Centre for Life

With contemporary aesthetics, the ability to withstand heavy footfall and quick installation, Forbo’s Marmoleum Modular ticked all the boxes for the Life café situated in the International Centre for Life in Newcastle. What’s more, with the science centre receiving hundreds of thousands of visitors per year, many of whom are school children, the Allergy UK Approved floor covering was the perfect fit. Forbo’s contribution didn’t stop there, with the company’s acoustic solution Sarlon chosen for the entrance area of the building and the unique Flotex flocked flooring - in the ‘Bacteria’ pattern from the Ettore Sottsass range - installed in the DNA science block, in keeping with the theme.

Ian Gowland, Designer at Big Blue Interior Design, recommended and specified the flooring due to his past experience with Forbo and Marmoleum. He said: “The centre attracts around 250,000 people annually, with the café in particular very popular. As such, when the centre decided to refurbish the area, I knew it required a floor covering that would stand the test of time in terms of durability and aesthetics.

“I told my client about the many benefits of Marmoleum, including how it is designed to cope with heavy footfall and the fact that it comes in a variety of colours, patterns and formats – which meant that we could create any type of design – and as such, they were very happy with the option.”

Marmoleum Modular provides users with the ability to experiment with colour and design. It is available in 61 shades and patterns and five different tile sizes, giving specifiers the freedom to create individual, inspiring and high performance flooring designs. For the Centre of Life, Marmoleum Modular in Rocky Ice, Cliffs of Moher and Trace of Nature colourways were chosen and installed in a random pattern.

Liz Dean, Trading and Operations Director at Centre for Life said: “We’re so glad that Ian from Big Blue Design recommended that we use Forbo’s flooring for the centre; it not only looks great, but it’s performance is second to none! It is able to withstand the heavy footfall from all of our visitors on a daily basis, whilst retaining its good looks.”