The Scottish Futures Trust is a national body committed to saving taxpayers’ money by ‘delivering the best possible value’ in the public sector.
So when it joined forces with Scotland’s Schools for the Future programme to deliver a new generation of top class teaching facilities across the country, it was expected to find the very best products at prices the public sector could afford.
Eastwood High School in Newton Mearns, Renfrewshire, was one of the first schools to be built under the initiative and opened to pupils in August 2013. Light and airy, with classrooms wrapped around a central atrium and hub, the school is home to more than 1,200 students by day and offers a wide range of facilities for community use after hours.
With so many people passing through, architects Cooper Cromar insisted on a flooring that looked fantastic, but was supremely hard-wearing and easy to clean, as well as having excellent anti-slip properties. Ian Churcher, Architectural Technologist at Cooper Cromar, turned to international vinyl flooring specialist Gerflor.
After consultation with the company, Ian Churcher specified from the Tarasafe range of specialist slip-resistant vinyl safety flooring. Inlaid with mineral crystals for a light, bright appearance, and with a tough PVC wearlayer, it is also impregnated with Sanosol fungistatic and bacteriostatic treatment for optimum hygiene and easy maintenance.
As the crystals are made of mineral, rather than using the Carborundum particle, Tarasafe is 100 per cent recyclable, which was a positive factor in the project acquiring BREEAM certification. And because the mineral crystals make Tarasafe weigh less than before, it is faster to fit, while knife blades stay sharper for longer.
Having chosen Tarasafe Style in caviar and Tarasafe Ultra in pebble and granite for the majority of the school, Ian Churcher had two final considerations. He explained: “There are no suspended ceilings in the classrooms, just the exposed concrete slabs with the lights suspended below.
"Suspended ceilings hide a multitude of sins, but they also suppress noise. Therefore rooms above teaching spaces below had to be upgraded with acoustic flooring to minimise disruption from people walking or tapping feet."
Gerflor provided the answer. As well as its hard-wearing safety qualities, Tarasafe Ultra Comfort is a specialist acoustic product with VHD closed cell foam backing giving up to 16dB of sound insulation.
The second consideration was ease of cleaning of 9,000m² of flooring. Ian Churcher specified Gerflor’s unique SparClean treatment. Designed to form a completely smooth surface between the mineral chips, it doesn’t impair the anti-slip performance, but eliminates dirt traps.