Rubber floorings in Munich's Integration Center for Cerebral Palsy (ICP)
Sunny yellow for a life-affirming world

Kindergarten, school, vocational training, career - rendering this "quite normal" course of things possible for spastic children and young people, often with multiple handicaps, has for more than 40 years been the task and goal of the ICP in Munich. This is conditional on possessing premises that meet all the requirements entailed by modern-day pedagogic and therapeutic concepts. The buildings concerned, extensively refurbished and expanded last year, satisfy these stipulations to impressive effect, not least by virtue of the construction materials used, like the nora rubber flooring.

The teaching, therapy and administration rooms in the main building are grouped around a central hall. It is the communicative center-point: eating and drinking, talking and listening, partying and relaxing. The multi-storey hall is of captivating liveliness. Bridges, stairs, loggias and galleries turn it into a microcosm of its own. And the huge southward-facing glass wall opens it up and connects it to the outside world. Am I indoors or outdoors? A question that occasionally occurs to onlookers with an unimpeded view of the floating clouds and the center's grounds.

"We want the rooms to reflect the liveliness of life itself. For the handicapped, particularly, it's important to keep them feeling that they're a part of this world", emphasize Richard Bartley and Reinhold Schneider. The two architects from the prestigious Munich-based firm of architects Mann + Partner played the leading role in refurbishing and expanding the ICP.

Vitality, dynamism, confidence - these were also the watchwords when it came to designing the classrooms for the primary and secondary schools, and the special-needs schools for vocational training. For the floors, the choice fell on rubber floorings from the world's market leader Freudenberg Bausysteme. "There were two main reasons for this", explains Schneider. "A high degree of walking comfort is a paramount consideration for people who can often move only with difficulty. A resilient flooring provides this comfort. The yellow noraplan mega flooring we chose, moreover, is best suited to the interior design concept involved." A friendly, sunny yellow with colourful scattered granules puts life into the room's decor and infuses some light into even the longest of corridors. School can be fun!

In the group rooms of the ICP's crèche, the same colourful flooring provides an inviting ambience for play. What's particularly important in rooms where the floor is the play surface: nora rubber floorings are quick and easy to clean. So if a mug of fruit juice tips over, it's no big deal.

Besides a crèche and schools, the ICP also houses a hall of residence with 36 places. It was particularly important here to create a welcoming home atmosphere, which is why the noraplan mega flooring was installed in the rooms and corridors. Here the architects were focusing on the resident's special needs: "We wanted the young residents to feel particularly in touch with the world's living pulse."

And to ensure that the world remains lively, the clients insisted on using eco-friendly construction materials. Freudenberg Bausysteme KG have always accorded environmental protection a central place in their corporate philosophy - from the choice of raw materials and their processing, all the way through to final disposal. Numerous certificates from international testing institutes provide an impressive range of validation.

In residential areas for people with restricted mobility, a particularly high level of fire resistance is imperative. nora rubber floorings score here in terms of their flame-retardancy. Moreover, they do not contain any PVC, plasticizers or halogens. In the event of a fire, no hydrogen chloride gases are formed, no hydrochloric acid, no dioxins or furanes. The raw materials used for nora floorings, what's more, ensure a pleasant indoor climate.

 

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Further information for readers:	Further information for editorial staff:
Freudenberg Bausysteme	textivity
D-69465 Weinheim	Annette Röhrs
Tel. +49(0) 62 01 / 80-56 66	Tel. ++49 160 63 61 783
Fax: +49(0) 62 01 / 88-30 19	Fax ++49 6201 / 55 25 9
E-Mail: nora@freudenberg.de	E-Mail: textivity.roehrs@web.de