Feature: Creative Use of Carpet for Navigation

COLOURFUL CARPET ADDS AESTHETIC APPEAL 

AND DESIGN FLAIR TO WARRINGTON SCHOOL

Pupils at a new primary school in Warrington are benefiting from a unique and eye-catching way of helping them to identify their classrooms, thanks to colourful carpet from Heckmondwike FB.

The new Chapelford Primary School, which replaced the former Sycamore Lane Primary School, had 1000m² of Supacord Fibre Bonded Carpet specified by SBS Architects in 10 different colours to create the vibrant floor design.  Steel Grey was used as the base colour throughout the school, whilst Magenta, Violet, Blue, Willow (Green), Aquamarine, Heather, Purple Amethyst and Mulberry were used as accent colours in the corridors and throughout all 14 classrooms. 

In such a large school, with over 300 pupils, the colourful design will help pupils to identify their classrooms whilst walking along the corridors, which are known as ‘learning streets.’ 

Peter Marshall, Architect at SBS Architects, said: “We wanted to create a vibrant design which would make it easier for pupils to find their way around the school, both inside and out.  We chose Supacord because it is available in the most vibrant array of colours allowing us to match the carpet with the external walls of the classrooms, which are visible from the playground, and making it easier for pupils to navigate the new school building.”

By using bright contrasting colours to create striking designs throughout the school, SBS Architects was also able to clearly communicate the purpose of each area to pupils and teachers and provide structure to the large open plan areas.

The connection between the classrooms and zonal areas in the corridors also encourages pupils to take ownership of the space and it is hoped that this will help to prevent bullying in the school.  The acoustic properties of Supacord will reduce noise levels in the corridors during busy periods and the clear navigational design will help to avoid congestion, keeping disruption in the school to a minimum and maintaining a relaxed and engaging atmosphere for the pupils.  Supacord is widely specified for education buildings because it is renowned for its durability, helping to withstand areas of heavy wear and tear. Supacord also offers anti-slip & antistatic properties, both of which are a major concern for schools which are looking to protect their students and their equipment.

The robust properties of fibre bonded carpet, which will not ravel or fray, allowed contractors CMC Flooring to cut the Supacord carpet on site to create the individual flooring designs, reducing the cost of installation.

Peter Marshall added: “The flooring was an important design feature of the school and so it was vital for the carpet to be high-quality and durable, to ensure that it retains its appearance and won’t be costly for the school to maintain.”  Supacord has been assessed by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) and has gained a BRE Global A+ environmental rating for use in school buildings, offices and retail outlets, which will help the school to achieve its target of a BREEAM Very Good rating.

Heckmondwike FB carpets and carpet tiles are available with full technical support, as part of the service.  All fibre bonded products are manufactured by Heckmondwike FB at its base in West Yorkshire, where the company is fully certified to ISO 14001, as part of its commitment to sustainability.

Heckmondwike FB is one of the leading carpet suppliers to the education, commercial and public sectors and is well-known for the excellent value, durability and high performance of its products. 

Sample cards for Supacord are available on request by calling +44 [0] 1924 413637 or visiting the website www.heckmondwike-fb.co.uk.

Article by Marina Wood / Rebecca Coupe

Dragonfly PR,

Tel: 01709 300130  

Email: marina@dragonflypr.co.uk / rebecca@dragonflypr.co.uk

Using Colour to Zone Your School

Creative use of colour can help to define areas of your school; not only does this give departments a visual identity but helps visitors and students to navigate their way around your buildings.

A vivid colour applied to this landing space creates a unique identity

Vinyl type and colour coding is used here as directional signage and to create departmental branding

Available from http://www.graphics-direct.co.uk

In this block landing areas and furniture have their own colour coding and are used as break out spaces

This outdoor staircase creates a welcoming access area to an upper floor

Seating now comes in a large variety of options, use different styles and colours to define learning areas

If you run a House system use coloured seating for events and assemblies

A great article on innovative school building designs by Oana Anghelache

http://landarchs.com/top-ten-innovative-school-designs/

Creative Seating for Schools & Libraries

Your school library or an open corridor can be a great break-out area where students can explore on their own terms. Create a space where your pupils are both motivated and comfortable by exploring new seating options; kids love sitting on the floor or making dens so why not give them the creative environments they love?  Some of the world's largest business corporations such as Virgin, Google and Sony have invested in refreshing, lively office spaces using beanbags and trendy interior design because their staff enjoy working in these environments and so they are happier and more productive.

Top Ten Tips for Great School Displays

1. Design for the 21st Century - make your displays relevant to students’ experiences and use modern graphics
2. Keep it simple - don’t fill your display with too many facts, faced with a board full of text students are less likely to look at all
3. Ask questions - get your students to think more about the display by adding 3 or 4 questions
4. Use quality resources - if you are searching images on Google to use in your display, always select ‘Large’ in the Search tools option; poor quality graphics will undermine your work.
5. Keep it big - use a large font size so that your information can be read at a distance and by people on the move
6. Keep changing - once students are familiar with a display it becomes ‘invisible’ so make sure you keep your room looking fresh by updating on a regular basis
7. Think outside the box - use portable boards to use open spaces for your display, or ask your local library if you can display a project there
8. Enhance - place a table infront of your display with relevant books and items of interest or samples of previous work
9. Key Words - reinforce learning by adding key words to your display, use a variety of colours and font styles for these words, it will help visual learners to remember them
10. Review - ask your students if they liked the display, whether it motivated them and if they learned from it; use their feedback to improve in the future!

For more information or to download our guide to educational displays check out our website: http://www.graphix-direct.co.uk