Sheppard Robson on flooring specification

How big is the practice?

We have over 250 staff working across offices in London, Manchester, Glasgow and Abu Dhabi.

What sort of projects do you do?

We provide architecture, interior design and masterplanning services across a comprehensive range of typologies. We have particular expertise in the design and delivery of large and complex projects in the residential, education, science and commercial sectors.

What sectors are the busiest?

We have recently won a significant number of projects in the commercial, residential, science, education and hospitality sectors.

What projects are you working on?

Current projects include the fit-out of the BBC’s new headquarters in Salford, Waingels College in Berkshire, Birley Fields campus for Manchester Metropolitan University, Orange at Media City UK and the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital in Johannesburg.

How big is the contribution of flooring to a building’s total environmental impact?

Raised flooring typically represents 4.5% of the embodied energy. Floor finishes would be less but this needs to be balanced against the material life, making the specification of internal finishes including flooring an important consideration that is too often overlooked.

How do you balance aesthetics and durability with sustainability when putting together a flooring specification?

Like any material, you need to balance aesthetics with durability and material life. Almost all materials claim to be sustainable but until we have an industry standard for evaluating the embodied carbon in a material it is difficult for both the specifier and the client to make a measured comparison.

What process do you follow when choosing flooring specifications - for example, how do you evaluate whole-life impacts?

We rely on manufacturers’ information to make these evaluations. As different manufacturers present this in varying formats, evaluations are often difficult and therefore the use of accredited assessment tools such as BRE Environmental Profiles on which the Green Guide is based is important to normalise this information.

There is no substitute for understanding how materials can be, or are, recycled when selecting a product. It is always good to specify a material that sequesters carbon (such as timber, bamboo or cork) or is re-used or recycled in the first place.

By selecting UK manufacturers we can reduce a project’s carbon footprint and support the local design community and economy. Checking that the manufacturing process of the suppliers is locally and sustainably managed is also important.

We aim to use recycled and low embodied energy products wherever possible. We look for products that are “cradle to cradle” - where the materials used in production have been or can be perpetually circulated, in a closed loop, so that the product can either return to the soil or become a new product and not end up on a landfill.

For example:

• Residential - Sisal carpets: foam backing can be removed from the weave, allowing it to be recycled
• Education/workplace: use natural rubber flooring, a naturally sourced rubber from renewable and sustainable sources that can also be recycled at the end of its lifespan
• Linoleum/marmoleum (Forbo) is made from a high proportion of raw materials from renewable resources with high recycled content. Linoleum is also recyclable, so it is a responsible choice due to both its origins and its end-of-life options.

Are there any tools or information that you would like to see to make this job easier?

We would like to see the industry publish information to a recognised format (such as BRE Environmental Profiles).

For fit-out, we’d like to see criteria published for product compliance with the RICS’ Ska Rating. Also, whole-life carbon footprinting is very rare at present for interior products, but needs to increase if the industry is to meet its targets.

We’d also like to see standard labelling of the carbon content of products, allowing the specified materials to be compared like we compare fat content in food.

Is there a cost premium associated with products that have a low whole-life environmental impact and what impact is the downturn having on this?

Our experience in the last two to three years would suggest that this is no longer the case, due to the variety of products in the market in each product type (carpet, linoleum and so on) and the increased competition this has created.

In fact we commonly find that the more sustainable products have had less work done to them and may in fact be cheaper.

Do you investigate the impact of the manufacturing process of individual companies when selecting a particular type of flooring?

As above, we have to rely on subjective review of data produced by manufacturers generally due to the lack of a widely adopted accreditation format.

What’s the big buzzword in flooring specifications at the moment?

It really depends on the project and the overall concept of what we are trying to do for each particular project. We try to avoid interior trends and we design flooring to enhance the design concept and longevity of a fit-out.

Name some recent flooring product innovations that have caught your eye

Bolon Botanic, which is a woven, textured vinyl, tiled, flooring product by Bolon, a Swedish manufacturer. It isn’t the most sustainable floor finish on the market compared with say, marmoleum, due to its makeup being PVC, but it does uses a PVC plasticizer that is modified vegetable oil, in contrast with other PVC products on the market. It’s 100% recyclable - with an available take-back scheme in the UK. The product is currently undergoing BREEAM assessment and the company has ISO 14001 accreditation.

This product is one we have been considering for use in Channel 4’s headquarters in London. We need a floor finish for catering and restaurant areas within Channel 4 that comes in a replaceable tile format, has a combination of bright colours, is very durable, has a decent slip rating and gives us an interesting textured weave. Brightly coloured carpet tiles won’t offer us the same durability, while marmoleum or rubber is too flat. Poured flooring was considered but the cost is prohibitive - value for money is key to the project. Bolon ticks a number of boxes: interesting woven weave options, bright colours combined with durability and the company’s sustainable approach.

This article was originally published under the headline ’On the right path’.