Bespoke butterfly floor design for mother and baby unit

Published: 4-Jun-2018

Forbo Flooring Systems' Sphera range installed at Glan Clwyd Hospital

Calming colours and patterns have helped to create a special environment for mothers and babies at Glan Clwyd Hospital in Wales.

Forbo Flooring Systems’ new Sphera Element has been specified throughout the mother and baby unit due to its bright and fresh appearance, high performance, and durability.

Easy to work with, the Sphera sheets were laid throughout the unit and hand cut to shape to create butterfly designs.

Cristina Tegolo, designer at IBI Group, who designed the ward, said: “The unit is for mothers and their babies that are born sick or premature, from 27 weeks to full term and therefore in need of hospital care.

“Because of this, we of course needed to create a sense of calm and warmth.

“We created the butterfly flooring design to complement the wall art, which is a forest-like scene of trees and the hospital really loved it.

“I had previously been introduced to Forbo’s new Sphera collection and its ability to be cut into shapes to create bespoke designs, so it was the perfect choice for the project.

“We opted for a plain and clean-looking base colour, Mortar, then for the various butterflies we chose Teal, a mustard-like shade Amber, and Yellow Green, a bright green colour.”

These colours were chosen for the butterfly pattern due to them having serene connotations flowing throughout the corridors and into the equipment rooms, acting as an aesthetically-pleasing wayfinding tool.

The first of three brand new homogeneous vinyls to be produced in Forbo’s new custom-built £17m factory, Sphera Element is long lasting, as the SMART-top (Sustainable, Modern, Advanced, Robust Technology) surface finish ensures that it has a high resistance to chemicals, scratches and stains – perfect for a hospital environment.

It also delivers bright and saturated hues, resulting in striking colour tones, many with high light reflection values (LRV). Moreover, it can contribute to a healthy indoor environment, thanks to its phthalate-free manufacturing and low emissions.

Forbo’s Eternal Wood was also installed in the cot rooms in the natural shade Limed Oak, complementing the nature-inspired theme of the ward, with bright-coloured Sphera butterflies laid on top pinpointing the numbered cot bay stations.

Andy Currie, senior project manager at Active Flooring, who installed the flooring throughout the ward, said: “The feedback we have had from those working on the job was that the installation was great and there were no problems at all. I am really happy with the overall result – the bespoke graphics look brilliant.”

And Mandi Cook, neonatal service manager at Glan Clwyd, added: “The families and staff like the flooring and the graphics within it as it helps to carry the theme of butterflies throughout the unit.

“It helps to give a bright cheerful atmosphere within the clinical areas.

“The flooring cleans easily which is of benefit as a light colour has been used in the corridor, which gets a lot of footfall. The areas with limed oak look very attractive and have received the most positive comments.”

Bespoke butterfly floor design for mother and baby unit

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