Starnet Announces the 2026 Design Awards Winners
28 Years of Celebrating the Art Beneath Our Feet
For 28 years, the Starnet Design Awards have posed the same essential question: what happens when the floor stops being a background and becomes the story? This year’s competition answered, and the work on display made a strong case.
Starnet Commercial Flooring, the world’s largest network of full-service commercial flooring contractors, is proud to announce the winners of the 2026 Starnet Design Awards. Across eight categories, this year’s submissions pushed the limits of creativity, technical precision, and narrative-driven design, showing what’s possible when flooring is treated as a design decision, not an afterthought.
The competition also includes the Rob Starr People’s Choice Award, a peer-voted honor that gives Starnet Members and their Preferred Vendor Partners the opportunity to recognize fellow contractors whose work best embodies outstanding craftsmanship and design. Named for Starnet’s beloved former Director of Marketing and Member Services, the award carries forward Rob’s deep belief in the people and relationships at the heart of this industry.
Projects were evaluated by a distinguished panel of industry leaders in flooring, architecture, and interior design, and judged on innovation, craftsmanship, and their overall contribution to the built environment. Gold category winners advanced to consideration for the Grand Prize, awarded to the single most outstanding flooring project of the year. All gold, silver, and bronze honorees were celebrated at the Starnet Design Awards Gala on April 24, 2026.
Grand Prize Winner:
F1 Arcade Philadelphia – From Empty Shell to Formula 1 Destination
Walk into F1 Arcade Philadelphia, and the floor tells you exactly where you are and where you’re going. In a 19,200-square-foot retail shell that once held nothing, James Floor Covering orchestrated a custom installation that now reflects the energy of a Formula 1 race. Racing bays, bar zones, dining areas, and social spaces each have their own visual identity, defined entirely through precise cuts, bold pattern transitions, and performance materials, without a single physical barrier in sight.
The result is architecture you experience from the ground up. Pavement-style markings and geometric abstraction give guests instant spatial orientation. Sharp transitions carry the energy of a pit lane. And the materials, durable and dynamic, built for heavy foot traffic under dramatic lighting, carry the brand’s identity as convincingly as anything else in the room.
“The arcade stands out as number one. It’s fun and inviting. You know where you are in the space because of the high concept of the pavement markings throughout and the geometric patterns that make it more abstract.” — Brent Otsuka, Fentress Studios, a Populous Company
“This project features a successful push-pull between pattern and negative space. The unique quality of the floor adds richness to the project’s design story.” — Caleb Salomons, HOK
“Each area has its own identity, just like its own purpose. The flooring doesn’t just fit the space, it defines it.” — Liz Sims, Michael Graves
F1 Arcade, Philadelphia, PA
- Starnet Member: James Floor Covering
- Architect: GMA Architects
- Designer: ARCO / Murray
- Starnet Preferred Vendors: ARDEX, Daltile, Mapei, Mohawk Group, Pliteq, TEC Specialty Products, Tarkett, Uzin Utz North America
Category Winners:
Gold in Corporate
Consolidated Flooring: Confidential Financial Firm Headquarters
320,000 square feet. Nine contiguous floors. One mandate: quiet, lasting excellence. For this confidential finance firm’s new headquarters, Consolidated Flooring delivered a flooring strategy as rigorous as its client’s business. Integrated into an innovative plug-and-play modular building system, the installation achieves exceptional acoustical performance and long-term flexibility, allowing floors to evolve without disruption as the organization grows.
Understated by design, the flooring lets the space breathe while a thoughtful use of pattern gives each area subtle definition. The result is a workplace built for the long haul, precise, discreet, and exceptionally well-made.
