Visual Arts Centre in Huddersfield, U.K.
Expona Flow / Light Industrial Concrete 9860, Steel Blue 9832,
Warm Limed Ash 9852

 

University of Huddersfield’s new School of Art, Design and Archi- tecture, showcasing bespoke Polyflor Expona Flow PUR pat- terns at the heart of its creative environment.

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Collaboration and innovation are central themes at the new, £30 million Barbara Hepworth Building. The building responds to the topography of the local landscape with a cantilevered design which welcomes visitors from the canal-side location and spans a five metre elevation change.

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Inside, the faculty comprises flowing spaces set around an internal atrium, which is easily adapted to meet the varied needs of the multi-disciplinary faculty.

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Polyflor collaborated closely with AHR, Morgan Sindall and Phoenix Flooring using a variety of vinyl flooring products to create a flooring specification which properly reflects the building’s artistic and practical aspirations.

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Expona Flow was used to beautifully recreate the aesthetic of wood and concrete floors and provide excellent durability in this high traffic area. AHR and our technical team designed and developed a bespoke pattern for each atrium area into CAD designs, combining Warm Limed Ash, Steel Blue and Light Industrial Concrete colours.

 

These patterns are both attractive and help students to intuit and navigate the surrounding open plan spaces and adjoining rooms.

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Once all the sections were lifted, Phoenix Flooring set them out to our CAD layout carefully checking them forprecision of loca- tion. This meticulous approach allowed the 551 sections to be accurately installed in all areas of the building in a period of just 12 weeks.

Matt Brown, director, Phoenix Flooring :

​" Polyflor’s technical staff were on hand throughout the installation

period to provide aftersales service by telephone and in person if required to support our supervisor and operatives on site. The bespoke pallet system ensured we delivered best working practice in our health and safety obligations "

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From the outset, the scheme was designed to achieve BREEAM ‘Excellent’ and the Polyflor products are expected to contribute towards the award of credits under this scheme. The sheets achieve a BRE A+ rating and are certified as ‘Excellent’ under the BES 6001 responsible sourcing standard. In addition, the products feature recycled content and are 100% recyclable at end of life through the Recofloor scheme – supporting the circular economy.

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The products have also been certified under the Eurofins Indoor Air Comfort Gold scheme. This shows they emit exceptionally low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and are compliant with the most demanding voluntary indoor air quality standards across Europe. As a result, these ranges not only support efforts to achieve credits within the Health and Well- being section of the BREEAM assessment but also help to maintain a healthier and more comfortable learning environment for students and staff.