FLOOR SPACE AS OPEN AS A BOOK
When new flooring for a university library was required,
Interface’s carpet tiles were used to provide good acoustic performance and a spacious solution.
Global modular flooring specialist, Interface, has helped the University of Coventry to create a flexible, open-plan space in its Frederick Lanchester Library.
Such a large, open environment can lead to high noise levels, so good acoustic performance was a key consideration in the project. The design had to cater for both quiet study areas, as well as zones for students to work in groups.
The university’s facilities management team wanted to update two floors of the library building to ensure it could accommodate a wide range of student learning activities, and also to bring more natural light into the space.
Kirsty Kift, Acting Assistant Director (Learning and Research Support) for the Lanchester Library, explained: “We expect libraries, particularly in an education environment, to be much more than just a study space.
“By opening up the floors, we could achieve two key goals. We could make sure the library continued to be the
go-to building for students looking for a place to study, collectively or individually, while also creating a greater feeling of light and space to contribute to their wellbeing and offer the best possible environment to help them learn."
Being open-plan, noise from the social areas could easily have become an issue for people in the quiet zones of the two floors, unless steps were taken to prevent sound carrying across the space. Another floor in the building had previously been made open-plan with hard rubber flooring fitted. This helped to reduce wear, but amplified sound and allowed noise to echo from one end of the floor to the other, disrupting students.
Associated Architects, the firm leading the latest renovation, wanted to prevent these acoustic issues happening on the newly-refurbished floors, without compromising on the open-plan goal. The firm recommended modular carpet flooring from Interface to help combine good acoustic performance with a considered design scheme to distinguish the functions of different activity zones.
Interface supported Associated Architects in sourcing the perfect flooring products to complement its design scheme. On both floors, Interface’s Heuga 580 carpet tiles, in the grey- coloured Elephant colourway, were used to define the busy computer and desk zones, while blue-grey Urban Retreat 302 Stone tiles were installed in the book-shelf area to distinguish between the spaces for quiet and group activities. The neutral tones of the tiles helped to complement the increased light levels in the newly opened-up space, and contribute to its bright, airy atmosphere.
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Rough-textured tiles, in the colourway Reserved from Interface’s Composure collection, were used to create walkways to link each zone, while encouraging visitors not to take shortcuts through work areas. Breakout spaces and the remaining partitioned meeting rooms were accented with Interface’s Touch & Tones flooring, in its green Moss colourway, providing a splash of colour to create a contemporary feel throughout the library.
Not only do the carpet tiles used support the creation of a light, flexible, yet quiet, open-plan library, they also help meet the University of Coventry’s requirement for minimal maintenance – even in areas of heavy footfall. The flooring is highly durable and able to withstand the high traffic experienced in the library. Also, as a modular solution, it allows individual tiles to be replaced when worn, without having to remove the entire carpet.
The Lanchester Library has now re- opened its newly refurbished floors to visitors and both the quiet and social zones are proving as popular as ever with students.
www.interface.com CONTRACT CARPET (TILE & SHEET) | 57
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