Award-Winning Children’s Hospital Chooses Our Cork Flooring for Play Area

Hi, everyone!

Team Wicanders here with more exciting news from the world of cork floors…

The need to create a safe, calm, and comfortable children’s play area has led to the installation of Wicanders Series 4000 cork flooring within the central atrium, at the heart of the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in Brighton, UK.

Equally exciting, the busy pediatrics hospital won an International Health Care Award, in recognition of its innovative design and promotion of health and wellbeing.

Royal Alexandra Children's Hospital

Cork Oak Flooring in the Central Atrium

Cork flooring’s natural warmth and ability to absorb sound helps to create a comfortable play area, where children can unwind and just be kids. The layered assembly of our flooring uses a central cork layer to create a cushioned effect that, unlike hard flooring, absorbs step and impact sound, so the pitter-patter of their little feet doesn’t disturb other little kids that are busy getting well.

Cork Oak’s durability and ease of maintenance also makes our floors a strong choice, as it was essential that the chosen flooring could withstand high levels of wear and frequent cleaning. Plus, cork flooring’s excellent environmental credentials complemented the hospital’s forward-thinking design.

Our Series 4000 is ideal for high traffic commercial and public areas, comprising a cork agglomerate core, natural wood layer and hardwearing surface to deliver high durability. As a really neat side benefit, cork oak floors are naturally hypoallergenic, antimicrobial, insect repellent and anti-static, which is great for big and little kids alike.

Now isn’t it exciting to see how cork, as a fully sustainable and recyclable material, can help the heath care sector to build green?

Best…
Team Wicanders

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A Grown Up Field Trip…Green Design with Cork Oak

You can learn a lot on a field trip. Maybe even have some fun. Grade school field trips came up last week in a team brainstorming meeting. Some experiences totally depended on which parent was assigned to your group, and how much roaming, clowning around, or simply being a kid you were allowed to do. Others recounted going places that were probably informative and important, but not much fun to a 5th grader.

Our team captain recounted a scenario which included getting lost at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, and almost missing the bus back to Maryland. That would have been cool today with travelling exhibits like “Real Pirates” which tells the true story of the Whydah, a pirate ship that was found off the coast of Cape Cod in 1984 by underwater explorer Barry Clifford. But back then you couldn’t slip into the IMAX® to see what they describe as “The Dark Knight’s larger-than-life images, state of the art digital surround sound, all-encompassing screens and patented theatre geometry—designed to put you IN the movie.” So much for 5th grade field trips!

Today we want to treat you to a grown-up field trip. It’s appropriate for kids, too, so if you have one or two looking over your shoulder, be sure to invite them into the action. You’ll all have fun. If you don’t have kids, the grown-up kid in the next office might want to join you…

Now, a field trip could take all day or more, but this one is only three minutes, so sit back, relax, and enjoy the trip.

Here’s a fascinating look into the other kind of useful and beautiful things talented designers are creating with cork oak. Click Here.

It feels really good to know that when you create, design, fashion, use, or walk on cork oak, someone in Portugal or Spain did not cut down a tree, or harm a habitat to harvest the bark. We’ve written about this before here, so we won’t belabor it again, but it makes us feel really good about what we do. Any mostly, that’s why our teachers took us on field trips…not just to have fun, but to help us feel good, learn, and appreciate the work of others.

So, if you get a chance, take a look at what our talented designers at Amorim have created for your home, or office, or hotel or hospital…cork oak floors that provide warmth, silence, comfort, and a healthy environment to live in.

Until our next trip…
Team Wicanders

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