Designing schools of the future

Designing for wellbeing and designing for sustainability go hand in hand, that’s why you work to promote indoor air quality and lower carbon emissions of your establishment.

At Tarkett we believe the way to reach this is to eco-design our floors from the very start, minimising V0Cs, eliminating phthalates or carefully selecting materials to minimise harm without diminishing the final quality of the product.

Our aim is to provide you with the materials you need to create spaces that promote wellbeing, while respecting today's and tomorrow's environment: minimising harmful emissions during production and ensuring that we can recycle our materials at end-of-life.

But don't take it on trust: we provide Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) and Material Health Statements (MHS) for all of our products, and we commission independent Cradle to Cradle® assessments of all the materials we use.

There has been a major shift in education in recent years. Teaching spaces have become learning spaces, and their use has mutated accordingly. Students switch seamlessly between solo, group, or full class activities. They interact more, present more, practice more. To support this change, the spaces in which they learn need to be arrayed and organised differently–and more flexibly.

This doesn't only apply to classrooms. Hallways, quiet corners, sports halls, libraries, and cafeterias, are all being repurposed to create spaces for pupils to gather, socialise, form study groups, or find some quiet to work alone.

To support you in creating new modular learning environments, Tarkett has developed a multi-material approach, offering a variety of floorings tailored to different purposes: high traffic, sound reduction, low maintenance, easy replacement, high resistance...

This offer extends across multiple material classes, from vinyl and linoleum to carpet, LVT and more. With a variety of easily combined colours and textures, our multi-material range helps you create ergonomic, inclusive, and learning-friendly ambiances.

An inclusive school must be designed for all students, regardless of background, ability, or neurotype. This means promoting accessibility and assist wayfinding (with the use of LRV, wall- and floor-craft signage, warning tiles, tactile strips...). It also means enhancing traffic flow, which can be achieved through the use of appropriate use of colours, signage, and materials adapted to each particular space.

And because the importance of environment in learning is now well established, acoustics, natural light, colours and contrasts, are all important criteria to consider. This can be particularly true for neurodivergent and disabled pupils.

Tarkett's multi-material range is carefully thought out to support you in designing inclusive schools, with a variety of materials, features, and colours suited to particular usages and requirements.