With a prominent presence at NeoCon 2019, the Living Product Challenge is an open invitation for manufacturers to take a deep dive into sustainability—to use safe materials, to engage in biomimicry and biophilia, and to incorporate sustainable manufacturing techniques that improve communities and empower employees to live healthier, happier lives.

An exemplary product is Armstrong Ceiling and Wall Solutions’ Tectum Acoustical Panels. One of a select few to receive the rigorous Living Product Challenge certification, Tectum is an acoustical wall and ceiling panel made from the extraordinarily prolific resource of Aspen wood.

Aspen regenerates through the root system. It’s literally as if the body is underground and the tree is just a simple cell, so the wood actually grows like a weed. This means the resource is plentiful and rapidly renewable. Tectum is created by air-drying the fibers and pressing them into panels using magnesium oxysulfate and sodium silicate (sourced from sand) as binders.

There are multiple applications for this versatile product. They attach to a variety of ceiling and wall substrates, so they’re appropriate to venues as diverse as gyms, auditoriums, multi-purpose rooms, and open structures. They’re of course also ideal for acoustical retrofits.

Aesthetic options include various shapes and sizes, including hanging baffles. Users may also specify from a great selection of custom Sherwin Williams colors.

See Armstrong Ceiling and Wall Solutions for more information. And read more about the certification process for the Living Product Challenge at the International Living Future Institute.