Page 22 - College Planning & Management, June 2018

9-TO-5 FLOORING
Such spaces enable easier access and ad hoc engagement for students and others in number, and thus call for great resilience in addition to acoustical qualities.
Asking Good Questions
When weighing the pros and cons of any potential choice, it’s important to ask good questions. For Stanley, that means “starting with how and why a space would be used...also, who would be using the space.” Another way to find answers is by “looking at similar areas on campus and measuring their results.”
Tarkett asked questions in a recent survey of university facilities managers and design and construction professionals,
with answers pointing to “life-cycle cost- ing as the number-one driver,” explains Stanley. He says the company is preparing a related tool that will give campus pros perspectives into “overall ownership costs versus the focus of first cost. This is an im- mediate need with deferred maintenance budgets reaching into the billions.”
Brockman proposes a series of questions, including, “What is most important to you and your occupants? Is it durability, perfor- mance, design, cost, maintenance, environ- mental or even health considerations? What is the volume and type of traffic expected in that area? Do you have specific wayfinding needs or a certain school color or palette? What are your maintenance requirements? Are there any special installation requirements? When and how quickly does it need to be installed? With what substrate are you working? Does the space need to reflect the elegance and sta- tus of the upper administration of the institu- tion?” He says the answers will help decision makers hone in on the best options.
Hadden also points to questions of daily use, explaining, “it’s important to take into account the amount of traffic the space will receive, the office area arrangement, the flow of traffic in the space, and any other existing conditions that may be impacted by the flooring; in other words, office noise.”
Providing Additional Insights
There is also the question of balance. As Hadden says, “Oftentimes, the best approach isn’t an either/or, but \[instead\] an integrated take on the space that utilizes LVT and car- pet tile.” His recommendation is essentially about carefully choosing flooring that meets important needs for users: “Take all of a space’s conditions into account and utilize LVT and carpet to transform the area into a space optimized for student and employee wellness and productivity.”
All told, decisions about flooring in such campus spaces require careful and wide-ranging thought. There is a consider- able amount at stake. Some final insights: • “Higher education administrative of-
fice floors can be subject to some of the
toughest demands for any building on campus,” says Brockman, who adds that making the right investment requires certified installation and a correct, and regular, maintenance regime.
• “Better flooring is an investment in college success and campus sustainability, and it’s of upmost importance to consider the entire lifetime of a flooring system when making a selection,” according to Hadden.
• “Flooring has an opportunity to articulate pride of place and how faculty and students, parents, and donor alumnus are passively and actively engaged,” adds Stanley. CPM
Scott Berman is a freelance writer with experience in educational topics.
22 COLLEGE PLANNING & MANAGEMENT / JUNE 2018
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