Biënnale Interieur 2012 [ 6 ] - Decostyle

More documents

Recommendations

Info

12 project environment. But what about the installation speed? “It is difficult to make general statements about carpets”, reacts Geert Vanden Bossche. “The speed depends entirely on the location, which is totally different every time.” Tatiane Batache elaborates on this: “We see this differently. Because we organize installations ourselves, good planning is essential. For a space that has completely been cleared, we would count on 100 m 2 per installer per day. Our system of cast floors requires three days of installation, during which the floor cannot be used and during which the space must be closed from the outside world. The reason for this is that the epoxy resin has to harden.” Despite this inconvenience, it is clear that epoxy resin floors are on their way up. What makes this kind of floor so popular? “A change in trend certainly plays a part”, judges Tatiane Batache. “In the past, people wanted to emphasize the walls, but nowadays floors have to be as white as possible. This is easier with epoxy resin floors than with other products. The product has been around for a long time, but until recently it was only used in the industrial sector. People were not familiar with the product, until more and more architects started to recommend it. We notice a striking change of mentality, in particular on the project market. Polyurethane cast floors are seamless, which makes them interesting for the care sector. Moreover, their maintenance is easy.” 3 4 Fighting a lost battle Maintenance, finally the big word is out. How maintenance friendly are ‘soft’ floors? “When talking about carpet, its biggest advantage is in a sense its greatest disadvantage”, Philippe Van Hecke admits. “Carpet has the ability to join together loose particles of dust, so that they do not float in the air. The drawback is that carpet requires maintenance. In residential environments often the necessary discipline is lacking and in the project world most of the cleaning companies are not capable of maintaining carpet well.” “I am regularly frustrated with those companies as well”, says Tatiana Batache. “Many of these companies have too little time and too small a budget and use the same product for parquet floors, tiles and cast floors. We regularly organize information sessions about the maintenance of our products, but often these sessions don’t suffice.” Christ Taveirne recognizes these problems all too well. “We advise against maintenance products and soap, because they are often used in doses that are too high. This leads to remains of soap that hold the dirt. Our design floors can best be washed with pure water. The varnish layer makes the floor resistant against the creation of stripes. In large projects, we usually discuss this with the facility manager.” “Maintenance is a line of business in its own right”, thinks Tom De Rydt. “It may lead to major problems if it is not done properly, especially with wooden floors. In most cases, it is included in the warranty that the right products need to be used during the maintenance.” Middle segment under pressure Which tendencies and trends do our speakers see on the market? “Modular floors are becoming more and more popular”, states Philippe Van Hecke. “There is an evolution towards a smooth, silky look, also in residential environments. The yarn technology evolves continuously as well. Now, we install about 100,000 m 2 per month. One and a half year ago, we would never have dared suspect this.” “The middle segment is under pressure”, comments Christian Ysenbaert. “Customers more and more opt for high quality, while the lower segment remains considerably big. The market is ever more polarized”, adds Tom De Rydt. “I notice how LVT floors are on their way up. All major manufacturers produce it nowadays, which about sums it up. In the past, LVT had a negative connotation, but that has improved considerably. Nowadays, LVT meets even the highest standards. The printing techniques have improved as well, up to a point that even profes- 3 According to Geert Vanden Bossche, carpet is a relatively cheap way to create a different atmosphere inside a room (Image: Balta) 4 (Image: mFLOR)
