A Flooring Success at the “Water Cube” in Beijing
24 July 2008
Nora design and install the flooring to match the spectacular design of the Beijing Olympic Games ‘Water Cube.’
The National Aquatics Centre – or “Water Cube” as it is affectionately called– is one of the landmarks of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Located inside the Beijing Olympic Green, it is part of the National Stadium complex and will be the venue for swimming, diving, synchronized swimming and water-polo. Up to 17,000 visitors will follow the competitions and support their teams.
A consortium of China State Construction Engineering Corporation, China State Construction International (Shenzhen) Design Co. Ltd., PTW Architects and Ove Arup won the international competition scheme which was judged by a panel of international architects, engineers and Chinese academics. The extraordinary design concept is seen as a symbol of architecture as it fulfils all up-to-date requirements on design, sustainability and safety.
Speaking of sustainability, the National Aquatics Centre has been designed to act as a gigantic greenhouse. The unique prototype cladding which is based on the natural formation of soap bubbles allows high levels of natural daylight into the building to heat the interior as well as the pool water.
Energy consumption is thus expected to be reduced by up to 30 per cent. Beside sustainability and energy cost reduction, safety was crucial. All materials used had to fulfil the highest demands of fire safety. It was therefore no surprise that eventually nora® rubber floorings were eventually chosen.
Up to 10,000 m2 noraplan® mega are currently being installed mainly in corridors and high traffic areas where the flooring is required to offer an excellent walking comfort, anti-slip properties, a dense surface; thus easy and cost-efficient maintenance and an extraordinarily wear-resistance. As is well known, nora® rubber floorings fulfil these requirements.
As nora® makes changes to its products, the company continues to take its responsibility to the environment seriously. Rubber floorings produced by nora® are sustainable products made from renewable natural rubber that is extracted from the sap of tropical rubber plants and industrial rubber.
The flooring also contains natural minerals that
supplement the high-quality natural and industrial rubber qualities, as well as environmentally compatible colour pigments that are free of lead and other heavy metals. It was therefore no surprise that the standard noraplan® floorings have been certified under BRE Certification's scheme for Environmental Profiles of construction products. The Ecopoint scores achieved as part of the certification process gave a BREEAM 'A' rating (best possible) from the 'Green Guide to Specification'.
Furthermore, nora® standard products fulfil the strict specfications of the qualification guidelines RAL UZ 120 and have thus been the first resilient floorings awarded with the eco-label "Blue Angel". This label is one of the most important awards worldwide which is only given to products that are exceptional environmentally friendly. PVC floorings (Vinyls) are not eligible to get this label.
In addition, nora® flooring systems provides a palette of more than 260 standard colours and an uncountable number of surface patterns that offer architects and designers the opportunity to infuse any outstanding architectural design with striking design elements.
