South West Academic Health Science Network offices

Working across Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and the Isles of Scilly, the South West Academic Health Science Network strives to enhance the health and patient experience of people in South West England by supporting and accelerating innovation and quality improvement. When moving to new offices in Exeter, the company tasked interior design firm idesign with the full office revamp and outfit, which featured a total of 915 m² of flooring from Mohawk Group.

Location: Exeter (UK)
Sector: Office
Product Category: Luxury vinyl tiles, Carpet tiles
Architect: Roxan Burley, idesign
Surface: 915 m²

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The ultimate office flooring combo: LVT and carpet tiles

In refurbishing the South West Academic Health Science Network offices, idesign sought to incorporate the beauty of natural elements in a functional and easy-to-maintain design. That’s why they opted for the striking Shades 62220 parquet design from the Moduleo 55 Expressive LVT collection in the cafe area. With Protectonite® PUR reinforcement and a 0.55-mm wear layer, the LVT is suitable for use in high-wear commercial applications and ideal for this part of the office, where easy maintenance is essential.

The LVT was combined with Disruptive Path and Creative Spark carpet tiles for working and meeting spaces, which created a flooring pathway flowing organically between the different interior elements. The solid green of Creative Spark 611 harmonizes perfectly with the field tile of Shared Path 924 and the accent tile of Disruptive Path 916. Mohawk Group’s Disruptive Path and Creative Spark carpet tiles are designed to colour coordinate, and contain the same 100% Colorstrand® solution-dyed nylon and EcoFlexTM Statera 70% recycled content backing for universal performance.

Creating an organic pathway with biophilic design

Roxan Burley, managing director at idesign, explains her vision: “We saw the office as a garden and the employees as bees, so we used the flooring to create the sense of an organic passage between areas. We grouped green ‘patches’ of Creative Spark to zone areas of the design, gradually dispersing into the organic look of Disruptive Path for main areas. Then, the random pattern of Shades came into play in the cafe area, thanks to the solution’s easy maintenance and hard-wearing credentials. The end result was a biophilic design that incorporates the peacefulness of nature into the office space.”

“We used the flooring to create the sense of an organic passage between areas.”
Roxan Burley, managing director at idesign

A fruitful collaboration with bountiful benefits

“We’re great fans of Mohawk Group’s hard flooring solutions, so it was a real advantage to be able to use carpet tiles from the same manufacturer too”, continues Roxan. “Disruptive Path met the challenge of our design concept and by installing Shades on a self-adhesive Flexpro underlay, we could achieve the right look at a universal height that meant no need for transition strips between flooring types.

"Being able to source both hard flooring and carpet tiles from the same manufacturer was a real advantage.”
Roxan Burley, managing director at idesign“

Add to that the contractor finding the Flexpro system - Mohawk Group’s underlay specifically designed for Dryback installations without the need for adhesives – fast and easy, the client commenting on how simple the cafe flooring is to maintain and the simplicity of working with one manufacturer to overcome the varied flooring challenges of the project. Needless to say, I will certainly be specifying Mohawk Group again”, concludes Roxan.