“Nature is an endless source of inspiration for our design team,” Katia De Witte from Belgian company 2tec2 explained to ArchiExpo e-Magazine. The design team presented the Lustre collection, their fashionable high-tech floor coverings launched in June 2015, at the construction trade fair Batimat in Paris.
The family-run company, headed by Katia De Witte, her husband Phillippe Hanet and brother James De Witte, was born from Limited Edition Rugs, their company specializing in luxury residential carpets. Katia De Witte said that it was her brother James who first saw the potential in weaving rugs with vinyl yarns for flooring that was stronger and easier to maintain.
They created 2tec2 in 2005 and began weaving carpets, entirely fabricated in Belgium, using modern wear and water-resistant materials in the traditional technique they had mastered. The solidity of new materials combined with experienced craftsmanship generated beautiful flooring ideal for hotels, offices and public spaces. James De Witte feels the advantages of woven vinyl are obvious.
It has depth and is richer than smooth vinyl. It is slip-resistant due to its 3-D structure and has the look of a genuine woven rug.” – James De Witte
We caught sight of the interchanging variations of gray at their stand at Batimat. One remarkable aspect of the Lustre collection is that the pattern and shade of the flooring changes depending on lighting and viewing angle. Katia De Witte clarified that this aspect, which they often try to reduce, is present in all textile structures, but when they created Lustre they asked, “What if we start accentuating this optical effect instead?”
The result was a mineral texture evocative of quartz or obsidian glinting in the sunlight. The four colors chosen for the collection are appropriately named obsidian black, morion brown, magnetite gray and chromite gray.
James De Witte feels the changing texture of Lustre is important to see firsthand because it cannot be clearly illustrated in photos. ArchiExpo would agree.
