Netherlands (Hengelo) | Education | norament^® 926 arago

C.T. Stork College

Two schools, one building

Adapted to the environment

A new building featuring two different schools that grow together after completion to form a single school; this was the desire of two school boards in the Dutch municipality of Hengelo in the eastern part of the country. Today, the result is a building with two faces: Strong and industrial on the one hand, with soft and wavy features on the other. This is how the impression of the newly built C.T. Stork College can be best described, created by merging two different schools for pre-vocational secondary education.

For the construction of the two schools, architect Erik de Jong was inspired by a border region between town and country at the building's location. On the rural side, the building has undulating shapes while an industrial appearance was maintained on the urban side with even and vertical walls. "Our starting point was the nature of Hengelo as a city of industry and technology," said de Jong. "This is reflected in the choice of materials as well as the choice of colours, such as signal yellow, rust brown, rusty red or a striking shade of green. These are colours which also appear in the machinery factories here in Hengelo."

The desire for a sustainable school

In addition to its commitment to the environment, another important goal for the contractor was to create a sustainable school. It needed to be energy-efficient and built from eco-friendly and resistant materials. An example of this are the solar panels situated on the roof of the school. Other features include light sensors that respond to movement in the classrooms and an efficient heat exchange system which ensures the building stays cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

When searching for a suitable floor covering for a sustainable school, the contractor soon opted for the rubber flooring by nora systems. This is because it is environmentally friendly, free from harmful substances and sustainable. Even after decades they show little wear and tear and permanently retain their functionality and appearance.

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Dark, aesthetic rubber floor coverings

The school building was almost completely fitted with two different rubber floors by nora systems. In the majority of the school, the award-winning covering noraplan unita in dark stone grey was used. Here, outstanding modern architectural design is combined with the unique strengths of the rubber flooring. The granite worked intricately into the flooring is inviting and fascinating at the same time, giving the room that certain extra something. As a result of the successful architectural design and the exceptional combination of rubber and real granite, noraplan unita is a winner of the coveted Red Dot Design Award.

A similarly dark shade of grey from the norament arago product range was chosen for the biology, physics, chemistry and technology classrooms; a highly durable flooring with a flat, direction-oriented relief structure, fine grain design and modern marbling. "Our floor coverings have a very dense surface and are extremely easy to clean," explains Dennis Hulleman, account executive at nora systems in the Netherlands. "They are the best choice if a more resistant and wear-resistant floor with low maintenance costs is desired. It does not need to be coated, is made of low-emission materials and contributes to healthy indoor air", Hulleman adds.

Less distraction for students

Henny Heerts, technical team leader of the school project, is happy about the new building for another reason: compared to the previous site in the heart of Hengelo, the new one is much quieter. "Our students need peace and space. There are fewer distractions here. The building has many windows, but these are often placed high above the ground in the classrooms so that students are not distracted and can see only the sky or treetops when looking out of the window", Heerts said. Also, the nora systems flooring helps provide a distraction-free environment thanks to its excellent acoustic properties. This is because the permanent elasticity of the rubber material significantly reduces walking noise. "The rubber floors by nora systems that were fitted throughout virtually the entire building positively affect the acoustics in classrooms or corridors", emphasised Heerts. "The floors dampen the clacking sounds of heels, for example. This reduction in noise level, which influences the ability to concentrate and the well-being of students and staff should not be underestimated", said Heerts.
"The new building is really remarkable with all its great features. After a very long preparation period we finally have a wonderful school for pre-vocational secondary education in Hengelo" summarises Heerts.

Data and facts

Building	C.T.Stork College, Hengelo, Netherlands
Architect	Erik de Jong, Morfis in Koproduktion mit de Jong Gortemaker Algra
Installation Year	2018
Photographer	Jeroen Floris, nora flooring Benelux
Contractor	Municipality of Hengelo
Product	8,890 m² noraplan^® unita, 1,048 m² norament^® 926 arago

Products

norament^® 926 arago

Flat, direction-oriented relief structure with fine granules and modern marbling design for maximum demands. No two tiles are the same – each square meter is totally unique.

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