The Société Générale, headquartered in Paris, is one
of France’s most important commercial banks and,
along with Crédit Lyonnais and BNP Paribas, is one
of the three oldest commercial banks in the country.
Numerous
subsidiaries also belong to the Group,
including the Investment Department for Financial
Securities
(called Société Générale Securities Services
(SGSS)), which houses a large branch in Nantes,
France.
Even if no customers are received in the building in
Nantes, the SGSS still pays great attention to attractive
interior design so that employees can work in a
stimulating and relaxed atmosphere. In light of this,
various restoration works, most recently in 2017, have
also been carried out on the corridors and offices.
Much of this work was focused on the redesign of the
floor coverings,
as they needed to meet several technical
criteria in addition to being aesthetically pleasing.
“We were looking for a top-quality floor product,”
explains the project
manager. “We discussed several
alternatives but after only a few conversations we had
our mind set on the rubber flooring by nora systems.
We were already familiar with these floor coverings
because
the stairwells in the same building were fitted
with norament® 926 grano steptreads back in 2012.”
Based on its experience with the stair coverings installed
in 2012, the SGSS had no concerns about
the durability and longevity of the products. Because
thanks to the extremely dense surface created by the
vulcanisation process, nora systems floors show hardly any signs of wear and tear even after several years of
use. But in addition to its outstanding, functional properties,
the flooring should also be visually appealing
first and foremost. The SGSS wanted a design with a
natural look. They found this in norament® 926 arago –
a rubber flooring which impresses with its slate effect
and is in no way inferior to a real stone floor in terms of
appearance. “The aesthetics of norament 926 arago
had us convinced – we fell in love with this elegant
look. In addition, the nora flooring does not require a
coating, allowing it to retain its stone-like appearance
over its entire lifespan,” enthuses a co-manager of the
renovation work on the SGSS. With norament 926
arago, each tile is different from the next so every
square metre is unique. The flooring is available in
twelve elegant shades of grey. This purist spectrum of
colours is a popular choice for giving rooms a modern
yet natural look.
Acoustic benefits for a comfortable working climate
In addition to the elegant appearance of the nora flooring, the acoustic benefits were also decisive for choosing norament arago. The employees of the SGSS declare with great satisfaction: “Compared to our previous flooring, we are now experiencing much better acoustics and comfort when walking and at the same time less walking noise. These benefits are also noticeable during meetings in the meeting rooms as they are no longer disturbed by the sounds of heels clacking.”
Essential for health and the environment
For the SGSS, the environmental friendliness of nora systems flooring is the icing on the cake. Sustainable thinking and action is of vital importance to nora systems and our products contribute to this ideology in a number of ways: On the one hand, the rubber floors are extremely wear-resistant and durable and look almost as good as new after decades of intensive use. In this way, they make a major contribution to sustainable and healthy construction. The less often an interior floor has to be replaced, the more positive is the effect on the sustainability rating. Furthermore, nora rubber floor coverings do not require any coatings, allowing them to be cleaned easily and economicallythanks to their densesurface. They are phthalate-free and do not contain halogens. They are also particularly low in emissions and support good interior air quality. These positive environmental features are also reflected in numerous international certifications international certifications, such as the Blue Angel, Greenguard Gold and Indoor Air Comfort Gold. In summary, it can be said that with norament 926 arago, the SGSS was supplied with flooring that combines aesthetic stone effects, excellent acoustic properties and excellent environmental friendliness in one product – overall, a big plus for all employees at the French branch.
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