building materials. Because everything that is in the indoor air - and that includes pollutants from finishing and construction materials - passes through the lungs into the body.
RUBBER FLOORING AS A
HEALTHY BASIS Rubber floorcoverings from nora systems offer a healthy solution. They carry the "Blue Angel… for low emissions" eco-label and have been awarded the Greenguard certificate for better indoor air. Rubber does not contain any toxic plasticizers or halogens. On top of this, the resilience of the rubber floor is kind to the joints whether standing or walking, and effectively reduces footfall noise, so contributing to good room acoustics.
Rubber floors are ideally suited in particular to rooms used by children. The material is not only environmentally sound and healthy, but is warm to the feet, robust and slip- resistant. As a result of their extremely closed surfaces, rubber floorcoverings are also resistant to scratches and to soiling. The floor can easily be cleaned, using only water, no chemicals are needed and still looks new even after years.
The fact that healthy living and good design are not in conflict is illustrated by the wide palette of colours and surfaces available from nora. Recently the company launched two new and innovative floorcoverings onto the market.
Dirk Oswald, product manager at nora systems comments: “norament arago is the response to the request from international markets for an architectural floorcovering to complement contemporary interior design.”
FLOORS FOR WELLBEING
How can our flooring choice contribute to our welfare? nora discusses.
We spend on average around 80-90% of the day inside closed rooms. Therefore in addition to aesthetic considerations, it is particularly important to consider a healthy indoor climate when designing buildings. The floorcovering in particular plays a decisive role here, because the floor represents a large proportion of the room surfaces. Low-emission floorcoverings, such as those made of rubber, are enjoying increasing popularity: they can contribute significantly to our sense of wellbeing, and also score through innovative design.
A lot of people are very sensitive to pollutants in indoor air - irritation of the mucous membranes, headaches, asthma and allergies can be the results of a poor indoor climate. The theme of healthy living is about the quality of the air inside buildings, which is primarily determined by the choice of
10 | COMMENT
In both designing and naming the new rubber floorcovering, the product experts at nora were inspired by nature: “The name norament arago comes from aragonite, one of three mineral components in marble,” explains Dirk. In order to achieve the elegant marbled effect that lends the flooring its high-quality, vivid, and natural impression, it was necessary to overcome a few technical challenges. Customers can choose between tiles with or without beveled edges in a thickness of 3.5 mm.
noraplan lona from nora systems is being well-received by designers. The rubber flooring, which has opened up entirely new design possibilities thanks to its innovative technology, presented at the industry Architect@Work trade shows in Berlin and Stuttgart at the end of 2016.
“The designers to whom I have presented the new floorcovering were very excited,” reported Ingo Baenisch, technical advisor at nora systems for the Berlin district. “They thought it reminded them of the works of American artist Jackson Pollock, who influenced abstract expressionism with his process for action painting.”
Dirk Oswald, product manager at nora systems, feels that his creative development approach is understood: “The name of the new covering corresponds to the Spanish word for canvas. This sums up the advantages of noraplan lona nicely. The flooring forms the basis in its base color, and with different design colors, the designer can bring his/her ideas to life – the effect in the room is very different depending on the color combination and vantage point.”
www.nora.com/uk www.tomorrowscontractfloors.com
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