Education spaces

By addressing the key focuses of designing with neurodiversity in mind and being able to fit for the exact purpose, we can address these core concerns through our products. The conventional wisdom on education, and how and where it takes place, is everchanging, so adaptability is key in design. One area where change has taken place is in biophilic design. This is where the use of natural shades and tones helps bring the outside in for a more organic feel in these environments.

This sort of design principal has been found to be beneficial in providing spaces for those with autism or Social Emotional Mental Health (SEMH) needs. Light and airy wood effect flooring can go a long way to bridging this gap with nature providing a homely aesthetic ideal for school or nursery flooring. Adhesive-free can and do just that thanks to its array of wood style finishes that elevate classrooms and playrooms whilst also offering up the reassurance of one in a million-slip resistance. With a 14dB noise reduction and additional comfort under foot, it’s perfect for active play areas, and its low residual indentation means it can withstand the rigours of constant footfall alongside scraped chairs and tables.

Colour can also play an important part in educational spaces with bright and bold shades helping to spark imagination and foster creativity, whilst softer pallets may offer a more calming and relaxed atmosphere. This also plays a very important role in designing for neurodiversity as neurodiverse students have been found to experience colour more intensely. Muted pastel tones can be more soothing to people with autism, whilst browns and beiges have been found to help balance out strong emotions and allow greater interaction with areas and items of those colour palettes.

In fact, soft blues and greens have been found to reduce anxiety and stress. Altro Suprema is a safety flooring, available in a variety of stylish colours inspired by modern trends. As such, you can choose the ambience you want from it, as it offers a non-sparkling, low-gloss finish that is ideal for busy classrooms. Its superior resistance to stains means dirt and mud traipsed in on shoes can be easily cleaned off at the end of the day.

It’s advanced cleaning technology means that dirt sits on top of it and can be simply wiped away. Looking great and being easy to maintain term after term makes it great for higher education settings, such as college or university flooring. Abrasion and scratch resistance also ensure durability and longevity, make it an excellent choice for environments with high foot traffic and frequent use, especially in areas that are going to see shoe scuffs, dropped book bags, and all sorts of dirt, grime and potential damage.

Adhesive-free flooring particularly excels in education spaces due to a variety of factors. It’s lack of downtime after installation means that any space that it is fitted in can be used straight away without distracting or harmful adhesive smells. It can also be easily lifted and reused, or recycled at the end of its lifecycle, maximising its cost-effectiveness and making it a more environmentally conscious option.

In terms of sustainability, Altro adhesive-free floors, our vinyl floors and wall cladding products are compliant with HEA02 Indoor Air Quality under the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), the world's leading environmental certification scheme that sets the standard for best practice in sustainable building design. As students and staff spend so much time inside a school or university building, we take air quality seriously: our floors have undergone rigorous external volatile organic compound (VOCs) testing and are proven compliant with national and international air quality schemes.

With comprehensive safety regulations across primary and secondary schools, finding solutions that meet these needs and will be cost effective over time is of the utmost importance. From making sure you have the required 30-point light reflectance value difference between floors and walls, by combining products such as Altro Whiterock™ Satins with any of Altro’s non-sparkle safety flooring, to making sure you have safe disability access ramps. A safety floor that can deal with wheeled traffic and offers our highest level of slip resistance, Altro Stronghold™ 30 is ideal for this as it ensures users can move safely and independently. With fourteen colour choices you can also easily find a shade that contrasts with surroundings so that the change in surface or gradient is clear.

Altro Whiterock hygienic doorsets feature PVCu facing, ensuring durability and impact resistance while also maintaining high hygiene standards and requiring minimal maintenance. For further protection, they can also include Altro Fortis Titanium which offers durable defence for walls, doors and corners in busy areas. Impervious and easy to maintain, busy public areas really benefit from the extra protection from bumps, scrapes and bashes. They also come in the all the shades of Altro Whiterock Satins and Altro Whiterock Chameleon, to match or contrast the adjacent walls.