Eureka! The National Children’s Museum

A bright and lively Marmoleum design created using Aquajet water cutting technology has injected a shot of playful colour into the new “All About Me” gallery at Eureka! The National Children’s Museum.

Bright colours from our sheet and tile collections, pre-cut to a design developed by At Large Museum & Exhibition Designers, have been expertly installed by Paynters Flooring Service of Shipley in West Yorkshire, UK. The Aquajet cutting service was also used to produce the white and pink ‘me’ flooring motifs situated around the gallery. Eureka! has had more than six million visitors since opening in 1992 and needed redevelopment and new exhibition content to bring it back to life. At Large Architect Ned Phillips commented: “Everything within the space had to be of the highest quality in terms of aesthetics and materials. The museum required a floor design that reflected the lively nature and playfulness of the gallery and by using Forbo’s Marmoleum we made the flooring a stand out feature for the attraction.”

David Loud, Estimator at Paynters, said: “When I saw the brief for Eureka! I knew Marmoleum would fit the bill perfectly, allowing us freedom to be creative with patterns and designs to produce real character and presence within the gallery”. The contractor’s experience with Marmoleum paid off as David mentioned: “We suggested to At Large that we use tiles instead of sheet Marmoleum on one of the linear designs as it would substantially reduce the overall cost and installation time, whilst still maintaining the desired design and appearance.” Made from 97% natural raw materials, Marmoleum is coated with Topshield pro, a double layer water-based finish that protects against scuffing and dirt as well as resisting stains and chemicals, helping to minimise maintenance requirements. Marmoleum is also the only resilient floor covering to have been awarded the ‘Seal of Approval’ from Allergy UK helping the museum to create a healthier indoor environment for its thousands of visitors.

“We have around 275,000 visitors a year, so we knew we required an imaginative product that offered the highest quality in terms of design and durability. Forbo’s Marmoleum was perfect for this project, as it enabled us to be creative with the flooring, as well as meeting our practical hygiene and cleaning requirements.”

Tudor Gwynn, Eureka!’ Projects Director