Home to over 17,000 students, the University of Surrey is continually transforming its campus to create inspiring environments. For one of its most recent renovations, the university wanted to create a space to promote student well-being.
Wanting to offer its 17,000+ students a space different from any other on campus, the University of Surrey set about creating an area accessible to all students where they could switch off, temporarily forget about learning, and recharge. Because Interface products help to create positive spaces that impact end-user well-being and reconnect people with each other and nature, it was the perfect manufacturer to supply flooring for the project.
A Space for Reconnecting
The team selected Interface’s Human Connections® to create pathways that resemble moss, stones and paths – elements of greenery found in urban environments. To create an immersive environment, Look Both Ways™ LVT was also used. This collection includes playful patterns while still offering the durability required for high-traffic spaces. The combination of the flooring’s durable wear layer, embossing, and Ceramor™ coating delivers superior surface performance and minimizes scratching.
Human Connections from Interface
Neil Hornsey, Senior Project Manager Planning & Development at the University of Surrey, said “As a university, we have a proud history steeped in innovation and we want to support and inspire our students in every way we can. This means working with partners who are constantly pushing the boundaries of innovation, so Interface’s smart and sustainable flooring was the perfect choice. We understand that the key to well-being for our students is ensuring they have downtime and the opportunity to switch off from the pressures of university life, which is why the creation of the well-being space was so important to us. The space needed to be immersive and elevate well-being, encouraging students to reconnect with each other and with nature. We also wanted to ensure that the space was accessible to everyone. We couldn’t be more grateful to Interface, Morgan Lovell and MPM Flooring for helping us bring to life our vision to life. We now have a space that will help to improve the lives of our students and the world around us.”
Look Both Ways LVT from Interface
Overcoming the challenges
The teams from Morgan Lovell and MPM Flooring were up against the clock with just four weeks during the summer break to complete the flooring installation before the new term started. During this time, the teams had to account for a week of exams in which they could not work throughout the day due to noise restrictions, meaning work had to be completed outside of standard hours.
The easy-to-fit design and format of Interface products means the tiles are simple to lay, replace and maintain. This helped the teams facilitate a coordinated and collaborative approach to the installation.
Despite non-standard patterns, the modular nature of the flooring system enabled the teams to efficiently install the products alongside each other without the need for bridges or connectors. Thanks to these benefits, the project was completed on time and the flooring was installed in just two weeks.
Credit:
Main contractor: Morgan Lovell
Subcontractor: MPM Flooring