Click here to view the full Case Study project!
Project Details
- Specifier - Blenheim House Construction
- System - Recessed Entrance Matting
- Specification - INTRAform DM Low Profile, wood effect finish, with Elite fibre inserts, Black 608
- Location - CAT A Office Space, Belgravia, London
- Flooring Contractor - MasterMatting
Making an Entrance at London’s leading net zero workplace
Within London’s Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Holbein Gardens is a remarkable building just off Sloane Square that seeks to lead the way for companies seeking to achieving net-zero goals. Blenheim House Construction (BHC) helped realise Grosvenor’s vision to turn a tired old 1980s building into a net zero exemplar.
A bare bones CAT A project, the site boasts quadruple environmental certification, including BREEAM Outstanding and WELL gold accreditation. Naturally, market-leading sustainable Entrance Matting was required to echo the space’s green ethos.
INTRAsystems was the obvious choice thanks to their extensive range of sustainable products that help meet WELL and BREEAM standards.
Sustain-ability
Across the entire scheme, suppliers were challenged to use the industry’s most innovative, sustainable products, aiming at the highest levels of recycled content and recyclability.
INTRAform DM Low Profile was chosen in the unique wood effect finish, which ticks all the boxes including validated data on embodied carbon and packing a double punch of sustainability and performance. Cool black Elite fibre inserts are made from 100% post-consumer waste with extremely low whole-life carbon emissions.
Specified in 2020 but delayed through COVID, installation was completed in 2023. INTRA liaised with contractors to reschedule site surveys once pre-works were completed sufficiently for the entrance area to be assessed accurately. This was particularly crucial since the Entrance Mat sits in a lower position surrounded by steps and a raised floor level.
Beauty and Brawn – Wood-effect Recycled Aluminium for Sustainable Entrance Matting
This smart wood-effect finish was new to the market back in 2020 but the client was confident it would meet their quality demands based on the many successful projects they’ve collaborated with them on across a variety of settings.
Today the faux wood variant is a market-leading product that beats similar looking products made of real bamboo in terms of strength, longevity and good looks. Real wood systems don’t handle excessive moisture well, so the wrapped aluminium is ideal and more sustainable too. Read their bamboo vs aluminium blog to learn why!
Fit for purpose
Next door to London’s Sloane Square tube station, the 25,000 square feet office building is designed to house 2,500 office workers plus service staff and visitors. The entrance is immediately off the street with a small canopy and no draft lobby, so the matting will be exposed to direct and prevailing rain.
Technically, INTRAform DM Low Profile was an ideal choice for a Cat A project like this as it can cope with high footfall and provides more flexibility than other systems. This 12mm profile variant can be surface mounted or shallow recessed for easier integration with whatever finishes the future tenants choose. And the interlocking plank system makes installation and onward retrofitting easy, if required.
Entrance Matting Triumphs in Durability and Moisture Absorption
INTRAform DM, with the Elite inserts will cope with rain with ease thanks to being happy in external (zone 1) and internal (zone 2) locations. It is typically found in shopping centres and office complexes as it’s hard-working and hard-wearing with excellent moisture absorption and dirt removal.
The closed construction format and extra wide inserts make cleaning and maintaining INTRAform DM a breeze too. This will be essential to protect any materials chosen for the expansive lobby of this high-spec building.
A Sustainable Thoroughbred
BHC didn’t just specify a trustworthy and hard-wearing workhorse, they got a thoroughbred with beauty and brawn. The wood effect echoes the scheme’s biodiverse aesthetics, complements the external brickwork. It’s neutral tone and design should also blend with whatever finishes the eventual occupier chooses.
The technical thread combination used in their Elite fibre inserts scrape dirt and absorb moisture extremely well while keeping their looks sharp for years, even under intensive commercial use.
