Press release
Made for walking and standing – and a feast for the eyes
Rubber floor coverings from nora systems in extraordinary projects with individual interior designs
Weinheim, March 2015 – Milan, Prague, The Hague, New York. Four international locations
steeped in history. These cities are united by a common transient history: Different buildings
at these locations are now home to extraordinary interior designs that have found worldwide
acclaim. One crucial contribution was made by nora systems, a manufacturer of high quality
rubber floor coverings whose hallmarks include long life, durability, and easy care as well as
the best walking and standing comfort. Besides their functional aspects, these products also
trump with an additional, unmistakable strength: They are predestined for individual, creative,
and extraordinary design solutions. A brief portrait of four realised customer orders.
Pirelli Tower in Milan: Faithful restoration
The regional capital of Lombardy boasts three extraordinary structures in the form of the Milan Cathedral, La Scala, and San Siro Stadium. A further imposing landmark of Milan is the
Pirelli Tower. When the thirty storey skyscraper was built towards the end of the1950s, the
designer and architect Gio Ponti created for the floor a particularly expressive rubber flooring
in a powerful yellow hue. “Giallo fantastico” was born. In 2002, a plane crashed into the building, inflicting extremely severe damage on this floor of “fantastic yellow”. The whole complex
required extensive restoration. Milan’s order to Weinheim: The flooring should be restored
faithfully to its original state. With the aid of old photographs immortalising this distinctive yellow, the specialists from nora systems developed noraplan vario vivace exclusively for this
project. “Giallo fantastico” was reborn.
Escher Museum in The Hague: Sophisticated optical illusion
Setting creative trends and achieving special interior effects: This museum dedicated to the
life and works of the Dutch graphical artist Maurits Cornelis Escher assigns a central role to
impossible perspectives and optical illusions. When the floor in a visitors’ room used by
workshop children had to be redesigned, the choice went to nora systems. The commissioned design office had created a uniform rectangle consisting of three rhombi, intending to
induce a hypnotic effect of depth recalling Escher’s works. Among their specialisations, the
Weinheim experts are masters at realising inlays in rubber floorings that give rise to surprisingly creative effects and unusual design ideas. Today, the floor in the room is made up of
exactly 2,505 noraplan rubber tiles in three shades of grey. The tiles were first trimmed at
nora systems with a modern ultrasonic cutter, so the joins in this underfoot art did not need to
be sealed on site.
Press release
National Library of Technology in Prague: Distinctive colour concept
Resilient rubber floor coverings are extremely robust and easy to clean – and so ideal for
places frequented by large numbers of people. One of these is the National Library of Technology in Prague. There, about 1.5 million books await the many students and scientists. For
these, every visit is special, and not only because of the specialist literature. Extremely fascinating is also the distinctive floor design that presents a spectacular sea of colour spreading
over 5000 square metres and five storeys in the open plan interior. Blue, yellow, red, orange,
and green in a range of nuances. The complex arrangement of inlays was realised by nora
systems – with noraplan uni over the second to sixth floors – continuing and supplementing
the static lines of force in the ceiling and floor.
Longchamp in New York Unmistakable objet d’art in orange
132 Spring Street, SoHo, New York. This flagship store of the French luggage and leather
goods maker Longchamp bears the title “La Maison Unique”, the “Unique House”. The heart
of the building is formed by a set of flowing stairs bearing noraplan uni, giving the impression
of huge orange ribbons. Also the landings and transitions sport this special orange – just like
the walls. At a height of 5.5 metres, the rubber flooring was additionally installed along the
vertical plane, a true challenge. The overall work – an unmistakable objet d’art. Customers
and staff are unanimous: This visual appeal and its flowing union with the three storeys is
unique. Besides its function as a floor covering, the orange rubber also serves as a colourful
background for the presentation of high quality Longchamp products.*
*This text can be copied free of charge. Please send us a specimen copy.
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