“The flooring is seamlessly integrated with the overall interior – ideal for a professional and timeless corporate space.” – Caleb Salomons, HOK
Confidential Financial Firm Headquarters, New York, NY
- Starnet Member: Consolidated Flooring
- Designer: MMoser
- Starnet Preferred Vendors: AHF, ARDEX, Bostik, Küberit, Mapei, Matter Surfaces, Mohawk Group, Pliteq, Schönox, TEC Specialty Products, Tarkett
Gold in Healthcare
M. Frank Higgins & Co., Inc.: Connecticut Children’s Medical Center Tower
A $300 million expansion. Seventy-six new beds. A 50,000-square-foot NICU. A national fetal care center. Connecticut Children’s new eight-story clinical tower is one of the most ambitious pediatric healthcare projects in the country, and the flooring had to rise to meet it. M. Frank Higgins & Co. delivered an installation where warm wood-look surfaces, sweeping curves, nature-inspired graphics, and a calming palette work together to reduce anxiety for young patients and their families without ever compromising clinical performance.
The result is a clinical space that doesn’t feel clinical, telling young patients, before they ever see a doctor, that this place was built with them in mind.
“The outside-inside connection was well executed. Seeing that whimsy as you’re approaching as a child, it makes you want to go into that space.” – Brent Otsuka, Fentress Studios, a Populous Company
Connecticut Children’s Medical Center Tower, Hartford, CT
- Starnet Member: M. Frank Higgins & Co., Inc.
- Designer: Cannon Design
- Starnet Preferred Vendors: C/F Data Systems, CLIMIT, Gerflor, Measure Square, Profilitec, Roomvo, Roppe, Spec-ID, Tarkett, Uzin Utz North America
Gold in Education
École Sage Creek Bonavista; Antex Western
École Sage Creek Bonavista doesn’t just have beautiful floors. It has floors that do more than cover the ground. Antex Western drew inspiration from the native Prairie landscape, weaving intricate, organic patterns and sunset-toned palettes through corridors and learning communities, giving each space its own identity. The installation functions as a living map: students navigate by what’s beneath their feet, guided by subtle wayfinding embedded in the design.
Executing patterns of this complexity across expansive open corridors took meticulous planning and serious craft. The results show it.
“There was a lot of visual cueing and wayfinding within the design of the flooring, and to be able to pull off the installation with such creativity was beautiful.” – Liz Sims, Michael Graves
École Sage Creek Bonavista, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
- Starnet Member: Antex Western
- Architect: Number Ten
- Starnet Preferred Vendors: Ardex, Gerflor, Henry Adhesives, Mapei, Measure Square, Milliken Commercial, Quantify North America, Spec-ID, Tarkett
Gold in Hospitality & Public Spaces
James Floor Covering – F1 Arcade Philadelphia
Also earning Gold in Hospitality & Public Spaces, F1 Arcade Philadelphia’s flooring is the venue’s defining design element, channeling the visual language of Formula 1 racing through bold black-and-white striping, checkered motifs, and geometric patterns that guide guests from entry to every corner of the space. No barriers needed. The floor does the work.
“The concept is clearly visible, and the use of patterning and the black and white striping that you typically see in Formula One make it a holistic design. The floor shines as a star.” – Brent Otsuka, Fentress Studios, a Populous Company
F1 Arcade Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
- Architect: GMA Architects
- Designer: ARCO Murray
- Starnet Member: James Floor Covering
- Starnet Preferred Vendors: Ardex, Daltile, Mohawk Group, Pliteq, TEC Specialty Products, Tarkett, Uzin Utz North America
Gold in Unique Installation Challenge
Capital Carpet & Flooring Specialists; Concord Middle School
The rivers. The bridges. The measured mile markers. At Concord Middle School, the floor is a history lesson you walk through every day. Capital Carpet & Flooring Specialists executed an extraordinarily intricate linoleum installation inspired by the region’s rivers and its storied bridge crossings, maintaining precise alignment and design continuity across patterns that would test even the most seasoned installer.
Small pieces. Complex layouts. Exacting standards. It is exactly the kind of challenge this category was created to honor.
