Explore our student challenges

FORBO X ETSAB

Designing Dynamic Spaces

Creating a recyclable project with linoleum

Exploring the versatility of Linoleum

The different dynamics of Leisure & Hospitality

In April of 2021, Forbo Flooring asked a group of students from LISAA (L'Institut Supérieur des Arts Appliqués), the renowned Architecture & Design Institute in Paris, to participate in a Student Challenge. The project was so successful that it has now resulted in a second Student Challenge with a new group of LISAA students.
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Sustainable furniture linoleum

In October 2021 twelve Master students from the Parisian Design school ENSCI - Les Ateliers visited the Forbo Sarlino site in Reims for their project kick-off.

During ten weeks French designers Pauline Esparon and Océane Delain guided them in their search for new applications of Furniture linoleum with a focus on the contemporary working environment.

With the support of Pauline and Océane, the students discovered new qualities and properties of Furniture linoleum that enabled them to present a wide range of beautiful projects.
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Designing with Dynamics of a Building

In April of 2021, twenty 3rd-year Interior Architecture & Design students of LISAA (l’Ecole Supérieure des Arts Appliqué) in Paris, France, were invited to design the spaces of a building of their choice using the Dynamics of a Building as a starting point and show how the design of the floor can play an important role in creating different atmospheres.

The project was launched by Forbo Flooring and Alba Mroz (AM), Educational Manager in Interior Architecture & Design at LISAA. Marijke Griffioen (MG), Senior Designer, and Dorothé Kessels (DK), Director Global Design, both working at at Forbo Flooring Systems, guided the project virtually from the Netherlands.

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The Pattern Project

In February 2021, thirteen first-year Product Design students of the Beckmans College of Design in Stockholm were asked to create new patterns for either Flotex or Marmoleum.

The project was initiated by Josefin Larsson, Forbo’s Marketing Manager for the Scandinavian market, and Peter Nylander, senior lecturer at the Product Design Department of the Beckmans College of Design in Stockholm. Marijke Griffioen, Senior Designer at Forbo, and Dorothé Kessels, Director Global Design, guided the project virtually from The Netherlands. We spoke to Nylander (PN), Kessels (DK) and Griffioen (MG) about the goals of this project and the surprising results.
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Designing with Furniture Linoleum

In January of 2020, Forbo Flooring Systems connected with the Zokei University in Tokyo, to discuss a potential collaboration. Together with Professor Toshiaki Morita the project scope was discussed, in which Furniture Linoleum would be the starting point.

To approach this collaboration from a fresh angle, Toshiaki proposed to involve the FUTURE LIFE FACTORY, a studio in Panasonic’s Design Centre specialized in cutting-edge development. They are always rethinking the question: what will living well mean in the future?

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The Cart project

In September 2019, Professor Christian Blyt from the Emily Carr University in Vancouver approached Forbo Flooring Systems and Danish retail brand BoConcept about the possibility of doing a collective project with his third-year Industrial Design students.

Very quickly, a collaboration was formed that allowed his students access to Furniture Linoleum, a unique and sustainable material made by Forbo, and the opportunity to design and build a multifunctional cart for compact urban living spaces with close input from a BoConcept an international furniture brand.

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Project WDKA LINOLAB

Flexible Furniture Linoleum is a material in development that offers a thinner and more flexible version as opposed to the regular Marmoleum for flooring. Originally it is intended to be used within the context of furniture and interior.

In this collaboration, 27 third-year design students of the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam were challenged to look beyond the obvious and to approach the material from a fresh perspective.

Prior to the Dutch Design Week the students had 6 weeks to explore and experiment with the Flexible Furniture linoleum. In their approach, they embraced their differences in style and ways of working. The outcome was an inspiring and diverse range of material experiments, based on the material’s wide range of possibilities, such as flexibility, texture, and movement.
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Beckmans student challenge

Following the success of the previous collaboration in 2020, a second student challenge with the Beckmans College of Design was initiated in 2022