School Enjoys Benefits of Rubber Flooring

Nora

nora rubber flooring gives Christa McAuliffe Elementary School increased durability and stain resistance when it comes to their flooring, adding to a true 21st-century learning environment.

Christa McAuliffe Elementary School in Concord, N. H., is one of three new, futuristic elementary schools designed to meet the changing needs of 21st-century learning. The school understands the evolution of the library and incorporates a variety of mediums and methods of consuming information. Throughout the facility, norament grano premium rubber flooring supports open, collaborative, flexible and technology-integrated multi-use learning spaces.

“The facility is not only an elementary school but also a community building that’s heavily used before and after school for several town programs,” says Matt Cashman, director of facilities & planning. “The durability and increased stain resistance—without the use of chemical cleaners or coatings—is a huge benefit when compared to our previous dealings with VCT.”

The selection of nora flooring also helped the district meet Northeast-CHPS standards of sustainability. “The elimination of coatings and chemicals has been a breath of fresh air, literally,” says Rusty Bonner, head custodian. The absence of fumes often associated with these substances has positively impacted the well-being of the maintenance staff, as well as students and teachers.

“Just a few regular washes with little more than water erases any staining, allowing the floors to easily maintain their new appearance,” says Bonner. “It’s an easy-maintenance flooring,” he continues. “As a result, we can devote more time to cleaning alternate surfaces, such as glass.”

The rubber flooring also enhances acoustics. Open project areas, including an amphitheater, circular story room, reading nooks and spaces for collaboration, benefit from the floor’s ability to attenuate unwanted ambient noise, allowing everyone to better focus on learning.

www.nora.com

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Chicago District Completes Construction on New Elementary School

    North Chicago School District 187 in North Chicago, Ill., recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Forrestal Elementary School, according to a news release. The new school marks a major investment in military-connected students and families at Naval Station Great Lakes.

  • Texas Recruitment

    Texas Recruitment

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The University of Texas at Austin's Texas Recruitment has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Grand Prize award in the category of Renovation.

  • How a Portable Sink Helped an Art Classroom Run More Smoothly

    Classroom design decisions can have outsized effects on instructional time and safety at schools juggling mismatched infrastructure, strict budgets, and crowded schedules — particularly in the arts. Between spilled paint and dirty brushes, art classes run smoother with a sink in the studio. But many schools don’t have a sink in every art classroom.

  • Chartwells Launches Campus Dining Evaluation Framework

    Contract food-service management provider Chartwells Higher Education recently announced the launch of BLUEPRINT, according to a news release. The evaluation framework was designed to provide a data-driven and customizable roadmap towards optimizing campus dining services and, by extension, the student experience.