The London Clinic, Harley Street

The ability to create a complete flooring design solution from one manufacturer was a key reason for the specification of a range of products from Forbo Flooring Systems, into a prestigious healthcare facility in London.

The original brief for the refurbishment of The London Clinic, situated on Harley Street, in the heart of London’s medical community, was to relocate three of their departments incorporating the latest state-of-the-art imaging technology; nuclear medicine, mammography and CT Scanning onto one single floor level. Thereby combining the Clinic’s resources and creating a new dedicated facility to offer the latest in imaging technology.

Swanke Hayden Connell Architects (SHCA) specified over 400m2 of Forbo’s flooring products comprising of Allura Wood, SafeStep Grip, SureStep Wood and Marmoleum Ohmex.  Max Lishmund from SHCA comments: “We used the ranges on offer from Forbo and in particular the integrated approach to floor design, with colours and styles seamlessly connecting from one collection to another.”

Allura Wood was specified for the public realm areas of the clinic, continuing the theme for timber effect flooring used elsewhere in the building. The design was conceived to give a more crisp and fresh look, whilst drawing upon the natural warmth and beauty of timber to create a calm environment. The chic interpretations of natural materials within the Allura Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) collection, incorporate an individual surface texture, which reflects the print design and gives the collection an authentic yet wholly distinctive look.

Forbo’s Allura LVT is unsurpassed when it comes to technical performance.  Made using a dimensionally stable glassfleece interlayer to avoid shrinkage and allow larger, more realistic designs, Allura also has a tough calendared wearlayer and flexible PUR finish, ideal for any public area that experiences daily foot traffic.   

The Marmoleum Ohmex, SureStep Wood and SafeStep Grip specifications were ultimately driven by performance requirements. The former was installed in the treatment rooms as it meets a higher requirement for electrical conductivity than a standard linoleum product. Electrical resistance is improved to < 1-10 8 Ω (EN1081), ensuring personal safety and protecting equipment that is sensitive to static electricity, such as the sophisticated imaging technology used in The London Clinic. What’s more, linoleum is naturally bacteriostatic, making it ideal for healthcare establishments where hygiene is of paramount importance.

SafeStep safety vinyl offers high slip resistance coupled with excellent maintenance properties and high durability, due to the inclusion of aluminium oxide particles in the wear layer. SafeStep can be installed in all general purpose areas requiring an R10 slip resistance and can also be easily maintained due to its unique PUR Pearl™ finish. Lastly, SureStep safety flooring in a natural oak finish, continuing the theme for timber effect flooring, but also offering high slip resistance.

“With Forbo, we were able to build a seamless flooring design solution, all from one manufacturer, satisfying the wide ranging flooring specification requirements,” explains Max Lishmund. Indeed for SHCA, the key benefit to the specification was the associated time and cost savings resulting from sourcing all products from one supplier.

Tracey Clark, Director at Crown Flooring Ltd in London, installers on this project, comments: “The specified Forbo flooring was readily available and the service and support offered by Forbo, enabled us to complete the project in line with the client’s requirement.”

“The flooring scheme has been very successful,” comments Tony Beecroft, Capital Planning Director at The London Clinic. “The end result is a flooring concept which successfully integrates and ties the new facilities together, provides a durable surface that copes with the daily foot traffic and offers a warm and hospitable environment for all those that come into the department.”