Wilsonart Partners with Andre Kikoski for New Collection

New laminate patterns showcase timeless architectural finishes through digital innovation

TEMPLE, TX (May 17, 2016) – Combining the keen eye of architecture with digital innovation, Wilsonart, a leading manufacturer of decorative engineered surfaces for 60 years, has joined with award-winning architect Andre Kikoski, AIA,  to launch a new collection of laminate surfaces. By manipulating scale, texture, contrast, inversion and color, the Andre Kikoski by Wilsonart collection creates dramatic new interpretations of timeless architectural finishes through the innovative Virtual Design Library, challenging understanding of what laminate can look like and what it can offer in 35 new distinctive designs.

“Collaborating with Andre to develop this collection has not only been exciting for us but also a privilege for Wilsonart,” said Gwen Petter, director, product design at Wilsonart. “The Andre Kikoski by Wilsonart collection is a highly seductive expression of design, delivering contemporary patterns in new and surprising ways that encourage alternative uses in unexpected applications. The creative and technical skills of the teams resulted in beautiful patterns for Wilsonart^® High Pressure Laminate, extending the palette of creative Virtual Design Library options available to the design community.”

The visually engaging curation takes inspiration from the organic qualities of natural and inspired material looks. Andre Kikoski by Wilsonart includes a wide range of patterns, including canvasses of polar and birch bark that bring the outside in, while other designs replicate recycled glass, acid-etched metal and hammered metals all creating unexpected texture and depth in the laminates. By masterfully manipulating scale, texture, contrast and color in the collection, the designs transcend expectations and provide dramatic new opportunities for designers to be playful, surprising, and most of all, original. 

The inspirations behind the new Kikoski patterns are:

• Nature - brought indoors with organic realizations of birch and poplar tree bark. 
  • Mountain White Birch (Y0423), Slate Birch (Y0424), Bone Birch (Y0425)
  • Gold Oscar (Y0426), Bronze Oscar (Y0427), Cobalt Oscar (Y0428)
  • Crisp Aspen (Y0429), Glacier Aspen (Y0431)
• Luxurious Materials - modern interpretations that are elegant and sophisticated.
  • Hammered Shadow (Y0432), Hammered Light Bronze (Y0433), Tangerine Boucle (Y0434)
  • Aloe Boucle (Y0435), Flint Boucle (Y0436), Primrose Boucle (Y0437)
• Urban Surfaces - translating familiar materials into unexpected beauty, texture and depth.
  • Linear Chisel Denim (Y0412), Liner Chisel Aloe (Y0413), Linear Chisel Flint (Y0414)
  • Linear Chisel Slate (Y0415), Striation (Y0416), Striation Planked (Y0417)
  • Smoked Steel (Y0418), Hot Steel (Y0419), Bone Etched Cement (Y0421), Lilac Etched Cement (Y0422)
• Geometric Art - unique and lively patterns interpreted in bas-relief trapezoids, etched cement, and linear chiseled stone.
  • Ash Horizon (Y0438), Flint Horizon (Y0439), Slate Horizon (Y0441)
  • Crystalized White (Y0442), Crystalized Capri (Y0443), Lagoon Jigsaw (Y0444)
  • Coral Jigsaw (Y0445), Shadow Jigsaw (Y0446), Slate Jigsaw (Y0447)
  • Platinum Shagreen (Y0448), Cobalt Shagreen (Y0449)

“The collection features some of my most favorite architectural finishes, including chiseled stone, luxurious linens, crystals, rippled glass, hand-troweled plaster and distinctive geometric patterns,” said Andre Kikoski. “Working with Wilsonart to bring these ideas and visions forward to further fuel the design inspirations of others is an honor.”

Andre Kikoski by Wilsonart is now available online as part of the new “Collaborations” category of the Wilsonart^® Virtual Design Library, an evolving, curated collection of laminates available in just 2-3 weeks from order.

This second partnered collection launched by Wilsonart this year follows the Retro Renovation® by Wilsonart collection announced in February at the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show. For more information about Wilsonart products, or to learn more about these digital patterns and “off-the-wallboard” options, visit www.wilsonart.com or call 1-800-433-3222 for a Wilsonart representative.

###

About Wilsonart
Wilsonart, a world leading engineered surfaces company, is driven by a mission to create surfaces people love, with service you can count on, delivered by people who care. The company manufactures and distributes High Pressure Laminate, Quartz, Solid Surface, Coordinated TFL and Edgebanding and other engineered surface options for use in furniture, office and retail space, countertops, worktops and other applications. Operating under the Wilsonart®, Resopal®, Polyrey®, Arborite®, Ralph Wilson® and Durcon® brands, the company continuously redefines decorative surfaces through improved performance and aesthetics. For more information, visit www.Wilsonart.com or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About AKA
Andre Kikoski Architect is an award-winning Manhattan-based architecture and design firm, acclaimed for engaging innovation and artistry in work that elevates and expands our ideas of the built environment.  Named one of the “Top 20 Biggest Power Players in New York City Real Estate,” a “Top 40 Firm in Residential Design,” and most recently nominated for a Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum National Design Award in Architecture, Andre Kikoski Architect has proudly worked with such renowned brands as The Guggenheim Museum, The Howard Hughes Corporation, The Kohler Companies, Ligne Roset, The Related Companies at Hudson Yards, Saks Fifth Avenue, Swarovski Crystal, and Westfield at the World Trade Center.

Andre Kikoski Architect’s award-winning international portfolio includes 100 completed projects. A leader in the dynamic synthesis between art and architecture, Andre Kikoski Architect is featured in more than 700 publications across 27 countries including Architectural Digest, Architectural Record, Fast Company, Interior Design, Surface, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Wallpaper* among others.

Andre Kikoski AIA, LEED AP, received his Master’s degree in Architecture at Harvard University, where he earned Distinctions for Innovation in Design and Technology. Prior to founding the firm, Andre trained in the offices of I. M. Pei, Richard Meier, and Peter Eisenman.  Andre is a Trustee of the Van Alen Institute and Alumni Council Emeritus at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Andre is a frequent lecturer and juror at ArtHamptons, Harvard University, Modernism Week, the New York Times Architectural Digest Home Show, New York University, Savannah College of Art and Design, Parsons School of Design and Pratt Institute, among others.