Good Wood

In 1999 the Toronto company Floorworks launched a new line of engineered hardwood flooring called Fuse. Since then, the wood has been used in a spate of high-profile projects in the city, including Daniel Libeskind’s recent addition to the Royal Ontario Museum, the expanded Gardiner ceramic-art museum, and Philippe Starck’s 75 Portland Street condo devel­opment with Core Architects.

Now Floorworks is coming to America, opening its first U.S. showroom in Manhattan next month. Tyler Greenberg, co-­owner of the family-run business, says that Fuse is a unique addition to the marketplace: “It’s a technical product that’s an honest product.” A three-ply engineered wood with a ven­eer and backing separated by a sturdy core, Fuse has a high structural stability as well as superior acoustic insulation. And because it’s an all-wood product finished with natural oil rather than the typical polyurethane coating, it takes full advantage of the wood’s natural beauty. Greenberg says the finish makes damage to the floors less noticeable and that Fuse woods can be restored easily through a simple sanding or reoiling, not possible with a polyurethane surface.

Floorworks is also at the vanguard of sustainable forestry. Its Floorprint program, launched last spring, matches each square foot of Fuse sold with an equal area of reforestation through the German-Panamanian company Futuro Forestal, which has planted more than 2,000 acres of trees in Panama.

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Composition
Three-ply engineered timber flooring with a minimum of 75 percent recycled content and a natural coating made from all-natural plant products

Properties
Durable, easy to maintain and refinish, formaldehyde- and VOC-free, FSC-certified in some cases, and eligible for up to six points toward LEED certification. Can be installed directly over concrete.

Applications
Commercial or residential hardwood floors

Distributor
Relative Space
365 Dupont St.
Toronto, Ontario M5R 1W2
(416) 961-6891
www.fuseflooring.com