Client: Open Academy, Norwich
Type of works: supply of flooring.

Around 5,000m^² of flooring from commercial vinyl flooring manufacturer, Polyflor, has been installed at the new eco-friendly £23 million Open Academy in Norwich.

Polyflor Mystique PUR was laid in the expansive communal areas while Polysafe Standard was installed in the corridors, kitchen and workshops. Polysafe Hydro, which features a raised emboss for added slip resistance in barefoot areas, was laid in the shower areas.

Featuring first-class green credentials and a stunning timber frame design, the Open Academy caters for around 950 students and offers a wide range of academic options, including specialist engineering and environmental courses.

The heavy duty vinyl flooring was installed by Reform Flooring Ltd based in Lenwade. The impressive building was designed by Sheppard Robson Architects and Kier Eastern carried out the construction.

“This new building provides a fantastic learning environment that students and staff can be proud of,” explains Principal Jon Platten.

“The flooring complements the overall outstanding design of the facility and combines safety, aesthetics and ease of maintenance - all fundamental characteristics for building materials in a busy education environment.”

Non-directionally patterned Mystique PUR features Polyflor’s high quality polyurethane reinforcement (PUR). Cross-linked and UV cured for optimum strength, this reinforcement, combined with a superior closed surface finish, facilitates a low cost, lifetime polish-free maintenance regime, achieving savings of up to 48% compared with untreated vinyl flooring. The PUR feature significantly reduces chemical usage and reduces water usage by up to 55% compared to traditional maintenance procedures.

Specially developed for wet or barefoot areas, Polysafe Hydro features a special textured “pimple” emboss which is ideal for showers, indoor pool surrounds and changing rooms.

Polysafe Hydro and Polysafe Standard are fully compliant with the slip resistance guidance set down by the HSE and achieve 36+ on the Pendulum wet test using the appropriate rubber sliders, with a surface roughness of 20 microns and above. Both ranges also adhere to EN 13845 – the European standard for safety flooring.

In line with the environmentally friendly design of the building, all three flooring products achieve the highest possible BRE Global Environmental A+ Rating (certificate No ENP336 in the Green Guide to Specification) in the major use areas of health and education. This is based on a life cycle analysis approach over a building’s life of 60 years.