Hardwood Floors August/September 2019

Wood

Wood Flooring Brings Toronto Coffee Shop to Life

CONTRACTOR CORNER

• Construction employment increased by 21,000 jobs in June and by 224,000, or 3.2 percent, over the past 12 months, while the number of unemployed jobseekers with construction experience fell, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. • Construction employment grew in 249 out of 358 metro areas between May 2018 and May 2019, declined in 57, and was unchanged in 52, according to an analysis of federal employment data released by the Associated General Contractors of America.

Photos courtesy of Relative Space.

By Stacy Brown

Space's projects have a diverse client roster, with the company’s flooring now found in hotels, office towers, retail stores, and restaurants around the world, including Milky’s, a new coffee shop in Toronto. The Milky’s installation featured a modular wood system known as the Matita collection. The collection is an engineered product that was created by manufacturer Foglie d’Oro and is composed of three wood species, two marbles, and three specialty materials, all placed on a diamond-shaped board that can be installed in a variety of patterns. This installation utilized white oak. The product was installed on the floor, walls, and ceiling, and allowed the team the ability to create a strong graphic pattern that ties into Milky’s brand identity. The pattern wraps the entire space, and it was designed to align precisely with thin metal shelving that lines the perimeter.

Relative Space is a third-generation family business that began in Toronto in the 1970s as H&I Carpets, named by its founder, Howard, after himself and his wife, Idie. Howard and Idie’s son, Brian Greenberg, met his future wife, Joan Kritz, working at H&I, and in the 1990s the company evolved into Floorworks under the management of the second generation. In 1999, Floorworks launched the Fuse and Sumo brands of engineered wood premium flooring, inspired by the demands of Canada’s variable climate. Since 2001, the company has been called Relative Space and is now run by the grandchildren of its founders. The current generation has focused on sustainable flooring and grown the company, expanding the distribution network across the United States and Canada, and opening new flagship showrooms in Toronto’s King East Design District and New York’s SoHo neighborhood. Relative

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