This month’s flooring applications include an Art Deco hotel refurbishment, a slippery problem at Bristol Zoo and a Europe-wide search for the right marble effect

A Because it's authentic

Sitting proudly on the seafront of the town of Morecambe in Lancashire, the Midland Hotel is a grade II-listed art deco hotel with a distinctive curved design.

Developer Urban Splash has recently completed a three-year refurbishment of the hotel, which included the installation of more than 400m² of Atkinson & Kirby’s solid unfinished FSC-certified Jatoba strip flooring in the dining room and reception area.

Designed to mimic the original flooring, which had been laid in a distinctive chevron pattern, the 140mm-wide sections were custom machined, without end matching, in 2m to 3m lengths.

www.akirby.co.uk

B Becasue it keeps the neighbours happy

Concerns over impact and airborne noise in a storage area at a Sainsbury’s Local in Islington, London, were such that the store opted to install a high-impact mat.

The mat is made from 100% recycled tyre rubber, EPDM granulate and PUR binder and is an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional PVC, linoleum or rubber flooring products.

Supplied by CMS Acoustic Solutions, around 180m2 of the durable, industrial and commercial floor finish was installed on top of a Sika floor screed to reduce the noise generated by roll pallets on the concrete subfloor. This, in turn, prevented disturbance to residents that live above the store.

www.cmsacoustics.co.uk

C Because it's fast and strong

The wards and corridors on almost every floor of the new St Helens and Whiston Hospitals being built by Taylor Woodrow in Merseyside feature 100,000m2 of Flowcrete’s fast-drying Isocrete 1500.

A pumpable, cementitious compound, Isocrete 1500 creates a level surface between concrete screeds and floor finishes. ‘It provides a seamless, durable and easy to clean surface which is perfect for the hospital environment,’ explains Paul Harris, operations director at Taylor Woodrow. ‘From a construction point of view its exceptional strength and speed of application have enabled us to keep ahead of a tight construction timetable.’

www.flowcrete.co.uk

D Because it gives a linear effect

Searching for a specific marble flooring with striated veins, architect Skidmore Owings Merrill had to visit several quarries before finding the right stone for the ground floor at 201 Bishopsgate in London, part of the 201 Bishopsgate/Broadgate Tower project.

The solution was a mixture of polished Travertine marble, sourced in Rome, with some flame-textured Nero Absoluto granite installed around the perimeters, which could be laid with all veins running in one direction to create a linear effect. Szerelmey completed the installation of 2,000m2 of stone on the ground floor plus in some lift lobbies in the 35-storey tower.

‘Quality checks were made throughout the production period to monitor the very accurate cutting tolerances required,’ says John Guest, contracts manager at Szerelmey. ‘The stone is a golden texture and has the ability to reflect light when polished and it also represents good value,’ he added.

www.szerelmey.com

E Because it avoids the slippery slope

Faced with more stringent health and safety requirements, Bristol Zoo had to install a durable, non-slip decking for public walkways and ramps, which service up to 500,000 visitors a year.

John Brash supplied almost 4,000m of Decksure Premier decking fitted with JB Antislip Plus inserts to create a non-slip boardwalk around the lake bordering the new monkey jungle and gorilla island. The inserts are injected into the kiln-dried European redwood structural timber deck boards.

‘The decking under the tree areas becomes particularly slippery due to a combination of rain and leaf sap,’ says Dave Harley, estates manager at Bristol Zoo. ‘JB Antislip Plus is an effective solution and we are planning to install more around other primate enclosures.’

www.johnbrash.co.uk