Panels & Furniture Asia September/October 2022

FLOORING
and no harmful chemical substances which
can adversely affect the air quality in a room.
With a lifespan of 60-plus years, the longevity
and lifecycle costs of a good quality solid wood
floor are second to none. This means less waste
management and ultimately, lower demands
on natural resources.
The hard-wearing properties of a solid wood
floor were of primary importance to Suhwon
Architects of South Korea when it came to
selecting flooring for the Kunpo Culture and Art
Centre in Gyungee province 1 . The choice fell on
Junckers’s solid Beech Sylvaket, a floor with
a warm appearance and acoustic properties
inherent in the wood. The new performance
stage and seating area now have a durable,
natural floor.
Increasingly, there are ways for architects
and designers to ensure they select
responsibly sourced wood and products
with minimal impact on the environment.
A manufacturer who can offer responsibly
sourced wood with Forest Stewardship
Council (FSC) and the Programme for the
Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC)
accreditation along with an environmental
product declaration (EPD) will aid architects
and developers in achieving net-zero
carbon buildings. An EPD assesses the
manufacturing and material sourcing
activities of a company and presents
data in relation to the company’s
environmental impact, resource use, waste
categories, output flow, and recycling
capabilities. The EPD, which represents
a measure of the product’s embodied
carbon, contributes towards BREEAM,
LEED and DGNB assessments by providing
the specifier with data pertinent to
achieving sustainability accreditation for
a building.
Hardwood is a natural, biodegradable, and
recyclable material and it is non-hazardous
when disposed. Most other flooring types will
not last as long, which puts greater pressure
on landfill. For example, a solid wood floor
has a lifespan four times that of a synthetic
or engineered floor, meaning the total
amount of energy used for solid wood floors
is further reduced as one solid wood floor is
manufactured for every four engineered or
synthetic floors. Many floor finishes will have
to be stripped out and disposed after 10 years
or less. At roughly the same interval, a solid
hardwood floor can be sanded and sealed for a
new lease of life. A structural floor, usually with
a thickness of 20mm or more, can be sanded
between eight and 10 times, which means a
lifespan of 60 years can be exceeded.
• 2~3 moveable saw blades
(will be launched in August 2022!)
• Laser scan feeding system equipped,
cutting 5~6 boards per minute
More and more buildings are certified according
to schemes such as BREEAM, Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and
German Sustainable Building Council (DNGB),
where each product specified for a project
is measured in terms of its sustainability
credentials. The Lotte Academy in Osan, South
Korea 2 designed by A+U Architects was built
adhering to environmental criteria, including
specifying products with environmental
credentials. Junckers’s solid Black Oak, a floor
in a rich, dark colour which can be sanded
and re-finished without loss of colour and
performance, takes centre stage in the new
building’s presentation space. The building has
recently achieved an LEED certification level of
Gold.
Panels & Furniture Asia | September / October 2022 49