A selection of Forbo Flooring System’s products have been specified for the Staffordshire Police Headquarters, including Allura luxury vinyl tiles (LVT), Tessera carpet tiles, SureStep safety vinyl and Coral entrance flooring systems. Forbo was able to meet the requirements for a wide selection of different floor types to ensure a durable and practical integrated floor scheme throughout.
As part of an impressive refurbishment project to convert the former traffic vehicle servicing facility, Staffordshire Police now has use of a modern, well-designed meeting facility. For many specifiers and developers, it is often challenging to find a variety of co-ordinated flooring ranges to suit the different application requirements of multi purpose buildings. Providing choice and flexibility, Forbo’s modular portfolio made it easier to mix and match sizes, styles and formats of tiles and planks to suit all areas of the building, which proved both time and cost effective and ensured one central contact point for all technical advice and support.
This integrated approach formed the main focus for Architectural Project Designer, Adrian W J Sutherland based at The Design Consultancy of Staffordshire County Council.
“The refurbishment updated the early 1980’s brick and GRP clad building, which was the former Police traffic vehicle servicing garage. With Staffordshire Police relocating its headquarters to the site, it required a modernised cafeteria and meeting facilities for its staff, which were previously located in other buildings on the site. The brief was to transform the rather industrial-looking building complete with its shutter doors, into a modern conference area, with meeting rooms, office space and a cafeteria. The steel structure was maintained, but it underwent a thermal upgrade to bring it up to date with current building requirements, along with incorporating a mezzanine floor and large roof light spanning the length of the building.”
“The mixing and matching of Allura finishes and shades in the communal and café areas, allowed us to denote walkways from seating areas and direct the flow of traffic through the building, which required a resilient floor covering. In contrast, Tessera carpet tiles were chosen for the office and meeting room areas, which demanded a softer texture.” Adrian explains.
Forbo’s Allura LVT was specified for the corridor, open areas and café space, in a selection of different ‘natural and earthy’ finishes and tones, with weathered rustic pines from the Wood range and Caribbean sand and black slate from the stone range, creating a warm and inviting environment. These chic interpretations of natural materials from the Allura range incorporate an individual surface texture, which reflects the print design and gives the collection an authentic yet wholly distinctive look. In particular, for the ceramics range, a new production technology has achieved a stylish effect, so the tiles are ideally suited for large, open plan spaces, in heavier traffic areas - heightening the overall design aesthetic, whilst reducing installation cost and maintenance.
With its geometric shapes and textures, Tessera Mix random lay carpet tiles are cleverly designed to be laid in any direction, resulting in less wastage and quicker installation time. Tessera Mix – Canyon was specified, continuing the interior design theme for muted, natural tones.
For unbeatable soil removal, Coral duo was chosen for the entrance area because it retains 10% more dirt in the first few metres than any other textile entrance flooring system, making it an ideal choice for smaller entrances. Coral duo combines Coral brush activ and Coral classic reinforced with tough and resilient fibres, enhanced with alternating strips of strong thick yarn with dirt scraping action. Lastly, Surestep safety flooring was installed on the first floor in all general purpose areas requiring an R10 slip resistance, as it contains excellent maintenance properties due to its unique PUR Pearl™ finish and high durability.
Sub contracted by Thomas Vale Construction, Paul Baker, Contracts Manager at Baker Flooring, Wolverhampton comments: “As part of the refurbishment project, we installed all the flooring into the old building. Using a Modular format resulted in increased speed of installation and also less wastage, saving the client both time and money.”
Simon Bryan Facilities Manager at Staffordshire Police explains: “Forbo Flooring was used as part of the design for the internal area’s of our new conference and amenities building within Staffordshire Police HQ. It was chosen by our designer, to provide the modern look and feel we were trying to achieve.”