A Visit to a Treehouse in the Carpet Capital

Dalton [Georgia], the "Carpet Capital of the World," sits in the center of Whitfield County, home to more than 150 carpet factories employing more than 30,000 people — roughly equal to the population of Dalton itself — including companies such as Mohawk and Shaw. More than 90 percent of the carpet produced in the world today is made within a 65-mile radius of the city.

There, on a hilltop in Dalton, sits a mid-century modern glass building with a commanding 360-degree view of landscape and natural vistas of the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in northwest Georgia. Its perch makes it seem like a treehouse of sorts. Originally the headquarters for World Carpet, a company since acquired by Mohawk, the building has been used most recently as a showroom for Mohawk Flooring residential products.

Today, the 33,000-square-foot building is known as Light Lab and is a symbol of Mohawk's future more than its past.

A southern beacon of sustainability
The conceptual design of the interior renovation for Light Lab was provided by students from the Savannah College of Art and Design, and the building is now home to Mohawk’s commercial and hospitality product design teams. In May, the building received Petal Certification from the International Living Future Institute’s Living Building Challenge (LBC) program. Light Lab was the first LBC Petal Certified project in Georgia and the first restoration project in the Southeastern U.S.

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