Designed by ai3’s Lucy Aiken-Johnson, the Common Ground collection was developed for Pallas Textiles in 2007. Specifically designed in response to Pallas’ call for products to address the growing healthcare market, the Common Ground series consists of four products, each of which offer unique construction and aesthetic characteristics that work beautifully in conjunction with one another.

In designing Common Ground, Aiken-Johnson immersed herself in the healthcare and textile industries, examining trends and technologies that would extend the life of the Pallas products. Healthcare markets, she discovered, were actively adopting design influences long recognized by the hospitality industry. The patient experience was now benefiting from a trend towards luxury and elegance, as seen in hotel-like assisted living facilities, birthing suites and tranquil spa-like cancer centers. This research seemed to suggest that the collection needed to produce a softer hand and richer hues, as expected in the luxurious and sophisticated hospitality markets.

As with all projects, performance, experience and longevity weighed heavily in the design of Common Ground. It was critical that the end products possess a natural aesthetic, that they be timeless in style, and that they be as easy to care for as they are durable. Aiken-Johnson teamed up with fiber experts to help integrate optimal fiber content technologies and topical treatments to her designs. This collaboration ensured that the end products would satisfy designer and facility performance standards as well as environmental sustainability concerns.

The team quickly formed a relationship with a domestic textile mill specializing in Zeftron, solution dyed nylon products that would provide colorfast fabrics that are easy to clean and resistant to fading. To address spill and stain resistance and additional durability, the team added NANOtex to the team, a company that uses nano technology to provide the desired performance characteristics while maintaining a “natural hand” to the textile.
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