- 3 min read

Pure Cork | Less is More

Cork has a rich history as a flooring material. Now it's back and it's been re-invented for the busiest of commercial environments.

Cork is the ultimate in sustainability. There is no material that is more renewable - the bark of the cork oak is carefully harvested every few years and the tree continues to thrive - and it absorbs incredibly high levels of CO2 as it grows - up to 73 times its own weight.

This is one of the reasons why the use of cork as a construction material is on the increase. High-profile projects like the Cork House - designed by Matthew Barnett Howland with Dido Milne and Oliver Wilton - or the Serpentine

Carbon negative

Liquid Lino is based on biopolymer technology, made entirely from natural ingredients - vegetable oils, cork (by-product of the wine industry), limestone and natural colour pigments.

This gives it an inherent negative carbon footprint because the organic ingredients absorb (sequester) large amounts of CO2 as they grow through photosynthesis. Cork, in particular, absorbs up to 73 times its own weight in carbon. It's a natural carbon sponge.

Seamless

Traditional lino is manufactured, transported and installed in rolls in the same way it was 170 years ago. Rolls are cumbersome to handle and heavy to transport. And, when they're installed, the joints are a weak point - most lino floor failures happen there - which becomes a source of potential infection.

Liquid Lino is delivered in tins, mixed on-site and applied as a liquid which cures quickly to a seamless finish that retains its flexibility. So large floor areas can be achieved without joins, limited only by any structural expansion gaps.

This makes for a clean-looking design and maintains the highest standards of hygiene too.

"So, it's carbon negative, super hard wearing in a unique range of design colours with a seamless finish. Where's the catch?"

Design Flexibility

Designs in cork flooring are made by cutting, dying and applying cork veneers in layers. This allows a wide range of organic looks to be created. There are 19 patterns in the Pure Cork collection from simple to intricate.

And, these patterns can be made in a r

Commercial Durability

Liquid Lino is widely used throughout Europe and the USA in a diverse range of high-traffic commercial environments in hospitality, retail, education, healthcare, workplace and public spaces and now it's available in the UK too.

Flexible & Deconstructable

Liquid Lino is one the hardest-wearing flooring materials, rated as suitable for the very busiest of commercial environments with a life expectancy of 30 years and, if any areas do get damaged, they can be restored to their original finish through an invisible repair.

Indoor Air

Comfort

Acoustics

Safety

A pathway to Zero Carbon

Liquid Lino has a negative carbon footprint - every square metre reduces embodied carbon by around 7 kg. Traditional roll linoleum typically produces over 10 kg of CO2 in its manufacture, use and disposal. So switching to the modern sustainable alternative would save over 20,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year in the UK. And, if a transition away from other high carbon flooring was made, the reduction in construction embodied carbon would be 100,000s tonnes.

Click here for the Pure Cork Material Data

Click here to see the Liquid Lino in a project