KARNDEAN Designflooring, which describes itself as the UK’s market leader in luxury vinyl flooring, has introduced ‘a comfortable human scale experience to an uncompromisingly modern office building with a soft industrial style bespoke floor that complements the large open-plan space and reflects its iconic cityscape views’.

The company continues: ‘With an unrivalled panorama across the city, Argyll’s Nova North offers a prestigious office environment in the heart of London’s Victoria. Looking to reimagine part of the building to provide high end office and coworking spaces, Argyll opted for a clean minimalist look with a focus on acoustic benefits.

Karndean partnered with interior designer Emma Turner to create a high-end coworking space and lounge area in what was previously an underused bar area on the double height mezzanine 11th floor. Says the company: ‘Combining the practicality of Karndean LooseLay with the versatility of its Opus glue-down range, the bespoke floor balances the industrial nature of the building with timeless elegance and ensures the updated interior is instantly understandable so customers can easily identify how to best use and navigate the space.’

Fleur Carson, commercial sales director at Karndean Designflooring, said: ‘Karndean flooring is a perfect choice for busy workplaces. With an authentic look of stone flooring but without any of the downsides, Karndean offers a tough surface for high traffic areas that’s undemanding when it comes to maintenance. Its consistent thickness makes it eminently suitable for bespoke designs, either by blending complementary stone designs as at Nova North or even combining wood and stone designs alongside each other.

‘As part of the project proposal, our design service graphically conceptualised the flooring within the interior, simulating every detail of the user experience so that the client could visualise the end result. By specifying a combination of glue-down and looselay formats, we have been able to provide the triple benefits of a practical durable surface, bespoke design and superior acoustic benefits.’

With a paired back scheme in shades of warm grey and natural biophilic elements in tune with the building and its locality, the bespoke floor features what’s described as a clean look of poured concrete alongside a statement 3D tile effect.

Emma Turner explained: ’It was clear the design of the 10th and 11th mezzanine floors had to start and finish with the spectacular views across central London. It was important the interior should not distract from what lies outside the windows but feel at one with the skyline.

‘This defined how the space was split into different activity zones, how we orientated seating and also set the colour palette.’

Continues Karndean: ‘The multidimensional pattern of Cubix from Karndean’s Kaleidoscope range has been created with three shades of grey from the Opus range, Mico, Luna and Ombra. These striking geometric lines have brought the coworking area to life, introducing interest and depth to balance the clean angles of the bold contemporary building.

‘Sitting alongside this working zone, Quebec from the Karndean LooseLay range creates a restful seating area and walkway to the board room at the rear of the mezzanine. Opting for extra-large scale tiles (1,000mm x 1,000mm) in a block pattern has resulted in a seamless poured concrete effect that’s highly realistic.

‘With sustainability high on the agenda, many of the existing features were repurposed and upcycled within the new design. The large back bar has been remodeled as a kitchenette, painted in charcoal grey to harmonise with the black industrial staircase, while some of the lighting has been reused and other joinery reinvented within coworking stations.

‘The durability of Karndean flooring is integral to meeting the project’s sustainability targets. Using a looselay format along the main walkway, where wear-and-tear is heaviest, is an effective strategy as each tile can be re-lifted and replaced if necessary, thus reducing waste over the lifespan of the interior.’

Emma concluded: ’The floor was the key element for the mezzanine level. We’re delighted how the Cubix introduces a sense of fun and breaks up the huge floorspace with an interesting pattern yet also links together the elements of the colour palette without overpowering the overall effect. The mezzanine floor now feels comfortable despite being a large open area and the more time you spend there, the calmer and more positive you feel.’
www.karndean.com