Kennesaw, Ga. -- At the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess hotel in Scottsdale, Ariz., INVISTA presented the Antron Touch Award to Starnet members during the Starnet design award ceremony. The Antron Touch Award winners are the result of a joint-partnership between Antron and Starnet, recognizing the use of performance-driven carpet choices in commercial applications. Entries are judged on the project’s outcome to meet the clients’ aesthetics, performance and sustainability goals.

Presenting the awards from INVISTA was Stacy Dobbs, senior manager, Antron business development and field team lead and Denise Silbert, global marketing and North American business development director for the Antron brand.

First place was presented to Sun Interiors Inc. for its Hancock Whitney Center project. The tallest building in the city of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana is now the new home to the Hancock Whitney Center, where the bank needed a larger, more modern space to showcase its financial services, products, and expertise and allow for growth. Before moving in, the bank wanted to replace the existing carpet in the building. Even though the carpet had been on the floor since the 1980’s, they were extremely impressed with how durable the carpet (made with Antron carpet fiber) was and how well it had been maintained by Sun Interiors. They requested the same carpet fiber for the new carpet specification.

Matthes Brierre Architects, Sun Interiors, Inc. and the team at Hancock Whitney Center selected and installed more than 18,000 yards and six styles of Mannington Commercial carpet for the space. The flooring needed to align with the aesthetics for the office space, but also be durable over time. The main specification considerations included high appearance retention, excellent crush resistance and the ability to stand up to heavy traffic especially in the hallways. In addition, the high-rise building is full of windows that allow natural light into the building so the fade resistance qualities of the Antron carpet fiber was an important consideration.

“This project is a true testament to the cleanability and durability of Antron carpet fiber,” said Dobbs. “The existing carpet was more than 10 years old, and the client specifically requested Antron carpet fiber for the new carpet because of how well the existing carpet looked and performed over those years.”

A Second Place Award was given to Image Flooring for its renovation of One Kansas City Place. Replacing carpet was part of a major refresh for One Kansas City Place. Reflect and Radiate, two carpet styles part of the Masland Contract Avant carpet tile offering were chosen because of the “energy” they convey in a space. The Reflect pattern complimented the exposed ceiling structure in the lobby. The dark color of the carpet contrasted well with the white trusses and bright natural light coming from the skylights. This pattern also was used in all the conference rooms to give them energy and color contrast. The Radiate pattern was used in the long second floor corridor because of its flowing pattern. With large group meetings with breakfasts and lunches and high traffic, carpet manufactured with Antron carpet fiber was chosen for its cleanability and because of its proven track record to last longer and lower life cycle costs for the client.

A special recognition award was presented to M. Frank Higgins & Co., Inc. for its Yale Neonatal Intensive Care Unit project for utilizing carpet in a healthcare environment. The team selected Saya carpet style from Atlas Carpet Mills because the carpet provided a nice accent in the new NICU, reflecting the symmetry of the fish swimming about at the end of the hall. As one of the most visited hospitals in the country, the team selected carpet with Antron carpet fiber to stand up to the high traffic and make maintenance easy. The carpet design also contributes to a soothing environment to calm families during stressful times.

For more information, visit antron.net or www.starnetflooring.com.