Marmoleum Design Challenge

Finnish Tuominen Patel's Breathe concept wins Dezeen x Marmoleum Design Challenge
A configurable break space with moveable partitions designed to foster social engagement and wellbeing. The design aims to encourage users to slow down and pause, particularly in busy office or educational environments. The completed project will be unveiled at a launch event in the Netherlands and featured in the coming weeks.

More information on the DEZEEN PAGE

Jury members

Seasonal Sanctum by Matthew Pratt, London

The Seasonal Sanctum is designed to resonate with the natural rhythms of the four seasons and their profound influence on human wellness. Inspired by the organic forms of nature, the pavilion's design gently embraces fluid curves, mirroring the seamless transition of time as one season merges seamlessly into another.

By selecting seasonal material palettes from the Marmoleum range of materials, the pavilion not only envelops occupants fully in the material, but also in the essence of each season, inviting reflection on the cyclical nature of life. With its thoughtful design and innovative approach, the pavilion aspires to elevate users, nurturing holistic wellbeing for all who enter.

Dezeen design challenge - Seasonal Sanctum

Dezeen design challenge - Thoughts Shell

Thoughts Shell by Liliya Dzis, New York

This is a 10-square-meter sanctuary designed to foster mental well-being within busy environments like offices, schools, and lobbies. Forbo Marmoleum forms the foundation with a calming light-green base, seamlessly extending from floor to wall. This creates a sense of enclosure and tranquility.

Curved walls lead to the central element - a built-in bench filled with soft debris of Forbo products that can give the materials a second life. This multi-functional piece is framed with the handle covered with the furniture linoleum and allows for comfortable seating, quiet meditations, or impromptu meeting.

Suspended greenery serves as a biophilic integration.

Kanso by Jonathan Tordjman and Gabriela Neyroud, Paris

Kanso is a regeneration space designed to meet the needs of caregivers. The space can be used in a variety of ways, including meditation, contemplation, napping, stretching, reading. Inspiration comes from the aesthetics of Japanese tea rooms to create a soothing, self-evident space. The uncluttered ambience in shades of green and brown is inspired by nature, a universe that reassures everyone and allows them to get back to basics.

Marmoleum was used to imitate Japanese tatami mats, and a contrasting welding was employed to create a pattern and frame the space. The flooring product coexists with the other natural materials used, such as the oak of the structure or the recycled fabric canvas. «Kanso» is a Japanese word meaning simple, sober.

Breathe by Terhi Tuominen and Jitan V. Patel, Helsinki

To see a clock is to sense an accelerating tempo of our social existence.

Breathe is a space for us to step into, take time out and decelerate. The concept revolves around geometric forms. The circle in particular. We see it everywhere. From grains of soil to the stars. A circle means completeness and unity. It's democratic. It's the centre of everything.

The space has three core elements. The floor, the furniture and the partitions. Breathe embraces curves allowing it to become a central space. It is versatile in usage, its modularity allows a range of activities from play, to learn, to work to heal. It is a place to take a breath. The moveable partitions enable flexibility and scalability. It is possible to arrange breakout areas of different sizes. It breathes.

Marmo Tents’ by In-between Architects, Hong Kong

This group of tents embraces flexibility and scalability, utilizing cardboard tubes from the centre of Marmoleum rolls as the primary framework, and enclosing the structure with leftover Marmoleum sheets.

The objective is to create a versatile space that can expand and accommodate various uses. Components sourced from the Forbo Factory contribute to the pavilion's sustainability. By incorporating tent structures within a business environment, the pavilion immediately conveys a message to its users: it is a space designed for relaxation and rejuvenation. The idea of pet-tents also promote emotional support animals in business and school environments.

Duinpan by Jelmer Reus, Zaandam - NL

“When contemplating an environment that fosters well-being, my mind instinctively gravitates towards nature's embrace. True relaxation emanates from the great outdoors. Therefore, when tasked with crafting an internal sanctum intended to induce well-being, relaxation, healing, and rejuvenation, my aim is to seamlessly merge the external with the internal”, Jelmer Reus says about his design.

The hallmark of this design lies in its seamless transition of linoleum from floor to object, eminiscent of the natural flow from beach to dunes. The intention is to position this object within a space where linoleum adorns the surrounding floor, facilitating a cohesive integration between the flooring and the object harmoniously blending with the environment.

Marmoleum, the best natural floor

Marmoleum enhances indoor spaces by offering a tactile and visually appealing link to the natural world. Being allergy free and preventing microbial growth, phthalates free, it ensures a healthy indoor atmosphere. Marmoleum is made from up to 98% natural raw materials and is climate positive from cradle to gate, without offsetting.

By selecting Marmoleum, you not only make an eco-conscious choice but also embrace biophilic design, creating interiors that resonate with the human need for connection to nature.

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About Forbo Flooring

Forbo Flooring Systems is a trusted and global supplier of highquality floor coverings such as linoleum, LVT, carpet tiles, vinyl and entrance flooring.

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Dezeen is the world's most influential architecture, interiors and design magazine, with over three million monthly readers and more than seven million social media followers.

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