As part of a bold vision for the City of Newport’s new public service centre - Information Station - Council Architects’ specified a range of floor coverings from Forbo Flooring Systems to contribute to the vibrant and inviting environment of the historic railway building.
Newport City Council took the decision to re-design the existing Contacts Centre for public services, to create a new face for the area.
The new Information Station aims to bring together the local and wider community into one main hub. This has formed the main ethos of the project; establishing a new working relationship between the council, the voluntary services and the public, to help with the regeneration of the area.
“The Information Station is designed to serve Newport’s residents and is the public face of Newport City Council, all realised by a determined team made up of the client, designers and suppliers,” explains the project’s designer, Andrew Herrington, Architectural Technician at Newport City Council. “It’s really a one-stop shop, where members of the public can talk to council staff about a range of issues from planning permission to child protection and everything in between.”
The old and derelict Newport train station building offered the perfect solution, ensuring the large structure would not be left to ruin whilst providing an impressive community space, full of character.
“The building is the old Newport Station booking hall, which has been fully converted and refurbished. It’s a five-storey building and in the heyday of the railways, upstairs was home to a fabulous restaurant, with First, Second and Third Class waiting rooms on the upper floors. Our brief was simple - to rationalise building use and services in to one open and useable location,” explains Andrew.
The refurbishment has resulted in the ground floor housing the customer facing area, with meeting rooms and breakout areas on the first floor. Forbo’s Tessera Barcode carpet tiles in the branch line colourway, were installed in all the office areas for an all-over linear effect. The chosen design features five individual tonal and contrasting shades of earthy brown, burnt orange and lemon, which brought a warm and welcoming feel to the area and complemented the orange colour pop furniture perfectly.
The distinctive Tessera Alignment range, with its bold directional theme, was installed in the breakout areas for superior aesthetics and durability.
The nocturn colourway offers a charcoal grey and black effect, which is tempered by the introduction of intersecting random blocks of rich cut pile.
To complement this, the practical, yet sophisticated look of Flex Design in a wood effect lent itself to providing a resilient surface for all refreshment spaces. The result is a practical and contrasting floor section that flows into other textured areas.
Meanwhile, Surestep safety flooring was installed in all washroom sections, meeting slip resistance requirements, presenting a tough, long lasting and extremely wear resistant floor covering. This modular approach to the design works perfectly in this application, with products mixing easily with other materials, whilst still satisfying the particular performance requirements of each area.
Providing variety, choice and flexibility, Forbo’s range of modular products makes it easier to mix and match multiple sizes, styles and formats of tiles. The portfolio is colour coordinated across the product ranges including vinyl, linoleum, textiles, Flotex and entrance systems, offering complete design freedom for multiple application areas within one project.
Finally, to guarantee a lasting first impression, a personalised entrance mat featuring the Council logo was installed. Forbo’s Coral logo is a bespoke service for those looking to make a striking impact from the outset. The clean-off entrance system not only stops dirt and moisture entering the building, but also allows for designers to express signage and corporate identity at the same time.
“Strong uplifting colours were chosen to help encourage a positive environment – there was definitely a sense of design with strict avoidance of magnolia, creams, beiges and institutional colours in general,” Andrew concludes. “It was our aspiration that through vibrancy and the correct selection of fixtures and fittings, all visitors would have a good experience in the Information Station and we like to believe we have been successful.”
