Sleek with sophistication, the lecture hall kitchen in the newly constructed Culinary Arts Building in Charlotte, NC features Abaca, Burlap #8002. “I love the look and dimension of the recycled banana fibers in the Abaca,” says designer Esa M. Weinreb, IIDA, LEED AP, Architect of Record at LS3P Associates and sole proprietor of EMW Interiors & Environmental Solutions. “It has a unique quality and look matched by no other laminate.” Completed in August of 2009, the hall’s kitchen counter front was designed to be eco-friendly, using Abaca as a backdrop to creatively contrast with modern, brushed metal panels. “With every project I design, I try to educate my clients with the benefits of using eco-friendly materials such as the Laminart Abaca, recycled carpet backing in the carpet tiles, quartz countertops, and linoleum flooring tiles,” she says.