FOCUS 53
INSURANCE PROVIDER Admiral is refurbishing its 12-storey HQ building in Cardiff with the aim of creating a destination office to accommodate its workforce of over 2,000 staff. Te company appointed design specialists Claremont with the brief to design a memorable, on-brand and highly social workplace.
For the initial stage of this phased project, Claremont has created an open and inviting first floor space that offers a variety of work settings. Te floorscape for the main field area is underscored with two designs from Milliken’s Northern Soul modular carpet collection. Influenced by the iconic 1970s music and dance movement, the collection comprises four designs celebrating the bold rhythms, lighting, fashion and typography of the era. For Admiral’s multi-functional first floor, the design team chose the asymmetric striations of Strobe Light interspersed with the tonal uniformity of Floor Filler.
For maximum flexibility, the floor has touch-down areas, collaboration zones and spaces that can be adapted for training, departmental and company-wide meetings. Te modular nature of the furnishings and floor coverings allows for these spaces to be reconfigured to suit any changing requirements.
Te hard-working kitchen space caters for many social functions for employees and external community events. A combination of Milliken’s LVT designs Eero in Drawing Grey and Heritage Wood in coordinating Honor grey, from the Original Collection, create a contemporary and easy maintenance floor surface. In a smooth transition from the highchair seating area to the main workspace, the
INTERIOR DESIGN STUDIO Johnson Ribolla was tasked with transforming an under-utilised storage room into a welcoming and joyful space for young residents of the Tames Quarter build-to-rent development in Reading. Once construction of the development had completed and residents had begun to move in, it became apparent that there was a higher volume of children than initially expected, with calls for a bespoke space to be created, allowing the younger residents to meet and play together safely. Giacomo Ribolla, director at Johnson Ribolla, says: ‘A key challenge of the Kids Quarter fit-out was how we could create multiple different zones within the single space, including a play area, cinema, and arts and craft space.’ Johnson Ribolla specified Forbo’s Marmoleum throughout the play and craft areas, in various green tones from the Real, Fresco and Walton ranges. Ribolla explains: ‘Given that we expected the area to be heavily used, we needed a single-finish flooring that was both easy to clean and maintain. From a design perspective, given the lack of natural light, we were also relying on the flooring to bring some much-needed brightness and colour into the space. ‘Its carbon credentials were another advantage. Created from up to 98% natural raw materials, and being PVC and Phthalate free, we were confident that it would contribute to the health and well-being of the residents.’ Te cinema space has a range of seating options, including beanbags. Understandably, the brief was different for this zone, as Ribolla explains: ‘For the flooring, we needed something soft and comfortable, like a carpet, but was still durable and cleanable. Forbo’s Flotex offers a textile feel while also being incredibly hard-wearing. ‘We opted for quite a funky geometric pattern from Forbo’s ‘created by Galeote’ collection, in keeping with the wider scheme aesthetic.’
forbo-flooring.co.uk
flooring has been installed to seamlessly shift from the LVT to carpet.
Te open nature of the space and its exposed ceiling meant that good acoustic management was crucial. Te carpet tiles feature WellBAC Comfort cushion backing, which provides sound absorbency properties. With a sound rating of 31dB, the carpet helps minimise impact and ambient noise levels to deliver a calmer working environment for employees.
Te carbon-neutral Milliken floor coverings also offer important sustainable attributes.
millikencarpet.com
Project Admiral HQ, Cardiff
Project
Kids Quarter, Reading
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