Australia is currently facing rapid population growth and unprecedented pressure on an aging educational infrastructure. By 2026 an expected 650,000 new students will occupy our schools, necessitating the construction of up to 750 new schools across the country to accommodate this influx. However, with that comes a new set of challenges for Australian designers, with the specialised demands of educational spaces coming to the fore, such as floor layout and furniture selection and fit out.
A new whitepaper published by rubber flooring experts Nora Systems sheds light on another of those areas: flooring. While a relatively simple design choice for smaller scale projects, the public, highly trafficked nature of educational spaces demands careful consideration of flooring to ensure the occupants’ wellbeing and that the spaces themselves remain functional for years to come.
The whitepaper goes into the rising demand for well-designed educational infrastructure, before highlighting the five most important factors associated with the choice of flooring in an educational project, and the consequences should they be disregarded; revolving around issues of health, functionality, sustainability and practicality. With many of the risks associated with poor flooring choice remaining hidden until well after the damage has been done, it is crucial for designers and specifiers to equip themselves with the knowledge necessary for delivering successful educational environments.
To find out more about the key considerations for specifying flooring systems in educational projects, click the link below to download Top of the class: A specifier’s guide to flooring in educational environments.
