Abby Chandler, Marketing Manager of Heckmondwike FB, looks at the rising popularity of zoning in education environments and the impact it is having on the choice of floor coverings.
“Zoning is a growing trend in interior design for modern educational and public sector buildings, as it provides an effective way to create clear demarcation of areas for specific functions.
Open plan spaces are becoming increasingly popular in settings where a dynamic and flexible environment can encourage productivity and learning. Increasingly, building designers are recognising the benefits of zoning, rather than using physical partitions, to provide structure by clearly designating areas for specific purposes.
Choice of floorcoverings plays a key role in this respect and the versatility of carpet, in particular, opens up major opportunities for the use of colour, creating aesthetically-pleasing interiors.
With carpets long being a firm favourite of education environments, mainly due to their sound absorption properties, now the characteristics of fibre bonded carpet means that zoning can effectively be used within this environment. The inherent properties of fibre bonded carpet mean it can be cut on site to create individual zones, with no risk of the carpet raveling or fraying. And, with a wide choice available, specific colours can be selected to reflect a building’s purpose or corporate branding.
Take for example, Bexhill High School, based in East Sussex. This new school utilises large open plan areas called pods surrounding a central heart space, with all the floors needing to multitask, which is why our Supacord range of carpet tile was specified and in six different colours.
The use of zoning in this case involves deeper colours being selected for the heart of the pods, which provides a stimulating and enjoyable learning environment, as well as providing demarcation of specific areas.
So, clever use of zoning techniques means specifiers are creating aesthetically pleasing interiors with dedicated areas clearly identified for specific purposes. Studies have shown this is having a very positive impact in many educational environments.”
Sample cards from Heckmondwike FB are available on request by calling +44 [0] 1924 406161 or visiting the website www.heckmondwike-fb.co.uk.
