A three storey Victorian community school for 3-11 year olds, West Hill Primary School in Wandsworth is committed to improving the wellbeing of all pupils through teaching, the school environment and classroom atmosphere. DEGW were appointed by the Department for Children, Schools & Families, as part of the Space for Personalised Learning Project, which aims to support all schools looking at how to evolve the physical environment and create a more personalised approach to learning. The physical environment has a strong influence on learning and floorcoverings remain a large contribution to the built environment. The consequent choice for DEGW Architectes was nora® rubber floorcoverings, which were installed in the classrooms as a refurbishment project in 2009.
A key principle of West Hill Primary School is to support the health and happiness of students, both inside and out in order to help children reach their potential in learning and life; this was recognised recently when the school won the Health Schools Award. Frequently installed in Schools worldwide, nora® also support the concept that students who feel good are happier and often perform better; this is demonstrated through numerous characteristics of the nora® product range. nora® floorcoverings have pleasant foot warmth and excellent acoustic properties, as well as the ability to reduce the severity of injury in the event of a fall. The ergonomic and walking comfort qualities of nora® floorings make them suitable for pupils to sit on the rubber floorcoverings during lessons and breaks. Furthermore, the flooring provides an attractive visual appearance, which is preserved for many years thanks to the durability and wear resistance of the resilient product. nora® also benefits from low VOC’s; providing a superior indoor air quality. In summary, these outstanding characteristics of nora® floorings, which come as standard, significantly contribute to a positive atmosphere of well being for the benefit of the students and teachers alike.
The extraordinary classroom design at West Hill is bright and vivid, combining the influence of nature with earth colours, orange hues, blue tones and green accents. The wide range of colours and designs offered by nora® products, make them an ideal solution for creating environments with an exceptional visual impression. noraplan® logic and noraplan® uni, installed in this contemporary project, offer a smooth streamline surface with a variety of vibrant and natural colour concepts. DEGW Architects utilised the colour palette and colour range for both design and functional purposes within the classroom: “The idea behind the noraplan® uni green cut-outs was to create a clear graphic representation, allowing pupils and staff to set-out numerous flexible furniture elements quickly and intuitively for large group activities” DEGW Architects.
nora® floorcoverings are designed to meet the challenges for Schools for The Future and are approved by the Department for Education and Skills. In terms of safety, the rubber floor coverings do not contain any PVC or plasticizers, are slip resistant and are toxicologically safe in the event of fire.
Furthermore, the floor coverings are dirt repellent, and are naturally bacteriostatic and fungistatic. The extremely dense and closed surface allows easy and economic cleaning without the need for coatings, ideal for schools seeking a more cost and time effective cleaning regime.
In addition to well-being, West Hill Primary School also endeavours to promote a better environment to pupils in terms of sustainability, throughout the school and the community, leading students to be more aware of their environmental responsibility. nora® also shares this concept where sustainability is a core part of the corporate structure. From the raw materials, through to the production process, utilisation, cleaning and emissions, nora® ensures the product life cycle of norament® and noraplan® floor coverings are compatible with the environment. From manufacture to disposal, nora® rubber floorcoverings provide the ideal solution for educational projects worldwide.