FLOORS from IVC Commercial have helped to transform a ‘pop up’ style breakout area for the reception of the University of Plymouth’s Roland Levinsky Building.
Designed by third-year students at the University of Plymouth’s interior design course, the breakout space of the Roland Levinsky Building features in the large ground floor atrium and is home to a ‘pop up’ style café housed in a converted shipping container. Along with relaxed seating and café tables the breakout provides a destination and meet-up spot for the surrounding lecture theatres, Art Institute and Jill Craigie Cinema.
IVC Commercial’s Luxury Vinyl Tiles were used throughout the area in a layout that involves a bold, abstract flooring design. Made from hardwearing Moduleo 55 Desert Crayola, Desert Stone and Moduleo 55 Expressive Shades, the floor is an important element of the space with users involved directly in its design.
Jonathan Forster, award leader of Spatial and Interior Design degree courses, explains: ‘With a brief to reflect the creative nature of the course housed in the building, I thought it was important to engage the key users – the students themselves – in the creation of the space so that we created a design that felt right from their perspective.’
In developing the flooring scheme, the students had to consider the atrium’s existing concrete floor and the view from above, which provided an opportunity to make a statement. They used an abstract geometric layout to break down the spaces using colour to highlight access routes. Working from a wide selection of LVT floors available from IVC Commercial, the student team was inspired by the creativity of the Studio Moods range, but selected Desert Crayola, Desert Stone and Impressive Shades designs to enable the colour block idea they were developing.
All from IVC Commercial’s 55 LVTs specification, these floors deliver what IVC calls ‘a hardwearing and easy to maintain Protectonite finish suitable for heavy use’. Made in Belgium from 50% recycled content and using renewable energy from IVC Commercial’s own wind turbines, the floors are a solution to the challenge of the busy space.
The floors were fitted on IVC Commercial’s Flex Pro self-adhesive underlay, which, claims IVC, allows for quick installation without damage to the polished concrete subfloor; IVC also says that it will be easy to uplift the floor in the future and adapt the space to any change of use.
Jordan Chidgey, member of the project design team responsible for the abstract design, reveals his thought behind the layout: ‘I took the brief quite literally, with the idea of the breakout space inspired by shards of broken and fragmented glass. Using harsh edges maintained the brutalist feel of the concrete with the colour choice and texture providing a degree of relief.’
Approximately 210 sq m of IVC Commercial Luxury Vinyl Tiles were installed by Roberts Flooring, a contractor that operates across the South West. Jonathan Forster and the students worked closely with IVC Commercial to develop the scheme, with the University of Plymouth’s estates team approving the materials and installation methods.
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