Page 20 - School Planning & Management, February 2018

FACILITIES FOCUS ON FLOORING
possible”—with 30 to 50 years not an unusual expectation—while the only constant is the change that spaces and their uses undergo, Stanley says, explain- ing that diverse, resilient materials and systems can help “follow the design of changing spaces” and connect spaces more easily in the future.
On another tack related to the brand
of a school, students want ownership of space. Stanley explains that things like logos and art, potentially created by stu- dents, expresses that feeling of ownership as well as “pride of place.” He adds that flooring is a “medium” best taken advan- tage of by systems that enable school logos to be created without replacing the entire floor. Tarkett’s Tandus Centiva company points out related options including luxury vinyl tile systems.
Visual identity, or customizing floors to match a school’s colors, are a way
to express an institution’s brand, and there’s more. As J+J Flooring Group’s Bob Bethel, director of business development, Education, says, “A school’s brand extends beyond visual identity.”
To start with, “a flooring product must function to expectations. If a product becomes stained, scratched, scuffed
or simply wears prematurely, that can negatively affect a school’s brand,” Bethel points out. Key factors impacting brand that need to be considered include sound reduction, comfort as well as “aesthetics, performance, maintenance, health, safety, and price,” says Bethel. “Often times, for
various reasons, one aspect is selected over the other. When this happens, something is sacrificed, typically to the detriment of the brand.” The key: planning and research into all the options. The goal for dis-
tricts and schools: To “get a flooring that positively extends their brand and creates a better experience for all that come in contact with it,” Bethel adds.
Various brand ideas were rolled out in flooring systems by J+J Flooring Group for Crosstown High School (CHX) in Memphis. Opening this year, the charter school was created out of a portion of a 91-year-old retail and distribution building in a re- design by ANF Architects. CHX focuses
on personalized, project-based learning, according to J+J Flooring.
School officials and designers want the
school’s “bold educational focus to come through in its design and visual identity,” the flooring supplier indicates. Accord- ingly, they selected Umbra Stripe, a J+J Flooring textile composite system that foregoes “traditional high school colors such as royal purples and hunter greens,” in favor of a palette with “modern, vibrant and energetic saturated colors ranging from bright yellow, rich orange to lime green.” Among the high school floors’ oth- er qualities: durability, noise reduction, and versatility, with the same product “specified in multiple areas: classrooms, lounge spaces, the office area, and even in a café space.”
The result, according to J+J Flooring: “an energetic and cutting-edge school— from the dynamic curriculum all the way down to the innovative flooring.”
A lot goes into perceptions about a school—and the list includes flooring, which can be a highly conspicuous indica- tion of a school’s brand. As Bethel adds, “typically one of the largest finishes of any interior space, a floor offers an exceptional way for a school to extend and exemplify its brand. But the flooring system for this ‘canvas’ must be chosen carefully.” SPM
>>Scott Berman is a freelance writer with experience in educational topics.
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20 SCHOOL PLANNING & MANAGEMENT / FEBRUARY 2018
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