When it comes to choosing a floor, it’s easy to be swayed by surface appearance alone. A floor’s visual character plays a huge role in setting the tone for a space, but what lies beneath the surface is just as important. The materials you don’t immediately see can determine how a floor feels underfoot, how it performs over time, and how it impacts both your wellbeing and the planet.

At Clerkenwell Design Week 2025, we noticed something remarkable. While visitors were blown away by the the realism of our floors, many were equally intrigued by what was inside them. Where do the materials come from? How do they work together? And what makes our surfaces different from other flooring options?

We’re not one for keeping secrets.

In this blog series we’ll be breaking down the Karta story layer by layer, starting with the very foundation of it all: cork, a natural material with remarkable properties.

Why Cork?

Every Karta floor begins with a layer of cork. While it might not be visible once the floor is installed, this natural material plays an essential role in the way our products perform.

Cork offers:

  • Softness underfoot, creating a comfortable walking experience.
  • Natural insulation, helping rooms feel warmer in winter and cooler in summer.
  • Sound and impact absorption, reducing noise levels and making spaces more peaceful.

These qualities mean that a Karta floor doesn’t just look beautiful, but creates an inviting environment and delivers energy-efficient performance. Whether designing a busy office space where acoustics matter as much as the work done inside, or a retail space where customer comfort is key, cork delivers a foundation that works for everyone.

Backing, Backed by Science

The secret to cork’s remarkable properties lies in its microscopic structure. Cork is made up of millions of tiny, sealed, air-filled cells. Each of these cells acts as a miniature cushion, compressing under pressure and springing back when released.

This natural elasticity gives cork its comfort and resilience. It can withstand repeated impacts without losing shape, which is why it has been used for centuries in applications that require durability and flexibility, from wine bottle stoppers to space shuttle heat shields.

The trapped air inside each cell also provides thermal insulation, helping to keep heat in during colder months and out during hotter weather. At the same time, cork’s cellular design dampens sound waves, reducing noise transmission between rooms and floors.

In short: cork is a high-performance material engineered by nature itself, and it’s one of the reasons Karta floors are suitable for both domestic and commercial environments.

A Story of Sustainability

Not just functional, cork is also one of the most sustainable materials available to us. Unlike many modern flooring materials that are derived from finite resources or involve intensive manufacturing processes, cork has a truly regenerative origin.

Cork comes from the bark of the Quercus suber, or cork oak tree, which grows primarily in Portugal and parts of Southern Europe and North Africa. The harvesting process is unlike conventional forestry:

  • The bark is carefully stripped by hand every 9–12 years.
  • The tree remains standing and unharmed, continuing to grow and produce new bark.
  • This cycle can be repeated for over 200 years of the tree’s lifespan!

Because the tree isn’t felled, its root systems remain intact, preserving the soil and preventing erosion. The surrounding ecosystem remains stable, and the forest continues to act as a significant carbon sink, absorbing CO₂ from the atmosphere.

Montados: Biodiversity Hotspots

These cork oak forests, known locally in Portugal as montados, are much more than sources of raw material. They are thriving ecosystems that support thousands of species of plants, animals, and fungi. From Iberian lynxes to rare orchids, these forests are rich in biodiversity and play an essential role in maintaining ecological balance.

Cork harvesting is an integral part of this system. By creating economic value for the montados, the practice helps protect them from conversion to agricultural or urban land. In other words, buying cork-based products like Karta floors helps ensure these landscapes remain intact and healthy for generations to come.

Cork and the Circular Economy

At Karta, our use of cork is part of a broader commitment to designing products for a circular economy. This means choosing materials and manufacturing processes that minimise waste, make full use of renewable resources, and enable products to be reused, recycled, or biodegraded at the end of their life.

Cork fits perfectly into this vision: 100% natural and renewable, and biodegradable at the end of its use.

By making cork the base layer of every Karta floor, we’re not only improving comfort and performance, but reducing the environmental footprint of the spaces we help create.

Built-In Benefits

In many flooring systems, underlay is a separate product, purchased and installed alongside the main surface. With Karta floors, the cork layer is built in from the start. This benefits you and your project in several ways, with fewer materials needed overall, reducing costs and complexity; faster installation; and consistent performance from Karta’s optimised construction.

This built-in underlay acts as a comfort layer, a sound barrier, and a thermal shield all in one. The result is a floor that’s not only visually striking but also thoughtfully engineered for everyday life.

Tradition Meets Innovation

Cork has been used by humans for thousands of years, but its potential in modern design is only just beginning to be fully realised. Today, architects, interior designers, and homeowners are rediscovering cork as a versatile, eco-friendly material, not just for flooring, but for wall coverings, furniture, and acoustic panels.

By combining cork with advanced surface technology, Karta takes this timeless material and integrates it into flooring that meets the demands of contemporary living, such as high durability for high-traffic areas.

The beauty of this approach is that it honours cork’s natural qualities while enhancing them with modern performance standards.

Comfort, Performance, and Responsibility

Choosing a floor is a commitment to how you want your space to feel, function, and impact the world. By starting with cork, Karta ensures that every floor delivers natural comfort, sustainable roots, and enhanced performance and adaptability.

Whether you’re creating a quiet home office, a welcoming retail environment, or the next Michelin-starred restaurant, a Karta floor with its cork foundation offers a balance of beauty and responsibility.

The First Layer in Our Story

Cork is where it all starts: a material that blends natural performance with environmental integrity. In every Karta floor, it’s the first step towards creating spaces that are better for people and the planet.

This is just the beginning of our deep dive into what makes Karta floors different. Over the next few weeks, we’ll continue to explore the layers and materials that make up our products, from the foundations to the finishing touches.