“The difficulty factor of these small pieces being installed with linoleum in this setting makes it a more technically challenging installation. And then to have it look like it does—it’s incredible.” – David Gross, INSTALL
Concord Middle School, Concord, MA
- Starnet Member: Capital Carpet & Flooring Specialist
- Architect: Ewing Cole / SMMA
- Designer: SMMA
- Starnet Preferred Vendors: Ardex, C/F Data Systems, CLīMIT, EcoSurfaces, Mapei, Roppe, Tarkett, WF Taylor
Gold in Single Source Interior Contractor
Ruggieri Brothers; Baldwin Elementary School
Ruggieri Brothers handled every aspect of Baldwin Elementary from start to finish, specifying, coordinating, and executing every flooring material across the entire interior, on schedule and within budget. The result is a modern learning environment with a playful spirit: a muted yet dynamic color palette, subtle wayfinding, and a design sensibility that connects the floor visually to the building’s broader architectural language.
“The design for this space nicely balances playfulness against a muted color palette. Connections between flooring and architectural gestures are well-considered.” – Caleb Salomons, HOK
Baldwin Elementary School, Pawtucket, RI
- Starnet Member: Ruggieri Brothers
- Architect: Torrado Architects
- Starnet Preferred Vendors: C/F Data Systems, CLīMIT, Daltile, Gerflor, Icon Protection, Mapei, Milliken Commercial, Roppe, Spec-ID
Gold in Mixed-Use Developments
H.J. Martin and Son; The Promenade
Active adult living demands flooring that can be many things at once: warm and welcoming in private spaces, resilient and easy to clean in high-traffic areas, and visually cohesive across shared amenities. H.J. Martin and Son got it right. Soft surfaces bring comfort to bedrooms; high-performance LVT handles the rigors of daily living areas and bathrooms; and a thoughtful blend of carpet and resilient flooring in club rooms defines distinct social zones, all within a palette that feels unified rather than uniform.
“I loved the simplicity of materials, and the execution is flawless for mixed-use development.” – Brent Otsuka, Fentress Studios, a Populous Company
The Promenade, Green Bay, WI
- Architect: Engberg Anderson
- Starnet Member: H. J. Marin and Son
- Starnet Preferred Vendors: AHF, Altro, Gerflor, Henry Adhesives, J+J Flooring, Mapei, Milliken Commercial, RFMS, Roppe, Schonox, Spec-ID, TEC Specialty Products, Tarkett
Gold in Canadian Project of the Year
Antex Western; École Sage Creek Bonavista
Earning a second Gold distinction, École Sage Creek Bonavista is recognized as Canada’s top flooring project of 2026. What set this project apart was its ambition: to treat school flooring not as a commodity, but as a defining piece of the school’s identity. Native plant themes, Prairie color gradients, and repeated motifs create a sense of place and belonging that students feel every time they walk through the door.
“This project exemplifies a daring choice in flooring design, with good use of color and variations on a repeated motif to support wayfinding.” – Caleb Salomons, HOK
École Sage Creek Bonavista, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
- Architect: Number Ten
- Starnet Member: Antex Western
- Starnet Preferred Vendors: Ardex, Gerflor, Henry Adhesives, Mapei, Measure Square, Milliken Commercial, Quantify North America, Spec-ID, Tarkett
The Rob Starr People’s Choice Award
Honoring a Legacy of Passion, Craft, and Community
Rob Starr didn’t just market flooring. He believed in the people who installed it. As Starnet’s former Director of Marketing and Member Services, Rob championed the contractors, the craftspeople, and the relationships that make this industry what it is. This award, renamed in his honor, carries that spirit forward by letting the Starnet community itself decide which project best represents what they know it takes to truly excel.
Starnet President & CEO Mark Bischoff reflected: “This award, renamed in Rob’s honor, celebrates the projects that bring our industry together through innovation and excellence.”
2026 People’s Choice: Concord Middle School
Capital Carpet & Flooring Specialists – Concord, MA
Meet the 2026 Judging Panel
- Brent Otsuka, NCIDQ, IIDA – Associate Principal | Interior Design Manager, Fentress Studios, a Populous Company
- Caleb Salomons, AAA LID, NCIDQ, IDA – Director of Design | Interiors, HOK
- Liz Sims, IIDA, RID – Director of Interior Design, Michael Graves
- David Gross – Executive Director, INSTALL — Honorary Judge, Unique Installation