06. April 2017 | worldwide | Project References

Precision landing with nora

Airport and rubber floor coverings: a successful symbiosis – worldwide

Weinheim, Germany, April 2017 – Despite sharp declines caused by crises, air travel remains a growing market and an important engine of value creation. According to forecasts, the number of air passengers worldwide is set to double by 2034. This means that seven billion passengers are expected – every year. According to the statistics portal Statistica GmbH, the number of passengers at German airports alone grew from 140.6 million to 216 million in the past 15 years. An airport is often the place where travellers get their first impression of a city, region or even an entire country. Creating an inviting and awe-inspiring atmosphere is therefore the central goal when designing an airport. The functional properties of construction materials used like cost-effectiveness and safety are just as important as airport design. From the west to the east, from the north to the south, from the US to Australia to China, from Finland to Saudi Arabia – rubber floor coverings by nora systems can be found in hundreds of airports around the world. That is because the rubber floors combine functionality – such as durability, fire safety, slip resistance and ergonomics – with a wide range of colours and designs.

Maximum fire safety

In the early 1970s, around 80,000 m2 of the floor covering that featured the well-known norament studded surface was laid in Frankfurt Airport. This was one of the first airport-related projects and a poster child for rubber floors “made in Germany”. From the Shanghai Pudong Airport to the arrival terminal of Rotterdam The Hague Airport completed in 2016, large quantities of nora floor coverings have also been used in other airport-related projects, be it for a newly constructed or renovated building. One of the main reasons: nora floor coverings are highly flame-retardant, as defined in EN 13 501 and offer high safety in the case of fire.

Anti-slip and ergonomic

nora floor coverings are made completely of rubber. Their anti-slip surface (slip-resistance ratings ranging from R9 to R11) provides not only more safety but also more comfort: The rubber coverings are permanently flexible and, as a result, can reduce stress on back and joints. This makes it easier for people to spend long stretches of time in airport buildings, including the passengers and personnel standing at check-in counters. At the same time, the rubber floors reduce the amount of noise generated by footsteps and wheeled suitcases, thereby helping to keep noise down to a comfortable level even when there are many passengers in an airport terminal.

Design-focused and economical

To help an airport fulfil its role as a symbol of a country or region, floor coverings need to impress visitors with their attractive and high-quality appearance. Inlaid solutions are one of the ways to achieve custom designs: nora floor coverings retain their dimensions and can therefore be laid without grouting. This makes it possible to realise a wide variety of design options. For example, rectangular inlays and inlay strips give London Gatwick, the ninth largest airport in Europe, as well as the terminals of Finland’s Ivalo Airport, the northernmost airport in the European Union, an exclusive look. In Zhengzhou International Airport, passengers have been walking on almost 10,000 m2 of norament grano in a noble shade of green since 2015. In the new arrival hall at the Rotterdam Airport, dark grey norament tiles with bevelled edges are installed on around 1,200 m2 of floor area and represent a style-defining element.

nora floor coverings do not require any coating throughout their entire service life because of their dense, non-porous surface. This makes them a great choice in terms of cost-effectiveness and life-cycle costs: They are highly wear-resistant, are easy to clean and stand out through their extremely long service life.

Copyright image material

nora systems_Airport London-Gatwick, Image 1-4: nora systems GmbH*
nora systems_Airport Pudong, Image 1-4: nora systems GmbH*
nora systems_Airport The Hague, Picture 1-4: CR-Beeldwerken*
nora systems_Airport Pudong, Image 1-4: nora systems GmbH*
nora systems_Airport Ivalo, Image 1-3: nora systems GmbH*

* Photos may be published with credit at no cost – please provide a specimen copy. Photos may not be used for commercial purposes.

* The text can be freely used. Publication of images in connection with press releases of nora systems GmbH is free of charge if the source is quoted. The copyright can be found under Image Properties >> Details. The use for advertising purposes is not permitted. We ask for a specimen copy.

About nora

nora by Interface is the commercial rubber flooring brand of Interface, Inc. Produced in Germany for more than 70 years, nora premium rubber solutions help to support operations, efficiencies, health, safety and well-being with sustainable flooring that eases maintenance, reduces noise, and provides added comfort underfoot.

Interface, Inc., (NASDAQ: TILE) is a global flooring solutions company and sustainability leader, offering an integrated portfolio of carpet tile and resilient flooring products that includes Interface^® carpet tile and LVT, nora^® rubber flooring, and FLOR^® premium area rugs for commercial and residential spaces. Made with purpose and without compromise, Interface flooring brings more sophisticated design, more performance, more innovation, and more climate progress to interior spaces. A decades-long pioneer in sustainability, Interface remains “all in” on becoming a restorative business. Today, the company is focusing on carbon reductions, not offsets, as it works toward achieving its verified science-based targets by 2030 and its goal to become a carbon negative enterprise by 2040.

Learn more about Interface at interface.com and blog.interface.com, nora by Interface at nora.com, FLOR at FLOR.com, and our sustainability journey at interface.com/sustainability.