So, what do you get when you sandwich a plywood bamboo material called PlyBoo with two sheets of a paper-composite called Richlite?  Stratum, a new countertop material made through a venture between Smith & Fong and Richlite Company.  The material was inspired by nature and the majestic basalt cliffs of Palouse Canyon in eastern Washington.

I first noticed the material when the Chad Ludeman mentioned that he was chomping at the bit to put Stratum in play as an upgrade for a new project called reNEWBOLD.

Stratum combines the green benefits of PlyBoo and Richlite so it’s FSC-certified and may contribute towards LEED points.  Richlite is made with FSC-certified fibers, while PlyBoo is made with rapidly renewable bamboo and soy adhesives.  Stratum contains no added urea-formaldehyde.

The material can be used as a countertop, does not off-gass, and is heat, scratch, and stain resistant, according to Richlite.  Stratum is available in a 1″ thickness and 48″ x 96″ sheet sizes with any of the ten available Richlite Northwest colors.

[+] Get more technical detail about Richlite Stratum.

Credits: Richlite.