Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

New Floor Helps Keep Libraries Quiet

  • 10/01/18
Nora flooring

McMaster University was able to cut down on noise in learning environments by replacing their vinyl tile with nora rubber flooring.

Students at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, can hear the difference rubber flooring makes. Thanks to the acoustic properties of norament grano, they enjoy quiet libraries and a better learning environment. Officials love the floor’s versatility, selecting it for heavily trafficked stairwells, laboratories, cafeterias, and offices.

“We love the versatility of the product—you can put it into a research facility, a wet lab where chemicals are present, a library, a cafeteria, an elevator or in an office,” says Craig MacDonald, director of maintenance and facility services. “It’s environmentally friendly, easy to care for, sustainable, and it provides good slip resistance.”

After testing nora premium rubber flooring in a heavily trafficked stairwell in one of the school’s busiest building, the university began using nora in other areas.

“There is a stairwell right by the road that receives most of the foot traffic into the building. The landings were previously VCT (vinyl tile) and didn’t stand up. The floor was hard to maintain; stripping and waxing was required. It was not effective,” MacDonald says. “We replaced it with full noraplan stair treads and tiles on the landings. Thousands of students walk up and down those staircases every day—and they still look fantastic.”

Since testing, the university has used nora in as many areas as possible. MacDonald says, “We’ve installed it in our student health services area and are currently using it in laboratory renovations. We’ve installed it in our three largest libraries.”

Ideal for the most demanding environments, norament grano has proven strength under pressure. It stands up to the toughest workplace conditions without sacrificing style, combining resilient form with supportive function in a palette of over 30 colors that range from cool, calming neutrals to bold, vibrant tones.

www.nora.com

This article originally appeared in the College Planning & Management October 2018 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Indiana University Launches Capital Campus in D.C.

    Indiana University recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new IU Capital Campus in Washington, D.C., according to university news. The eight-story facility will provide a central hub for the university’s existing programs and business operations based in D.C., uniting them under one roof and providing the opportunity to expand.

  • Classical building columns display digital data streams

    The Campus Nervous System: Why Facilities Risk Is Now a Leadership Issue in Higher Education

    Facility performance now intersects with safety, compliance, on-campus experience, institutional reputation, and financial resilience. That places it firmly on the leadership agenda.

  • California High School Opens New Classroom Building for 7th-, 8th-Graders

    Santa Rosa City Schools in Santa Rosa, Calif., recently announced the completion of a new classroom building for Piner High School. As the campus transitions to a Junior/Senior High School, the facility will play home to the school’s new population of seventh- and eighth-grade students.

  • Designing for Every Mind

    Learning environments have the power to shape not just what students know, but who they become. When a school is designed with genuine empathy—for the full range of ways students think, sense, and engage with the world—it becomes more than a building. It becomes a catalyst for growth, confidence, and belonging. That is the animating idea behind neurodiverse design, and it is one that is transforming how more architects and designers are thinking about school design.