Flooring A Perfect Fit for Versatile Spaces

Kinetex textile composite flooring

Kinetex textile composite flooring easily met every requirement of Georgia College's Bell Hall, a prominent 100-year-old building.

When Bell Hall, a prominent 100-year-old building at Georgia College in Milledgeville, GA, needed renovating, the school took great consideration into the flooring required for the space.

The Colonial-style building serves multiple functions. It is the primary residence for nearly 200 students, via 125 two-person suites. It also houses a classroom and a spacious lounge area for casual gatherings and activities.

Dr. Larry C. Christenson, executive director of university housing, along with his staff, required flooring that could meet all the functions of the facility. At the top of the priority list, Dr. Christenson desired a floor covering that would answer both acoustic and safety concerns. “We looked at hard-surface options but knew this would mean stripping and waxing over the summers. We also had concerns with the rooms being louder and possible slip and falls,” says Christenson.

Secondly, the flooring needed to be forgiving in regards to substrate issues, such as high moisture, which is often common with older buildings. Finding a “breathable” flooring product was important to address the minor moisture concerns on the ground floor. Finally, the school desired a product that could convey a residential feel while also matching the historic aesthetic of the building.

Dr. Christenson selected Kinetex from J+J Flooring Group. Kinetex is an innovative textile composite flooring that offers a superior alternative to hard surfaces. “Kinetex resolved all of these concerns while giving us the ‘softness of carpet,’” notes Christenson. Constructed of knitted polyester fabric and cushioned polyester felt backing, it combines the comfort and warmth of a soft-surface flooring with the long-wearing performance characteristics of a hard-surface flooring. Moreover, the product’s contemporary design, which features pleasant earth tones and lighter patterns, was the perfect answer to meeting the residential feel required of the space.

By meeting all of Bell Hall’s requirements and more, Dr. Christenson says Kinetex is now being considered for other facilities at the school.

www.jj-kinetex.com

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Children walking along bright school corridor with motion blur

    How Next-Gen Design Is Reshaping the Student Experience

    The environments where students learn play a crucial role in shaping their growth in and out of the classroom. By centering design on well-being, flexibility, and purpose, districts can ensure their facilities remain vibrant community assets for many years to come.

  • Campus Safety Requires Using Every Resource Available

    Across the U.S., school and campus leaders are facing a security landscape that has changed dramatically over the past decade. Incidents on school property have increased in recent years, with several consecutive years setting record totals. According to analysis of data by CNN, dozens of shootings now occur on school grounds annually across K-12 and higher education environments.

  • Spaces4Learning Launches 2026 Education Design Showcase Awards

    Spaces4Learning has opened submissions for the 2026 Education Design Showcase! The awards program launched in 1999 with the goal of celebrating innovative, practical solutions in the planning, design, and construction of K–12 and higher-education facilities. EDS recognizes new developments that help achieve optimal learning environments, as well as the architecture firms that brought the ideas to life.

  • Moline-Coal Valley School District to Consolidate Two Schools into New Facility

    The Moline-Coal Valley School District in Moline, Ill., recently broke ground on a new elementary school that will consolidate the students and staff from two existing schools, according to local news. Robert Ontiveros Elementary School will serve as the new home for Lincoln-Irving Elementary School and Willard Elementary School.