Commercial Building Products - May 2015 - 18

PROJECT

interiors

Above. Added cushion underfoot quickly impressed students
and staff accustomed to the hard concrete ﬂoor in the old labs.
Left. The Ekeley Sciences Building in Boulder, CO, was erected in the 1970s. Outdated everything, from fume hoods to
ﬂooring, inspired the university to create modern labs as part
of a long-anticipated renovation.

Science Lab Renovation From The Floor Up
Safety, stain resistance, durability, and comfort
were important considerations in ﬂooring choice.

he Univ. of Colorado Boulder's Ekeley Sciences

the selection of the ﬂoorcovering," said Hill. "We were

custodial services. So, we try to stretch our dollars by us-

Building was decades overdue for a renovation.

spending a lot of money, and we knew it would be anoth-

ing products that are easy to maintain and require fewer

Updating the 40-plus-yr.-old building, which

er 30 years before we could renovate again. So, we wanted

chemicals," explained Hill.

housed ﬁve stories of teaching labs, research labs, and rec-

it to last; we wanted it to be durable."

Added cushion underfoot quickly impressed students

itation rooms, tasked the university with ﬁnding materi-

Tad Koch, Ph.D., professor emeritus, further ex-

and staff accustomed to the hard concrete ﬂoor in the old

als that supported new, safe, and modern learning spaces.

plained, saying, "Chemicals that may get spilled in the

labs. "The new ﬂooring seems a lot more forgiving on the

When it came to selecting a new ﬂoor, Larry Hill, proj-

course of a day include acetone, which the students use to

knees," said Jacqueline Richardson, Ph.D., director of the

ect manager, said, "We wanted something that was going

rinse glassware, as well as acids and bases. Our lab director

organic-chemistry teaching labs. Hill mirrored her obser-

to be durable, even after years and years of wear." The

tested nora to see how resistant it was to the things that we

vation, adding, "I think it's much more comfortable, espe-

university also required enhanced stain resistance,

commonly use in the organic lab, and it held up quite

cially for users when they have long periods of lab use."

prompting the chemistry department to conduct its own

well."

The university is pleased with the outcome. "This is a

stain testing on several different ﬂooring samples. Hill

"Acoustics were also particularly important, because

modern lab. The safety and health of the people who

shared, "That was the ultimate test-what stained the most

the labs are naturally noisy from the fume hoods," added

work and study in that space is just leaps and bounds be-

or the least from commonly used lab chemicals-and

Koch. "The ﬂoorcovering met that need better than any-

yond what it was before," said Hill. CBP

based on that, we chose noraplan environcare from Nora

thing else we looked at."

Systems Inc., Salem, NH."

In addition to the labs, the ﬂooring is important in

The Ekeley Sciences Building was originally erected in

other areas of the building, including recitation rooms

the 1970s and hadn't been touched since. Outdated every-

and corridors. Denise Thomas, building manager, said,

thing, from fume hoods to ﬂooring, ﬁlled the space and

"We have a lot of activity with pallets and carts moving

inspired the university to create sustainable, modern labs

through our corridors, so having a ﬂoor that can with-

as part of the long-anticipated renovation.

stand all that extra weight and trafﬁc is very important."

"In this project, we were concerned about safety, slip

With regard to maintenance, the ﬂooring's reduced

and stain resistance, and comfort [versus the old concrete

cleaning regimen, requiring little more than water, repre-

ﬂoor]. But ultimately, long-term maintainability and du-

sented a signiﬁcant beneﬁt to the university. "We have

rability in a chemistry lab setting was the driving force for

very limited funding on this campus for maintenance and

COMMERCI A L BUIL DING P RODUC T S

MAY 2015

cbpmagazine.com

Want more information? The resources
below are linked in our digital magazine at
cbpmagazine.com/digital/may2015.

Circle 5 on the Reader Service Card.
Download a spec sheet.
Watch installation videos.

http://www.cbpmagazine.com/digital/may2015 https://www.cdsreportnow.com/bgs/search?CBP0005201505 http://www.nora.com/us/products/flooring/noraplan/product/environcare/?id=4856 http://www.nora.com/us/installation-maintenance/how-to-videos/installation-videos/ http://www.cbpmagazine.com

Commercial Building Products - May 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Commercial Building Products - May 2015