The University of Manchester, Case studies, Inspire Me, Interface Europe

InterfaceFLOR’s Equilibrium and Heuga 530 modular floorcoverings have been installed in the new Humanities Faculty building on The University of Manchester campus, presenting immediate and striking evidence of the building’s sustainable credentials.

Interface FLOR carpet tiles

Sustainable products complement Environment and Social Sciences
The Arthur Lewis Building, as it is now known, houses the Schools of Social Sciences and, appropriately, Environment and Development.

Through measures which included incorporating solar panels in the roof, the architects, The Fairhursts Design Group, worked to minimise the building's environmental impact and by doing so achieved a "Very Good" rating under the BREEAM Scheme. InterfaceFLOR's carpet tiles, with their 'A' rated environmental profiles from BRE Global Ltd, fitted perfectly within the context of this scheme and helped in regard to the ultimate rating given to the building.

Service levels a success in Education flooring
With more than 11,000m� of floor space spread over five floors, Tim Bramley of Fairhursts looked to InterfaceFLOR to provide the level of service he has come to expect from previous contracts where the two companies have worked together. The Core Technology Facility for The University of Manchester and John Dalton Tower for Manchester Metropolitan University, both the work of Fairhursts, are two recent examples of how InterfaceFLOR carpet tiles have been used in the education sector.

Undaunted, InterfaceFLOR installed a ‘sample room’ to demonstrate how the textured loop of Equilibrium carpet tiles in Symmetry, a mid-grey shade, did indeed bring symmetry to the design to complement the aesthetic quality Fairhursts was striving for, whilst emphasising the wide open spaces with its linear qualities.

“That’s typical of what we’ve come to expect of InterfaceFLOR,” said Tim Bramley. “Their environmental credentials and product quality we know all about, and these were certainly a factor in the final choice of InterfaceFLOR as supplier. However, without an equivalent level of service, the company would fall short of the demands people like us make on suppliers.”

Carpet tiles offer greater flexibility
Equilibrium, from InterfaceFLOR’s TextureWorkscollection, is a tufted patterned, structured tip-sheared pile carpet tile. Its pile material is made from 100% Aquafil Alto Chroma solution-dyed nylon and it has a Graphlex� backing. Designed to find a niche between broadloom and tile, Equilibrium is highly textured for a chunky handcrafted look. Its softer, fuller construction and textured surface give the style, depth and warmth of a broadloom carpet without sacrificing the benefits of modular floorcovering.

Carpet tiles used for dramatic effect
On the ground floor of the Lewis Building, Equilibrium features in study spaces for about 100 students, as well as in the Undergraduate administration offices. Heuga 530 carpet tiles, in colourways Zinc and Carbon, is installed to dramatic effect in the teaching rooms used by up to 200 undergraduates.

One of those brighter colours features on the upper four floors, with Heuga 530 carpet tiles in Opera being installed in each of the four glazed meeting rooms located on every floor. Its rich maroon contrasts with the Equilibrium carpet tiles that dominates the 70 academic offices and 80 scattered open plan spaces.

“This two-year project has been something of a team effort,” says InterfaceFLOR sales manager Louise Swift. “The flooring contractor, John Abbott Flooring, has worked with both Fairhursts and ourselves on previous contracts, so they know our products well and we were confident the end result would be excellent.”

For more information on InterfaceFLOR commercial flooring products, please telephone 08705 30 40 30 or email us.