Tarkett, a worldwide leader in innovative and sustainable flooring and sports surface solutions, introduces Blockade & Soundblock, featuring bold geometric patterns created using innovative custom technology. Designed by Jhane Barnes, this collection features two soft surface styles in Powerbond® and modular platforms that offer ideal flooring solutions for office, education and hospitality spaces.
With mathematical formulas as her guide, designer Jhane Barnes has mastered the art of making structured patterns appear random and unpredictable. These formulas are her recipes that, without writing them down, she’d never be able to bake the same pattern twice. The Blockade formula was introduced years ago for a shirt in her menswear collection, designed exclusively for Neiman Marcus. This recipe led her back to this playful geometric pattern and its seemingly random color placements for the Blockade collection.
Using a different branch of mathematics, Jhane created a second recipe, which resulted in Soundblock as a companion pattern. Even though the components of the Soundblock design are smaller, the overall visual effect appears to have a larger scale than Blockade, making it ideal for expansive, open spaces.
Jhane’s designs are created with the help of her own custom program able software filters. By defining an algorithm that determines color placement, and then shifting and rotating layers of the pattern on top of each other, Jhane is able to manipulate the final aesthetic each time she adjusts the numbers.
“There is a randomness at work, which is why I can never get the same design twice. That’s what makes it so much fun. I can keep changing the factor numbers and get new designs every time. I created over a dozen patterns before I finally settled on the one that became Soundblock,” Jhane Barnes said.
Jhane has included 12 colors in the Blockade palette, with 7 modern neutrals and 5 branding accents. Eight of those colors are repeated in the Soundblock palette, helping the two work easily together throughout a floorplan. Both Blockade and Soundblock are available in Powerbond, as well as 9x36, 18x36, and 24x24 inch tiles. When installed as Powerbond, Blockade requires no matching at the seams, for faster installation and minimal waste.
Tarkett North America believes that together, we can make a positive impact on people and the planet. That’s why we’re Doing Good—Together, connecting our sustainability efforts with what customers value and the world needs.
- Blockade & Soundblock are available with Tarkett’s ethos® Modular with Omnicoat TechnologyTM backing to simplify installation even further. ethos is made with PVB film from recycled windshields and safety glass. When paired with TarkettTAPE, ethos Modular eliminates the need for pH, RH and MVER testing, as long as there’s no evidence of moisture staining or standing liquid.
- All Tarkett soft-surface products include Eco-EnsureTM soil protection technology, a fluorine-free chemistry that is Cradle to Cradle Certified Gold for Material Health*
- ethos Modular and Powerbond are Cradle to Cradle CertifiedTM Silver v3.1
- ethos Modular is ILFI Living Product Challenge Imperative Certified