13 sionals hardly see the difference with a planked floor. It is my fear that also LVT of an inferior quality will be put on the market, but that cannot be avoided.” Digital print is on the rise Throughout the entire world of interior decoration, we notice an increasing popularity of individualization. How about this sector? “Digital print is on the rise, particularly with LVT”, analyses Tom De Rydt. “We will see how this develops in the future, but the quality of the floors obviously must remain predominant.” “The popularity of adjusted and unique drawings is striking, and this in the project market as well”, says Tatiana Batache. “As a matter of fact, with subsidized public assignments, part of the budget must usually be invested in art. Thanks to these drawings, created by a renowned artist, the budget for flooring can thus be moved to the art budget. There is an increasing demand for this kind of floors. Sometimes, customers have the wildest ideas. Even floors with a poster or the logo of a company are on the way up.” Carpets do not lag behind this trend. “Balta Broadloom uses a Chromo jet installation, with which we can print our products”, explains Philippe Van Hecke. “The individual aspect and the unique aspect are becoming more and more important, which is a nice evolution.” Ecology 5 6 And how environmentally conscious are the companies around our table? “The production is more and more subject to stringent rules”, tells Philippe Van Hecke. “A number of harmful substances are nowadays forbidden or strictly ruled. Balta tries to be a forerunner in this, amongst other things through cooperation with the Flemish government to reach the Kyoto standards. In the plant itself, we recently installed solar panels measuring 55 soccer pitches in total. In this way, we can now also work with green power.” “Unfortunately, there are no types of carpet that can entirely be recycled”, adds his colleague Geert Vanden Bossche. “Cradle-to-cradle is an illusion, but we are working hard on the reduction of the impact. For instance: in 2013 we will participate in Domotex with a collection in which the fibres are only partly based on oil. The rest of the product consists of fibres from renewable, natural raw materials. As we speak, we are still testing this product, but it is already clear that it has a future. This carpet moreover promises to be excellent in the field of maintenance. The latter is an additional trump card, which leads to a total story.” “He who speaks of vinyl, says petroleum”, reacts Tom De Rydt. “The product has a very poor image, but we try to remedy this. Recycling is stepped up and we also limit the quantity of harmful substances. In the long run, it is our intention to produce vinyl without plastic.” Tarkett has been producing environmentally friendly products for many years”, comments Jean-François de Meester. “For our efforts we already received a Silver Cradle-to-cradle certificate for our linoleum and parquet floor products. Our homogeneous IQ products are free of phthalates and our vinyl products have a VOC level that is ten times lower than the European standard.” According to Christ Taveirne of Moduleo, ecological thinking is a complete story. “By early 2013, we aim to have built three windmills next to our factory. These will produce enough electricity to cover our entire need for energy. We process up to 50% of recycled material into our floors, which in their turn are entirely recyclable. Local production considerably lowers our ecological footprint with respect to transport in comparison to import products from the East. We also score a lot better than the strictest emission standards with our products and print only with water-based inks.”� Participants in this round table: Tatiana Batache (4m Europe) Christ Taveirne (Moduleo) Tom De Rydt (mFLOR) Jean-François de Meester (Tarkett) Geert Vanden Bossche (Balta Group) Philippe Van Hecke (Balta Group) Christian Ysenbaert (Balta Group) 5 Jean-François de Meester: “Vinyl is available in an ever increasing amount of beautiful colours” (Image: Tarkett) 13 6 Christ Taveirne: “Epoxy resin floors are extremely handy for renovations in both residential and commercial environments” (Image: Moduleo)
Page 1 and 2: p r o f e s s i o n a l m a g a z i
Page 3 and 4: p r o f e s s i o n a l m a g a z i
Page 5 and 6: colofon Editor Redactiebureau INK b
Page 7 and 8: Biënnale Interieur 2012: “Bienna
Page 9 and 10: 2002, each project is an opportunit
Page 11: Round table Flexible floors “The
Page 15 and 16: Young Talent: Interior Design Award
Page 17 and 18: Thon Hotel EU Energy and colour as
Page 19 and 20: 3 at the same time comforting. One
Page 21 and 22: People choose more consciously” T
Page 23: Argent Alu Solutions for interior d
Page 26 and 27: PRECIOUS MOMENTS you’d rather not
Page 28 and 29: 28 preview 1 2 Architect@Work keeps
Page 30 and 31: 30 Maes Home Textiles “Keep on in
Page 32 and 33: manship with a determination to onl
Page 34 and 35: 34 This way, everybody is free to f
Page 36: architect meets innovations ARCHITE

Biënnale Interieur 2012 [ 6 ] - Decostyle

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?