Colorado architect Natalie York spent years questioning why sustainable building materials often came with tradeoffs in performance, durability or design. Now, she’s getting global recognition for trying to change that.
Last week at NeoCon, the world’s leading commercial interior design trade show, her company, Flora Materials, received the Best of NeoCon Sustainability Award—one of the highest honors for environmentally responsible product design—for its Shoreline Flooring Collection, an innovative, eco-friendly flooring tile made from oyster shells.
The Sustainability Award honors products that demonstrate exceptional environmental stewardship through material selection, manufacturing processes and sustainable design. Flora Materials received the award in the Hard-Surface Flooring: Healthcare Vinyl/LVT/Specialty category.
“Receiving this recognition from the design industry is especially meaningful because it comes from the architects, designers, specifiers and industry leaders who evaluate materials every day,” said Natalie York, founder and director of research and design at Flora Materials. “This award reflects years of collaboration across architecture, material science, engineering and manufacturing to address a fundamental challenge facing the building industry: creating materials that meet commercial performance expectations without relying on the fossil-fuel-based systems we have depended on for decades. For us, it reinforces what we’ve believed all along—that sustainable, bio-based materials do not have to come with tradeoffs in durability, performance or design.”
Launched publicly at NeoCon 2026, the Shoreline Flooring Collection is a resilient, bio-based alternative to conventional flooring products such as Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) and Stone Plastic Composite (SPC), which present long-term environmental and health challenges.
The collection uses oyster shell byproducts, natural mineral fillers and a high-performance resin system to create a durable flooring surface with a sustainable material profile. It also supports healthier indoor environments through zero-VOC emissions and inherent antimicrobial properties achieved without added chemical treatments.
Developed with support from the U.S. Army Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, the Shoreline Flooring Collection is engineered for high-traffic commercial, institutional, residential and public-sector interiors where long-term durability and ease of maintenance are critical. The collection seamlessly integrates within existing manufacturing systems and installation practices, helping reduce barriers to adoption.
