Terrazzo: "Green" Flooring | Doyle Dickerson Terrazzo

What would St. Patrick’s Day be without the color green. In this blog, we will focus the attributes that make terrazzo a “green” floor, as well as display some installation photos where green in present in the floor’s design. Let’s get started.

Why wear green on St. Patrick’s Day?

Before we jump right into our discussion about terrazzo, we must address age-old question: why wear green?

Today the absence of wearing green might get you pinched. But to fully understand this holiday, one must dive into Ireland’s history. Known as the “Emerald Isle” for its green landscape, the color green is synonymous with Ireland. Shamrocks and clovers are also associated with this holiday, which allude to providing faith, love and hope to all those who wore green. Legends go as far as to say that wearing green makes one invisible to leprechauns, whom would pinch you if you were not wearing green.

Terrazzo: “Green” Flooring

Green is more than just a color. Green can also refer to a material’s sustainability in the architectural and design communities. By designing a floor using recycled materials, terrazzo embodies everything associated with this emergence of sustainable flooring in recent years. Although terrazzo has been around for centuries, manufacturers are finding new ways to improve the material. Today epoxy terrazzo is a non-porous system. There are many advantages of using epoxy terrazzo over other materials. One advantage is the small amounts of volatile organic compounds present in the epoxy resins. Another advantage is that epoxy terrazzo does not support the growth of bacteria nor absorbs water. As a result, the use of epoxy terrazzo is schools and hospitals greatly improves the overall indoor air quality.

Over the years, terrazzo has been valued for many qualities such as its durability, low maintenance, design and long life cycle. All these features help contribute to LEED credits, which is a standard in green building set up by the United States Green Building Council. Points are attributed in areas such as the reuse of materials, the adoption of regionally sourced materials and construction waste management. As we continue to build well into the future, these areas help to minimize the environmental impact when using certain building materials.

Adding Green to Your Terrazzo Floors

You may have already noticed this, but in case you haven’t, Pantone Color Institute announced “Greenery” as the 2017 Color of the Year, replacing 2016’s Rose Quartz and Serenity. According the Pantone, “Greenery” represents energy and new beginnings. Expect to see more designers incorporating this color in their design schemes going forward.

Pantone touches on the idea that green represents a sense of restoration, but the color green has additional meanings as well. The color green can evoke balance, health, money, tranquility, and the environment.

One of the most important things to know about terrazzo is its design capabilities. Any shade of green or any other color for that matter can be included in the overall design. Please view our the following images below: