The refurbishment of independent opticians and hearing specialists, Leightons, has used Forbo Flooring Systems’ Allura luxury vinyl tile planks alongside a host of other products to create a spacious looking interior that helps to minimise the spread of unwanted noise to the consultation rooms. Subsequently, the design won a Commended award in the Fly Forbo 2016/2017 competition.
Leightons called on SKK Design for the design of their Reading store when it relocated from Oxford Road to the town centre, tasking them to give the branch a new lease of life and adapt the space into something that customers and staff would appreciate. The complete refurbishment saw new ceilings, lights, furniture and flooring throughout the main shop floor, staff areas and consultation rooms.
Andrew Crocker, Managing Director, at SKK Design said: “Allura planks in Light Rustic Oak were used in the main shop floor area, as with customers coming in and out all day, it was important for the floor to be able to withstand heavy footfall and maintain its aesthetics.
“Leightons are specialist audiologists, who are trained to evaluate hearing function and rehabilitation of patients with hearing impairments; therefore we needed appropriate flooring in the audiology and consultation rooms. We chose Tessera Arran, a natural toned, multi-height textured loop pile carpet tile, as it offers 23dB sound impact reduction, helping to reduce noise pollution within the room itself as well as minimise sound transference to neighbouring areas. In addition, Arran is also designed to withstand heavy footfall and look warm and inviting, putting customers at ease.
“We’ve worked with Forbo on previous projects, so we know how reliable the service is, which is why we recommended them to our client. They were always on-hand if we needed them and would pop-in from time-to-time to check everything was running smoothly which we were really pleased with.”
In addition, Coral Classic has been installed in the entrance of the branch in Silver Grey in order to ensure mud and dirt brought into the building is minimised. Independent testing by Cleaning Research International has shown that by installing Forbo’s Coral, up to 95% of dirt and moisture can be removed from the soles of shoes in just six steps, which can reduce cleaning time by up to 65%[1].
Staff areas have been refurbished with the installation of Eternal, a high quality vinyl sheet that has PUR Pearl surface coating for optimal cleaning results and proven appearance retention over time. This was installed in Smoke Palette, an earthy grey tone, which matches the company branding.
Luke Wren, Director of Business Development at Leightons said: “We chose to opt for the grey colours of the flooring throughout the store as it matched perfectly with our brand and logo. We’re also delighted with the new look of the shop floor and the customer feedback has been positive too.”
For more information on Forbo’s dedicated portfolio for the Retail sector please visit www.forbo-flooring.co.uk/retail. To enter this year’s Fly Forbo competition, please visit www.forbo-flooring.co.uk/flyforbo
