system is one of the most popular, fastest-growing rating systems for "green" building in use today.
Neither vinyl nor any competing material deserves to be eliminated based on the current body of knowledge, according to the Task Group.
Tim Burns, president of the Vinyl Institute said, "This report shows a great amount of detailed analysis. We will study the report in depth, but our preliminary sense is that the Task Group took a comprehensive scientific approach. The findings appear to be consistent with those from other studies such as the European Commission's recent Life Cycle Assessment of PVC and of Principal Competing Materials, which found vinyl's environmental impacts to be similar to those of competing materials."
The Task Group acknowledged that data gaps exist and pointed out that additional research needs to be done on the risks associated with competing materials. Burns said, "We appreciate the fact that data gaps exist, and our industry remains committed to developing scientific information to address questions that affect decisions about using vinyl. We are confident that additional research will help architects, designers, builders and homeowners further appreciate vinyl's benefits."
The PVC Task Group was formed in 2002 by USGBC to evaluate the environmental and health performance of vinyl as a building material in four product areas: drain/waste/vent pipe, windows, siding and flooring. The Task Group has reviewed thousands of studies on vinyl and competing materials. The report finds some uses of vinyl have greater impact while others have less impact.
The Task Group's findings combine life-cycle and risk-assessment analyses.
"Available evidence shows that vinyl products can contribute to the environmental performance of sustainable buildings," Burns said. "Whether it is the energy savings provided by vinyl windows or the resource conservation of durable products like pipe, siding and flooring, vinyl has a place in 'green' buildings."
USGBC invites comments on the report, which are due Feb. 15.
The report is available at USGBC's web site for the Task Group review, http://www.usgbc.org/Docs/LEED_tsac/USGBC_TSAC_PVC_Draft_Report_12-17-04.pdf
***
Founded in 1982, the Vinyl Institute is a national independent trade association representing the leading manufacturers of vinyl plastics, as well as makers of vinyl feedstocks, additives, and film and sheet products.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Dec. 22, 2004)
Contact: Allen Blakey
(703) 741-5666
allen_blakey@plastics.org
ARLINGTON, Va., -- A new draft report from the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) PVC Task Group finds that the environmental and health impacts of vinyl used in building products are comparable to those of competing materials, the Vinyl Institute said today.
The Task Group, which for nearly two years studied vinyl and some of the principal competing building product materials, recommended against a credit for excluding vinyl in the LEED rating system, stating that "the available evidence does not support a conclusion that PVC is consistently worse than alternative materials on a life cycle environmental and health basis." The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system is one of the most popular, fastest-growing rating systems for "green" building in use today.
Neither vinyl nor any competing material deserves to be eliminated based on the current body of knowledge, according to the Task Group.
Tim Burns, president of the Vinyl Institute said, "This report shows a great amount of detailed analysis. We will study the report in depth, but our preliminary sense is that the Task Group took a comprehensive scientific approach. The findings appear to be consistent with those from other studies such as the European Commission's recent Life Cycle Assessment of PVC and of Principal Competing Materials, which found vinyl's environmental impacts to be similar to those of competing materials."
The Task Group acknowledged that data gaps exist and pointed out that additional research needs to be done on the risks associated with competing materials. Burns said, "We appreciate the fact that data gaps exist, and our industry remains committed to developing scientific information to address questions that affect decisions about using vinyl. We are confident that additional research will help architects, designers, builders and homeowners further appreciate vinyl's benefits."
The PVC Task Group was formed in 2002 by USGBC to evaluate the environmental and health performance of vinyl as a building material in four product areas: drain/waste/vent pipe, windows, siding and flooring. The Task Group has reviewed thousands of studies on vinyl and competing materials. The report finds some uses of vinyl have greater impact while others have less impact.
The Task Group's findings combine life-cycle and risk-assessment analyses.
"Available evidence shows that vinyl products can contribute to the environmental performance of sustainable buildings," Burns said. "Whether it is the energy savings provided by vinyl windows or the resource conservation of durable products like pipe, siding and flooring, vinyl has a place in 'green' buildings."
USGBC invites comments on the report, which are due Feb. 15.
