Colorful floors. Quiet hallways.

colorful floor

For a facility with plenty of open space and very few doors, the ability to absorb the noise of kids constantly switching classrooms was a big deal.

Reading friends of Aledo, Texas needed new flooring for their recent renovation. As a school with a pre-K and kindergarten curriculum, they had several requirements for this new flooring: It had to be fun. It had to help with noise. And it had to be easy to clean.

Working with Jeff Green of FloorPartners, the school chose Interface’s Studio Set™ luxury vinyl tile (LVT) for its classrooms and hallways. Multi-colored planks run from classroom to classroom in bright zig-zag patterns. In choosing the flooring, he says, “Studio Set had everything we wanted as far as sound quality, and the versatility of the product allowed us to create a really unique design.”

Flooring that performs on many levels

Almost a year after completing the renovation, Reading Friends owner Diane Taylor is a convert. “I was hesitant [about how the LVT] would absorb the constant noise of the kids switching classrooms, but it really has worked!” she says. For a facility with plenty of open space and very few doors, that’s a big deal. “I am so impressed by how easy [Interface LVT] has helped absorb the sound in our hallways and classrooms.”

Additionally, intensive floor maintenance has become a thing of the past. School staff are able to spend more time with the kids and less time making the floor look nice. According to Diane, “it really was the perfect flooring for the high-traffic, highnoise areas of our school.”

In fact, because of the success of this project, the entire Aledo Independent School District is considering designating Interface carpet and LVT as part of its standard flooring for all its facilities. From experience, Jeff Green explains, “Interface carpet tile is a real idiot-proof product. And as far as LVT, it’s a matter of getting people to experience it in their schools to trust that it’ll meet their needs.”

interface.com

This article originally appeared in the School Planning & Management September 2019 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Upcoming University of Alabama Performing Arts Center Hits Construction Milestone

    The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala., recently celebrated the topping out of its new Smith Family Center for Performing Arts, according to a news release. The university is partnering with HPM for program and project management on the facility, which broke ground in 2023 and is scheduled for completion in November 2026.

  • California Middle School Completes Two New Academic Buildings

    Sunnyvale Middle School in Sunnyvale, Calif., recently announced that construction is complete on two new classroom buildings of two stories each, according to a district news release. The new wing will house seventh- and eighth-grade students and is part of a larger campus modernization project.

  • California Boarding School Opens New Inquiry Collaborative Facility

    Cate School, a boarding school in Carpinteria, Calif., for students grades 9–12, recently announced that it has finished renovating a historic dining hall into a new academic hub, according to a news release. The school partnered with Blackbird Architects and Tangram Interiors on the two-story, 16,000-square-foot Inquiry Collaborative.

  • woman looking at futuristic data display

    7 Technology Strategies for Future-Forward Facilities Management

    From college and university systems to K–12 districts, campus facilities and technology leaders must make strategic technology decisions that support both current needs and future possibilities.

Digital Edition