Sustainable rubber floors for the "green building"

© BASF SE

© BASF SE

© BASF SE

© BASF SE

Award for Sustainability: Almost one year after its commissioning, the research building B7 at BASF in Ludwigshafen received the Gold Certificate from the German Society for Sustainable Building e.V. (DGNB) in summer 2016. The DGNB system evaluates the sustainability of buildings and districts based on around 40 criteria throughout their entire lifecycle – from project development through operation to dismantling. To achieve certification, healthy, environmentally friendly, and durable products must be used during construction – such as BASF's innovative building materials and the norament grano rubber flooring from nora systems, which is installed over more than 3,600 square meters in the new research building.

Wear-resistant and durable

Since July 2015, around 200 employees of the research division Advanced Materials & Systems Research have been working in the laboratory and office building B7, which was previously housed in a decentralized manner. The seven-story new building is connected to two neighboring buildings via a ground-level access and a bridge. According to BASF, the close proximity not only shortens travel distances but also symbolizes the close collaboration within the research departments.

When it came to selecting the flooring for the laboratories and adjacent office workspaces, the architecture firm Asplan, specializing in laboratory planning, chose floors from nora systems in consultation with the clients. These floors are not only low-emission and ecological but also particularly durable, contributing in multiple ways to the sustainability of the research building. "Since the building was to be DGNB-certified, rubber was the only option for this application from the very beginning," says Kjan Yazdi, the responsible project manager at Asplan.

Due to their extremely dense surface, nora floor systems are exceptionally wear-resistant. "The durability of the rubber floors was a very decisive criterion for us," emphasizes architect Bernd Junker from Technical Services Ludwigshafen, who coordinated and supervised the construction project on behalf of BASF. At the same time, the sealed surface of the nora floors allows for easy and economical cleaning. Even after many years of heavy use, they still look almost new. The less often a floor needs to be replaced, the better its eco-balance. Another advantage: the rubber floors contain no plasticizers (phthalates) or chlorinated organic compounds, contributing to healthy indoor air quality.

Permanent ESD protection

To protect employees and equipment in the laboratories from electrostatic discharges and to prevent faulty measurement results, the floors needed to be conductive. Here, norament 928 grano ed was used. Like all nora floors, it does not require coating, which ensures its conductivity remains permanently intact. This is a significant advantage over other floors whose coatings not only affect the reliability of the conductivity but also need to be regularly renewed.

An additional benefit: the rubber floors are available in the same design for various requirements. The ESD-protected areas in B7 were visually designed to match the adjacent office spaces. "This allowed us to implement a cohesive design solution throughout the building," says architect Yazdi.

High ergonomic comfort

Ergonomics of the rubber floors was also very important for BASF: thanks to their permanent elasticity, they facilitate walking and standing – reducing strain on the back and joints, so the body does not tire as quickly as on harder surfaces. "The comfort provided by the nora floors was extremely important to us," emphasizes Junker, "since employees often stand for long periods in the laboratories."

Resistant, durable, high-quality, and functional: nora floor systems are not only a good choice in terms of sustainability. Their ecological and ergonomic properties also contribute to the well-being of building users.