On the 30th November, the Scots will be doing what they do best – celebrating St Andrew’s Day with a national holiday and fun events that showcase the very best of Scottish Culture. At All Things Flooring, we thought we’d join in the fun by sharing three Scottish flooring refurbishments that have caught our eye.
Edinburgh Waverly Station
As commuters dodge through the many faces coming their way at Edinburgh Waverly this St Andrews Day, they may not notice the flooring beneath them. However, in 2013 Edinburgh’s main railway refurbished key areas on its concourse area with a fast-curing, decorative flooring solution that was installed at such pace, the station didn’t even need to close during its upgrade.
National Rail needed a floor that provided an attractive, easy to maintain finish that was able to withstand the conditions within the UK’s second largest main line railway station over an extended period of time.
MMA resin flooring was the perfect choice for the station as not only is it eye-catching; it’s also robust and designed for high traffic commercial environments that need a functional floor. With each walkway needing to be opened to commuters every day at 6am, work began at 10pm over a period of five evenings.
Edinburgh Waverly Station, Scotland
Glenkinchie Distillery
If celebrating Scotland’s patron saint is anything like St Paddy’s Day, the Scots will be swapping pints of Guinness for a strong Scotch whisky. Situated just 15 minutes from Edinburgh and recorded as one of the oldest distilleries in the Scottish Lowlands, Glenkinchie distillery supplies the iconic malt whisky and provides tours from the city, drawing in tourists and whisky enthusiasts from around the world.
In 2015, the distillery wanted to refurbish the quarry tile floor within key areas of its facility to match the modern and stylish design of its tasting room. With the distilleries lower mash house, yeast room stair well and lower still house areas seen by tourists taking tours around the facility, the owners wanted to install a new floor finish that would consistently present an unblemished and visually appealing image.
They chose a decorative, seamless resin floor topping, ideal for wet areas, which was installed across these spaces to create a surface that provided the necessary safety and hygiene advantages whilst providing an attractive aesthetic with several benefits. For example, coving and drainage are incorporated into the light, urban grey finish and a cream walkway has been added into the floor plan to create a defined route for the tours.
The fact that this system could be quickly installed on top of the existing floor, combined with its rapid curing nature, meant that the four week refurbishment project could be carried out during a previously scheduled shut down period – avoiding any additional down time.
Glenkinchie Distillery, Scotland
Kelvin Hall
Many will be celebrating the national day by visiting some of Scotland’s most fascinating historic places. Glasgow’s heritage listed Kelvin Hall forges new practices and opportunities for students, academics and professionals in the arts and heritage sector.
In 2014, Glasgow City Council Life, the University of Glasgow and the National Library of Scotland formed a partnership to transform the venue into an exciting new centre of cultural excellence that would showcase collections, engage in teaching and research as well as provide a state of the art health and fitness centre.
With such a demanding client brief and the physical constraints of a listed building, the project’s architects had to work with the best stakeholder groups and partners to deliver a design that would maximise the building’s potential.
Reception Area, Kelvin Hall
A semi-dry cementitious screed incorporating proprietary additives to produce early drying, high strength screed for high traffic areas, combined with a rapid installation was used to create a robust floor build up for the main reception. To achieve a visually striking floor finish a seamless resin terrazzo system was applied over three floors including the main reception, café, corridors and transitional areas in a light silvery grey colour that matched the structures natural interior design scheme.
Main Stairway, Kelvin Hall
Inspired and want to find out more? Leave a comment below and we’ll put you in touch with a local flooring expert!
