Rubber flooring products combine sustainable advantages, striking design elements, and innovative technical properties to meet the flooring challenges posed by today’s schools, colleges and educational facilities. Rubber flooring offers a number of advantages in classrooms in terms of hygiene, cleanliness and indoor air quality (IAQ).

Colorful insets of noraplan stone in the floor coordinate with clouds suspended from the ceiling to create a feeling of whimsy in Lenape Meadows School.

In a school setting where there is high foot traffic, rubber flooring doesn’t wear easily. It is resistant to traffic patterns as well as indentations from desks, tables, chairs and miscellaneous equipment, extending the life of the flooring.

A large stylized turtle, designed in the floor, guides children down Riverwalk and past the Elementary Institute of Science and Technology Learning Center’s 500-gallon freshwater aquarium.

If someone spills a drink or drops a piece of food, rubber flooring is easy to clean using a wet mop and mild pH-neutral cleaning product. With fewer cleaning agents being used, educational facilities have better IAQ, since fewer VOCs are emitted and there are no unpleasant odors. Another maintenance advantage of rubber flooring is that it does not require coating or waxing, which eliminates the need to strip or rewax the floor later in the maintenance cycle. These benefits also decrease labor and cleaning supply costs. Chemical and stain resistance also make rubber flooring the perfect application for cafeterias, multipurpose rooms and laboratories, where spills are common.

A floor aglow with a brightly colored sun greets children as they approach the astronomy lab at the Elementary Institute of Science and Technology Learning Center.

Some rubber flooring products meet IAQ requirements making them even more desirable for classroom settings. For example, nora rubber flooring products are GREENGUARD IAQ Certified, which contributes to improved public health and quality of life. nora products are also GREENGUARD Certified for Children and Schools. This scientific standard protects school children from exposure to high levels of potentially harmful VOCs by certifying low-emitting products for use in school buildings and daycare facilities.

Tube lights reminiscent of pickup sticks in the lobby of the Elementary Institute of Science and Technology Learning Center are reflected in the colorful flooring patterns that greet visitors to the center.

nora rubber flooring is also completely free of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), plasticizers and halogens. The advantage of floor coverings that do not contain any PVCs is that no hydrochloric gas is produced in the event of fire, and no corrosive hydrochloric acid results from contact with water, used to extinguish the fire. In addition, no toxic halogenated dioxins and furans are produced, further contributing to better IAQ.

The intricate “Circle of Friends” medallion uses nora rubber flooring to tell the story of cultural diversity that is so much a part of the Elementary Institute of Science and Technology Learning Center.

When it is time to remove a nora rubber flooring product, the options for disposal include recycling. nora products reuse production scraps, such as die-cut trim and sanding dust, and can be recycled and used in landing mats, industrial or stable mats and coverings for sports arenas. When recycling is not an option, nora rubber flooring can be disposed of easily in landfills according to local, state and federal regulations and policies. The absence of PVCs ensures that no harmful plasticizers, halogens or dioxins will seep into the ground water.

The floor medallion “Bees in the Honeycomb” is a stunning tribute to Elementary Institute of Science founder and bee lover, Tom Watts.

Rubber flooring addresses issues such as wear resistance, hygiene, IAQ and environmental friendliness. Rubber flooring products also offer designers a number of options for creativity. When combined with modern installation and cutting techniques, the flooring can also become a communication tool, highlighting traffic paths, meeting points, entrances and other areas of educational buildings that require special emphasis.