France (Nantes) | Industry & Life Science | norament® 926 arago, norament® 926 grano, Stairtread norament® 926 grano

Société Générale, Nantes: Rubber as an alternative to stone

Rubber flooring adds a natural touch

The Société Générale, headquartered in Paris, is one of France’s most important commercial banks and, along with Crédit Lyonnais and BNP Paribas, is one of the three oldest commercial banks in the country. Numerous subsidiaries also belong to the Group, including the Investment Department for Financial Securities (called Société Générale Securities Services (SGSS)), which houses a large branch in Nantes, France.

Even if no customers are received in the building in Nantes, the SGSS still pays great attention to attractive interior design so that employees can work in a stimulating and relaxed atmosphere. In light of this, various restoration works, most recently in 2017, have also been carried out on the corridors and offices. Much of this work was focused on the redesign of the floor coverings, as they needed to meet several technical criteria in addition to being aesthetically pleasing. “We were looking for a top-quality floor product,” explains the project manager. “We discussed several alternatives but after only a few conversations we had our mind set on the rubber flooring by nora systems. We were already familiar with these floor coverings because the stairwells in the same building were fitted with norament® 926 grano steptreads back in 2012.”

Slate effect adds a modern touch

Based on its experience with the stair coverings installed in 2012, the SGSS had no concerns about the durability and longevity of the products. Because thanks to the extremely dense surface created by the vulcanisation process, nora systems floors show hardly any signs of wear and tear even after several years of use. But in addition to its outstanding, functional properties, the flooring should also be visually appealing first and foremost. The SGSS wanted a design with a natural look. They found this in norament® 926 arago – a rubber flooring which impresses with its slate effect and is in no way inferior to a real stone floor in terms of appearance. “The aesthetics of norament 926 arago had us convinced – we fell in love with this elegant look. In addition, the nora flooring does not require a coating, allowing it to retain its stone-like appearance over its entire lifespan,” enthuses a co-manager of the renovation work on the SGSS. With norament 926 arago, each tile is different from the next so every square metre is unique. The flooring is available in twelve elegant shades of grey. This purist spectrum of colours is a popular choice for giving rooms a modern yet natural look.

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Acoustic benefits for a comfortable working climate

In addition to the elegant appearance of the nora flooring, the acoustic benefits were also decisive for choosing norament arago. The employees of the SGSS declare with great satisfaction: “Compared to our previous flooring, we are now experiencing much better acoustics and comfort when walking and at the same time less walking noise. These benefits are also noticeable during meetings in the meeting rooms as they are no longer disturbed by the sounds of heels clacking.”

Essential for health and the environment

For the SGSS, the environmental friendliness of nora systems flooring is the icing on the cake. Sustainable thinking and action is of vital importance to nora systems and our products contribute to this ideology in a number of ways: On the one hand, the rubber floors are extremely wear-resistant and durable and look almost as good as new after decades of intensive use. In this way, they make a major contribution to sustainable and healthy construction. The less often an interior floor has to be replaced, the more positive is the effect on the sustainability rating. Furthermore, nora rubber floor coverings do not require any coatings, allowing them to be cleaned easily and economicallythanks to their densesurface. They are phthalate-free and do not contain halogens. They are also particularly low in emissions and support good interior air quality. These positive environmental features are also reflected in numerous international certifications international certifications, such as the Blue Angel, Greenguard Gold and Indoor Air Comfort Gold. In summary, it can be said that with norament 926 arago, the SGSS was supplied with flooring that combines aesthetic stone effects, excellent acoustic properties and excellent environmental friendliness in one product – overall, a big plus for all employees at the French branch.

Data and facts

Building SGSS de la Société Générale
Installation Year 2018
Photographer Studio v.U, Montrouge
Installer

Sort'Art (Nantes)

Installed

2012 & 2018

Products

norament 926 arago (2018), norament 926 grano (steptreads) (2012)

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.

norament® 926 grano

Rubber flooring for extremely heavy traffic areas, with a granular design rich in contrast and hammerblow surface or cubic structure.

Stairtread norament® 926 grano

Granular design rich in contrast with a hammerblow surface, footfall sound absorption improvement of 12 dB.

More references

blocher partners architects, Mannheim office

Germany (Mannheim)
noraplan® uni | Industry & Life Science

Pure, timeless, sustainable – Offices with style. The architects at plocher partners have outfitted their Mannheim offices with noraplan uni.

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