Specifying integrated flooring schemes can help create a positive, inspiring and welcoming learning environment says Lewis Cooper, Education Segment Marketing Manager at Forbo Flooring Systems
Flooring within schools is more than just a surface covering. Specified correctly, it can lead pupils, staff and visitors on a journey through the building, as well as influencing how interior spaces are used. Integrated flooring schemes can be used to zone out specific areas within a school - such as designated spaces for learning, private study, relaxation and socialising, or eating and drinking, while all simultaneously complementing and working together as one. Each space or zone will have its own unique list of functional requirements when it comes to the flooring, making it important for specifiers and facility managers to consider how the space will be used. Within classrooms, carpet tiles can be a great option, combining aesthetics with both durability and long-lasting performance. As well as offering comfort underfoot, carpet tiles can also help reduce impact sound, improving the acoustics of the interior environment and aiding concentration levels. For cafeterias or other areas where there’s the potential for spills, installing a slip resistant floor covering that’s easy to clean can be invaluable. While, with corridors or circulation areas within a school or university, high levels of foot traffic are to be expected, making it important that a hard-wearing and resilient flooring solution is installed. That said, durability doesn’t have to mean a sacrifice on aesthetics, with a range of modern and bright colourways available, including the option of digitally printed designs.
A great example of this approach to flooring is Two Rivers Primary School in Keynsham, Somerset – the second school in the country to achieve Passivhaus Plus accreditation. To achieve this impressive milestone, architects Hatcher Prichard had to make conscious choices when it came to choosing materials for the project, with a range of Forbo flooring solutions installed throughout the whole school. Simon Hatcher, Director at Hatcher Prichard, commented: “The main area of consideration was the functionality of the flooring; it had to withstand the heavy foot traffic we would expect to see in a school, whilst also being easy to clean and maintain. The floor coverings needed to be installed seamlessly to keep the joints flush, as well as provide some slip resistance.
The chosen floor coverings also had to be suitable for the usage of each room, with the colourways needing to be appropriate for the age of the children using the space.” With this in mind, Forbo’s Eternal vinyl was specified in the Washed Beech wood décor for the hall, hall store, studio and servery areas, while the ground floor corridor features the Sphera homogeneous vinyl in a clear blue colourway, representing the ‘two rivers’ of the school’s name. For the first-floor classrooms, a selection of Forbo’s Tessera carpet tiles were chosen in a muted blue colourway, which helped to make them feel bright and spacious, as Simon explained: “With the first-floor classrooms designed for the older students, we felt it would be more appropriate to use a textile flooring, as opposed to the vinyl flooring used in the Key Stage 1 classrooms. As such, Forbo’s Tessera Teviot carpet tiles were installed in the Mid Blue and Blue Moon colourways, both of which fit the overall colour theme. The Tessera carpet tiles are really easy to clean, another requirement set out in the brief, so it ticked all the boxes.” In addition to the above, Forbo’s Surestep and Safestep safety flooring were used across the project to ensure the safety of students, installed in the wet rooms on both floors, as well as in the Design Technology classroom on the first floor.
