With its “ATMYSPHERE” lead theme, DOMOTEX 2020 will put the focus on floor covering properties designed to increase the feel-good factor. This includes new product developments with enhanced acoustic properties that deliver a quieter, more relaxing room experience. The best of these will be on show from 10 to 13 January 2020 in Hannover, Germany.
Can the spaces in which we live and work improve our quality of life by adding to our sense of inner peace and wellbeing? Our interior spaces can be designed for greater tranquility, quite literally from the ground up. Reduced background noise enhances our sense of wellbeing and increases our concentration levels – a key factor in spaces like open-plan offices, restaurants and hotels. Used in combination with soft furnishings and special acoustic panels, rugs, fitted carpets, resilient cork-core floor coverings and special parquet and laminate underlays can significantly reduce noise transmission. The following product examples from innovative DOMOTEX exhibitors and other flooring pioneers illustrate the acoustic dimension of the health and wellness megatrend.
TAP Air Portugal’s new premium passenger lounge at Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon is an 800 m2 oasis of exclusive luxury and service that can accommodate up to 260 passengers at a time. The lounge’s rest areas use natural cork in their furniture, flooring and wall cladding. In order to enhance the acoustics, architect Miguel Arruda employed dark-brown cork composites in the wall cladding, supplied by DOMOTEX exhibitor Amorim. The same logic was behind the choice of Wicanders Hydrocork for the floor. Hydrocork is a vinyl product with a resilient cork core and a high-resolution oak decorative layer. It is highly durable and 100 percent waterproof. The cork core makes the product comfortable under foot and, according to the manufacturer, reduces impact sound by up to 53 percent. Arruda: “The aim of the design and the materials used was to provide greater passenger comfort.”
The Aldwych Theatre is a heritage building located in the heart of London’s West End theater district. First opened in 1905, it recently underwent a major refurbishment that restored the building to its former glory. All of the theater’s grand public areas – a total area of some 3,000 m2 (32,290 sq. ft.) – were re-carpeted by DOMOTEX exhibitor Oriental Weavers Hospitality, which selected a carpet design characteristic of the theater’s period styling and rich ornamentation. The sumptuous Axminster carpets were custom-woven for the project and are made of an 80/20 wool/nylon blend, which makes them highly durable. Created in collaboration with a team from the Nederlander group, who own the building, they are a key component of the theater’s unique atmosphere. They also reduce airborne and impact sound in the auditorium and adjacent corridors, thus ensuring a minimum of distraction for theatergoers.
DOMOTEX exhibitor Selit Dämmtechnik has developed SelitPRo Aquastop TwinFoam 2.2 mm, an innovative underlay that significantly reduces airborne and impact sound in parquet and laminate floors. Selit Marketing Director Lydia Bober explains that this superior sound performance has been achieved by “combining a flexible foam layer and a rigid foam layer in a single underlay.” Prior to the launch of this product, users were faced with a binary choice between highly rigid and highly resilient underlays. Selit’s underlay protects floors from damage due to prolonged high traffic and falling objects. According to the manufacturer, the product can also reduce impact noise by as much as 21 decibels.
Architect and interior designer Peter Ippolito is chairman of the DOMOTEX “Flooring Spaces” expert selection panel, an honor he has already held twice before. He and his design studio,
Ippolito Fleitz, created a diverse range of workrooms complete with communication zones and timeout areas for an international business consulting firm in Frankfurt’s Taunusturm office complex. The project spanned two levels of the tower block and encompassed some 4,000 m2 of floor space. The floor is a broad expanse of solid parquet made up of polygonal shapes – a motif reflected in the wall styling. This solid surface is covered with rugs that have a deep-pile bouclé structure, ensuring excellent sound insulation. The rugs help to visually delineate the meeting areas and, in combination with acoustic fitted carpets and closable drapes, help reduce overall noise levels. There are also dedicated meeting nooks which are finished with fitted carpets and acoustic panels, creating a quiet atmosphere for meetings.
At DOMOTEX 2020, which runs from 10 to 13 January in Hannover, Germany, visitors will be able to witness and interact with up-to-the-minute floor coverings and installation systems that can be used to create ideal room acoustics. The show will feature innovative products creatively set and staged as part of innovative interior designs inspired by the lead theme: “ATMYSPHERE”.
