Although flooring is an essential component of interior design, it is frequently overlooked in design programmes. Understanding the many flooring options and how they affect sustainability, usability, and aesthetics is essential for aspiring designers and architects. This article highlights the value of including flooring material education into design college programmes and offers insights to help you choose flooring materials wisely.

“When I see young designers choosing tiles or another flooring for a nicely designed space, sometimes it is disappointing to find that decision was purely based on aesthetic appeal and elements like functionality, durability or perfection in installation are missing resulting in to disappointment after some time”, says Dinesh Vyas, the leading building Industry expert.

In the following nine points, the OTF Team summarizes what should be included in the design professionals’ academic curricula and why.

Fundamentals of Flooring

Before exploring the flooring options, it is critically important to understand not just the aesthetic compatibility of flooring but also the functional and durability demand of the floor which depends on the usage environment. In fact, many a time even the during construction environment can play very role in ensuring that final surfaces are satisfactory from all aspects.

Considerations like different types and quantum of stress that the floor will undergo are critically important. Parameters like abrasion resistance, slip resistance, impact resistance, etc. are important and not difficult to envisage.

Next comes the knowledge of different types of flooring options available today and their technical aspects. Flooring industry is ever evolving and new material as well as new features in existing materials keeps on happening. As a professional, it is important to comprehend the fundamental materials as well as emerging innovative solutions. New age large size tiles, vinyl, LVT, natural stones, hardwood, laminate, engineered stones, rigid core flooring, etc. should be analyzed from all aspects apart from visual appeal or textures. 

Balancing Aesthetics and Functionality of Floor

There are two fundamental aspects of flooring. First is that it remains visible and second is that it receives maximum stresses. The first aspect is very understood by designers as they work hard to ensure that flooring compliments their intended styling of the space. Modern, contemporary, traditional, or whatever theme they think the project demands, decides the aesthetic aspects which include designs, shades, orientation, texture, etc.

The second aspect becomes very crucial as we expect a very long service life of the floor. It is practically not feasible to change flooring like one can do with paint, wallpaper and certain other elements. What it also means that the floor installed should have necessary resistance to stresses that cause scratches, peeling, cracks, detachments and slipping.

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“Understanding the technical aspects of flooring material is very essential for designers. It is challenging because most of the product makers do not share or have proof of performance in intended usage. Part of the reason for this information gap comes from the fact that very few designers even demand such information” adds Dinesh Vyas.

Durability and Low Maintenance of Flooring

Durability of flooring and associated maintenance are very important. Different flooring materials, and different sub-categories within the same material have different durability scores depending upon the type and intensity of traffic on it, exposure to sun and moisture and any specific use cases.

It is not necessary that a durable option will have low maintenance, for example – polished marble floor. Very durable but it may require regular maintenance if the foot fall is high. Durability and maintenance contribute to the life of flooring.

Health & Safety Associated with Flooring

Indoor air quality is of great importance and Globally designers are conscious about this when it comes to enclosed space.

It is important to enquire about VOC (volatile organic compounds) emissions to create a healthier interior. For safety,  slip resistance is of paramount importance, particularly in damp places.

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According to Vyas, “many floorings have synthetic elements which may have more than permissible VOC content. Creating a healthy living environment necessitates education about health and safety regulations pertaining to materials in the design.”

Comfort And Longevity of Flooring

Flooring keeps us grounded and ground should be comfortable! For long standing hours or walking, softer flooring like carpet and cork could give us comfort provided they fulfil our other functional and durability requirements. An eye on longevity aspect along with comfort is very important in long term.

Technological Advancement in Flooring

Flooring industry is continuously evolving and incorporating innovative features as well apart from new materials. Waterproof synthetic flooring, digital printed, thin porcelain slabs, and smart flooring are some of the well accepted technological advancements.

Technological developments in flooring materials are opening up new horizons for design possibilities. These innovations should be introduced to design students throughout their education.” States Dinesh Vyas.

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Having Plan-B And Plan-C for Aesthetics

Clients’ led specifications about aesthetics may put pressure on the free choice of a designer as in most cases, the clients focus upon visual and tactile aspects of flooring. As a professional, it would be better to keep alternative plans in such a way that they satisfy all prerequisites for flooring. Today we have huge variety of flooring and it is very much feasible to achieve desired aesthetics by changing material with minimum compromise on functional and durability aspects. 

Sustainable Flooring

Sustainability is not just a buzz word. Globally, designers are very much conscious about it. Designing with the environment in mind is not just a fashionable or trendy behaviour of designers, it is the necessity to make more sustainable and responsible decisions. Increased interest in Bamboo flooring, linoleum, reclaimed wood, etc are visible trends.

“While natural stones have been one of the favorite options, one must keep in mind that there is huge wastage associate when we carve out beautiful large size stone slabs. Tiles, on the other hand make use of every single gram of minerals excavated. We should conserve some rocks for our future generations too; isn’t it?” adds Vyas.

Read this Article also: Flooring A Sustainable Future

Attention to Flooring Installation

This is the most painful point. There is a shortage of trained professionals to install flooring. Consumers are also not aware of the fact that irrespective of the material, if the installation is not perfect, flooring will create a problem. There are hardly any schools to train masons and installers. Manufactures have also done very little in this regard.

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“Designers can contribute a lot in this aspect. They need to acquire knowledge and insist for perfection which can not happen unless they are educated about this. In hundreds of cases, the flooring suffered due to faulty installation material or poor workmanship. The most common thing is to blame the quality of flooring material and change the brand. We need to understand the importance of installation and do what is right and essential. It can not be left on contractors when we know that there is dearth of trained installers”, said Dinesh Vyas in an interview.

What Can Be Done Immediately and Easily?

Making a thoughtful flooring selection may take a design from decent to great. Practical expertise and material selection must be essential components of design education in order to accomplish this.

“A good beginning for architectural and Interior Designing institutes could be tying up with Industry professionals. However, as the industry itself is not education oriented, the academicians need to do little homework with hands-on designers and give a questionnaire to the invited industry professionals. Once the problem is acknowledged and defined, solutions would emerge,” concludes Vyas.