Tarkett: for the new sample tool, marketing and sales worked out in a workshop what design practices expect from samples

Tarkett wanted to develop a new sampling system that gives architects and interior architects easy access to materials and documentation. To do this, marketing and sales wanted to know which functions, formats and structures count in planning, rather than relying on internal ideas alone.

Our task was a structured assessment and a compact workshop as the basis for an internal brief.

We started by familiarising ourselves with the subject: we reviewed the existing sample box and analysed the thinking so far. At this point, Malte Just from our Architecture Advisory Board joined us. In a compact two-hour session with him and Denise Fuhr, interior architect and responsible for the material library at Just Architekten, we took a close look at selected samples and gathered their assessment. We built the workshop on this.

At Tarkett, we led a four-hour workshop in which we discussed the current state of the sample tool openly and made the architects’ perspective easy to understand. A short talk on »Sampling as a touchpoint in planning practice« opened the session. We then worked with the Tarkett team on the strengths, gaps and opportunities of the current version.

After the workshop, we captured all the findings in a checklist: clear priorities and recommendations for how a sample tool has to be built to work in day-to-day planning. Tarkett uses it as the basis for further development.

1. Advisory board survey to complement the internal view with assessments from planning practice
2. Planning and running a facilitated in-person workshop, including a short talk
3. Documentation in the form of a compact checklist with concrete recommendations for further development

Tarkett is one of the leading international manufacturers of floor coverings and offers solutions for various areas of application in architecture and interior architecture. The company combines materials expertise with a broad portfolio of vinyl, wood, textile and design floor coverings.