Real design freedom
August, 2022
TRANSPRESS
The floor covering is a crucial element of a safe, comfortable and aesthetically pleasing interior on any rail passenger vehicle. There are several practical factors that must be considered when choosing the best floor covering type, such as the type of rail vehicle (e.g. intercity high speed, commuter, light rail), the quantity and frequency of passenger traffic and what entrance systems are in place to protect the internal floor coverings and finishes.
“Generally speaking, rail vehicles carry thousands of people every year, so floor coverings need to be robust and durable to ensure that they can withstand frequent use, while still maintaining their aesthetic appearance for many years,” explains Holmes. “Some areas will be more prone to dirt, moisture or spillages, such as entrances, dining carriages or buffet cars. Hence, floor coverings in these spaces must be simple to clean and maintain. Alternatively, they should feature a texture, pattern or colour that would easily hide any soiling until it can be cleaned.”
When it comes to the aesthetic appearance of the floor coverings, Forbo Flooring Systems’ team is primarily guided by the clients’ design briefs, which outline preferred colour schemes and the ambience they want to evoke within the space.
“We want our floor coverings to be aesthetically appealing in their own right and to complement the overall interior design scheme,” says Holmes. “We achieve this by linking the patterns and colours to other decorative elements within the space. For instance, when we designed a floor coverings for a recent rail project, we sought inspiration from what seat fabrics and colours were being used, the colour of wall coverings and other furnishings, as well as an understanding from the designer, regards what type of ambience the client wanted to create .”
In order to create innovative designs that meet clients’ specific requirements, Forbo Flooring Systems has wide array of floor covering products to choose from. Within the portfolio are Coral FR textile entrance systems, Marmoleum FR2 linoleum floorings, Coral Move FR cut pile carpets and Flotex FR, unique, textile flocked floor coverings.
So what is so unique about Flotex FR?
Flotex FR has a smooth velour-like surface that looks and feels like a carpet but has the durability and cleaning properties of resilient flooring. It is warm and comfortable underfoot, absorbs sound and offers slip resistance in both wet and dry conditions. It is a durable yet lightweight product compared to most textiles, at approximately 1225 gram/m2, thus helping to reduce the overall weight of the carriage.
The unique construction of Flotex FR flocked flooring is what allows it to release soiling like no other textile flooring. Unlike the looped and twisted fibres of a conventional carpet tile, the smooth straight fibres of Flotex FR do not trap particles of soil, allowing them to be removed without difficulty during cleaning. Most spills can be cleaned with plain water and the impervious backing makes it suitable for thorough wet cleaning. Due to its unique construction, Flotex is the only textile to carry the Allergy UK Seal of Approval™.
According to Holmes, the biggest benefit of Flotex FR is that it can be easily customised with different patterns and colours using Forbo Flooring Systems’ rotary or digital printing technology. “Flotex FR is the perfect high-density textile substrate for printing complex designs and vibrant colourways in a high-definition photographic resolution,” he says. “We have a library of more than 500 Flotex Vision FR design options.”
“Digital printing allows us to easily produce customised floor coverings, logos and bespoke designs that fulfil our clients’ specific project requirements perfectly,” explains Holmes. “For example, I was asked recently to create a Flotex FR design that matched with a custom design being created for our Marmoleum FR2 linoleum product. Thanks to the digital print capability, we were able to create a brilliant match on Flotex FR as we saw on the resilient product, keeping aesthetic consistency throughout the rail vehicle from the resilient to textile areas.
“Thanks to its incredible versatility, designers worldwide consider Flotex FR as the ideal blank canvas for demonstrating their creativity.”