14. December 2018 | Germany | Project References

taz with original norament pastille flooring

taz equips new building with original norament pastille flooring from nora systems

Weinheim, December 2018 – At the end of October 2018, the time had come for the taz to fulfil a longstanding wish: The approximately 250 employees, who were previously housed in two different buildings, are now reunited under one roof. Open, flexible and sustainable: this is the design of the newspaper publisher's new building in the media, art and creative district of Friedrichstraße in Kreuzberg. The building design reflects the values of the users and was designed by Zurich architects Piet and Wim Eckert (E2A) as an open house and as a "system without hierarchies". So the ground floor is open to the public and, in addition to a restaurant and taz shop, also houses a large function room. The outer shell of the building expresses a clear guiding principle: The net as a symbol of connection and diversity. The construction with its sloping façade panels allows for a high degree of flexibility; the light-flooded open spaces are designed in such a way that they enable different forms of work. Inside, each of the six floors is organized differently and adapts to the needs of the respective editorial offices or departments. The working atmosphere is similar to that of a workshop or an artist's studio: Raw materials remain consciously visible and are not disguised or concealed. The architects and the taz cooperative attached great importance as a builder to sustainable, resilient products. When it came to the flooring, nora systems rubber flooring was the obvious choice. The norament pastille flooring, which sits on more than 4,600 square metres in the completely new taz building, impressed with its distinctive design, resilience and sustainability.

Pastille flooring as the final touch to the design concept

In the building at the Besselpark, little colour is used and the basic tone is grey – as is characteristic of the city. "We have realised a building that takes itself back and in which the employees bring colour and life," explains Claudio Aquino, Associate at E2A and project manager responsible for the design implementation. Accordingly, the architects also chose a monochrome, bright grey for the majority of the rubber floors, totaling nearly 4,500 square metres. "The decision to choose a pastille design has a deeper background," says taz managing director Andreas Bull. "The pastille represents the image pixels in newspaper printing." The pastille motif was also featured on the glass walls separating the editorial rooms and stairwell. There, in black and white braille, the inscription "taz remains" is displayed. The central, almost 160 square metre conference room on the first floor stands out in colour, which – matching the corporate design of the taz – has been fitted with a fiery red pastille floor. The colour motif is also revisited in taz.panorama, a leisure room in the attic, with the red lettering "taz, the daily newspaper."

A floor like the taz: sustainable and indestructible

The sustainability of the materials used was an essential aspect of the building equipment for architects and users. Here, the nora floors, with their extremely resistand surfaces, fit perfectly into the concept. "The rubber meant we had chosen an ," Bull continued. But this does not only have purely functional advantages: the less often an interior floor has to be replaced, the more positive the effect on its sustainability rating. The fact that the rubber floorings can be easily and economically cleaned also contributes to the long-term preservation of value. Another advantage is that the robust nora floors also withstand a modular, changing facility. Where a desk is today could be used as a hallway tomorrow. "Maximum flexibility in the use of office space and dynamic adaptation to changing processes is essential for us," Bull underlines.

Environmentally friendly and healthy for a clear head

Ecological compatibility was also a decisive criterion, which helped architects and builders choose the "Made in Germany" rubber flooring. Since they do not contain phthalate plasticisers and halogens, nora floors were awarded the "Blue Angel ... for low emissions" in 2006 as the very first elastic floor covering. nora products are internationally certified and regularly inspected by independent institutes. The Weinheim rubber specialist is one of the initiators of the German Society for Sustainable Building (DGNB) and is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). In addition, nora systems was the first producer of elastic flooring to submit environmental product declarations (EPDs) and also one of the first manufacturers of elastic flooring to receive ISO 14001 certification for its environmental management systems.

Good indoor air and great design: nora pastille flooring hits the design concept on the head in the taz's open-plan offices.

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About nora

nora by Interface is the commercial rubber flooring brand of Interface, Inc. Produced in Germany for more than 70 years, nora premium rubber solutions help to support operations, efficiencies, health, safety and well-being with sustainable flooring that eases maintenance, reduces noise, and provides added comfort underfoot.

Interface, Inc., (NASDAQ: TILE) is a global flooring solutions enterprise with an integrated portfolio of carpet tile and resilient flooring products, where everything is third-party certified carbon neutral. With our design approach to flooring systems, we help our customers create high-performance interior spaces that have a positive impact on people’s lives and the planet. Our range includes Interface^® carpet tile and LVT, nora^® by Interface rubber flooring, and FLOR^® premium area rugs for commercial and residential spaces.

Interface is third-party certified as a Carbon Neutral Enterprise. We neutralized our carbon impact across our entire business, including all operations and our full value chain, marking an important milestone toward our objective to become a restorative and carbon negative enterprise by 2040.

Learn more about Interface at interface.com and blog.interface.com, nora by Interface at nora.com, FLOR at FLOR.com, and our sustainability journey at interface.com/sustainability. 

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