Social Canvas Carpet Plank Collection | 2022

Designers: Jeanette Himes, Mohawk Group, Light Lab Design Studio, Dalton, Georgia, USA
Manufacturer: Mohawk Group, Dalton, Georgia, USA 

Human-centered design considers all humans, including those at the sidelines, to create a better world and enhance the quality of life for everyone. As the latest addition to Mohawk Group’s modular carpet platform, Social Canvas helps put into focus the manufacturer’s commitment to building and serving community through human-centered design, equity, and social enterprise.  

As Mohawk Group is committed to achieving Net Zero carbon emissions by 2040, Social Canvas has been designed to meet the highest standards of environmental and social sustainability. Like all of Mohawk Group’s nylon carpet tile styles, it provides a net-positive impact in both carbon and water, and ensures responsible manufacturing processes through its Living Product Challenge petal certification. The low embodied carbon platform combines Mohawk Group’s new state-of-the-art EcoFlex ONE cushioned carpet system with the advanced engineering of Duracolor Tricor fiber. The result is a modular carpet that leads the industry in durability, cleanability, performance and sustainability.  

Social Canvas is domestically-manufactured at Mohawk Group’s carpet tile plant in Glasgow, Virginia. Social Canvas was previewed to the architecture and design community at NeoCon 2022 in Chicago, where it was recognized as both a Gold award and Sustainability award winner in the flooring carpet: modular category of the Best of NeoCon competition. Last fall, the collection was honored with a Healthcare Design Nightingale Award in the carpet sustainability category. Design can raise awareness and provide social agency to marginalized people who are often left out of the process. The award-winning Social Canvas collection speaks to the triumph of the human spirit and the importance of inclusion in architecture and design.  

Using the work of artist Charlie French as a point of departure, this sustainably-manufactured line of modular carpet is the result of a multi-faceted collaboration between Mohawk Group and ArtLifting. This non-profit organization champions artists who are impacted by disabilities and/or housing insecurity, providing a platform and creating opportunities for underrepresented creatives to amplify their voices and participate in the contemporary art market. The goal of the organization is to make these artists’ invisible talents more visible and in doing so, ultimately change stereotypes. The partnership envisions a future where people of all abilities will be defined by and valued for their talents instead of being defined by their circumstances.  

As a thoughtfully-designed flooring system, Social Canvas conveys the expression and poignancy of Charlie French’s abstract painterly style in six coordinating 12” x 36” carpet planks. The collection spans chunky and smooth textures, with colorful brushwork and a refined palette. Social Canvas serves as a focal point – or artistic accent – to bring the warmth of the human spirit into commercial interiors for all to feel welcome and supported. Through Mohawk Group’s partnership with ArtLifting, the manufacturer hopes to provide deeper purpose of better design by way of art, emotional connection, action and sustainability, sharing the work of these artists in the broader context of the built environment.