The report is available at USGBC's web site for the Task Group review, http://www.usgbc.org/Docs/LEED_tsac/USGBC_TSAC_PVC_Draft_Report_12-17-04.pdf
***
Founded in 1982, the Vinyl Institute is a national independent trade association representing the leading manufacturers of vinyl plastics, as well as makers of vinyl feedstocks, additives, and film and sheet products.
TAKING A STEP IN THE WRONG DIRECTION, US GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL ALIGNS WITH INDUSTRY TRADE GROUPS ON PVC PLASTIC AND WOOD PROPOSALS
For Immediate Release:
January 10, 2005
Contact: Margie Kelly/Healthy Building Network
541-344-2282 margiek@efn.org
Based on "Cigarette Science," USGBC's Draft Policies Threaten Market Trends Toward Safer Materials and Undermine Emerging Consensus on Building Materials
Washington, DC - The Healthy Building Network (HBN), an environmental advocacy organization, today denounced proposals drafted by the US Green Building Council (USGBC) that advance the interests of chemical and timber industry trade groups at the expense of growing market trends favoring safer and healthier building materials.
In late December, a USGBC task force considering whether to offer a credit for PVC elimination under its LEED green building rating system issued a draft report concluding that PVC "does not emerge as a clear winner or loser" as a green building material. The task force adopted recommendations of industry trade groups, and rejected approaches recommended by environmental health experts.
"The USGBC's proposals utilize discredited 'cigarette science' to undermine leaders in the green building field, contradict established environmental policy goals, and threaten emerging market trends moving away from PVC, the worst plastic for the environment," said Bill Walsh, National Coordinator of HBN.
The USGBC's draft finding contradicts decisions industry leaders such as Kaiser Permanente, Shaw Carpet, and McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, green building leaders that have taken steps to eliminate PVC, the world's largest material source of dioxin, the most toxic substance known to science.
PVC or vinyl plastic has become a major building material, used for pipes, flooring, wall coverings, and more. Because production, use, and disposal of PVC poses substantial environmental and human health hazards, national, state, and local governments, manufacturers, and green building professionals have eliminated certain uses of PVC for environmental reasons.
A separate USGBC task force proposed the recognition of timber industry wood certification standards condemned by forest conservation groups and leaders in the sustainable wood products business. This will undermine the widely accepted Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification of wood products.
"PVC and wood from clearcut forests are the antitheses of green building materials. By endorsing their use, the USGBC is risking its leadership in the field," said Walsh. Public comments on both draft proposals are due in February.
# # #
January 10, 2005
Contact: Margie Kelly/Healthy Building Network
541-344-2282 margiek@efn.org
Based on "Cigarette Science," USGBC's Draft Policies Threaten Market Trends Toward Safer Materials and Undermine Emerging Consensus on Building Materials
Washington, DC - The Healthy Building Network (HBN), an environmental advocacy organization, today denounced proposals drafted by the US Green Building Council (USGBC) that advance the interests of chemical and timber industry trade groups at the expense of growing market trends favoring safer and healthier building materials.
In late December, a USGBC task force considering whether to offer a credit for PVC elimination under its LEED green building rating system issued a draft report concluding that PVC "does not emerge as a clear winner or loser" as a green building material. The task force adopted recommendations of industry trade groups, and rejected approaches recommended by environmental health experts.
"The USGBC's proposals utilize discredited 'cigarette science' to undermine leaders in the green building field, contradict established environmental policy goals, and threaten emerging market trends moving away from PVC, the worst plastic for the environment," said Bill Walsh, National Coordinator of HBN.
The USGBC's draft finding contradicts decisions industry leaders such as Kaiser Permanente, Shaw Carpet, and McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, green building leaders that have taken steps to eliminate PVC, the world's largest material source of dioxin, the most toxic substance known to science.
PVC or vinyl plastic has become a major building material, used for pipes, flooring, wall coverings, and more. Because production, use, and disposal of PVC poses substantial environmental and human health hazards, national, state, and local governments, manufacturers, and green building professionals have eliminated certain uses of PVC for environmental reasons.
A separate USGBC task force proposed the recognition of timber industry wood certification standards condemned by forest conservation groups and leaders in the sustainable wood products business. This will undermine the widely accepted Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification of wood products.
"PVC and wood from clearcut forests are the antitheses of green building materials. By endorsing their use, the USGBC is risking its leadership in the field," said Walsh. Public comments on both draft proposals are due in February.
# # #