Designed by the Los Angeles office of Perkins+Will, Creekview Ranch Middle School — a LEED-NC Gold-certified, 86,000-square-foot campus located outside Sacramento, Calif. — has seen 1,500 teens shuffle in and out its doors since its opening nearly two years ago. All this foot traffic has tested and validated the sustainable flooring decisions made by the Dry Creek School District and the design team during the conceptualization of the high-performance school buildings.

Although representing only a small percentage of the total construction cost, the flooring products played a crucial role in reflecting the district’s new emphasis on sustainability and high performance. They are among the few tangible elements that the students and staff interact with on a daily basis. Following is a brief description of the key flooring products.

Carpeting

Photo by New York Focus.

LEED credits MR 4.1and 4.2, EQ 4.1 and 4.3

Cubic and Metamorphic carpet tile systems by Interface, with the Glasbac Tile RE backing, comprise more than 50 percent of the total flooring. Carpet tile was first specified for its performance, versatility and ease of installation and maintenance. However, the bonus was that Interface tiles also met high standards for recycled content (more than 50 percent in the backing) and highly sustainable manufacturing methods.

At first, the school district was hesitant to use this product. For years, the district’s standard had been a utilitarian single-color broadloom carpet with standard installation and a “cookie cutter” cut-and-paste repair method. Knowing that carpet tile was not the district’s standard, the low-bid flooring subcontractor proposed an alternate broadloom carpet — with the lure of an apparent 15 percent cost savings over carpet tile.

Perkins+Will, with the help of the carpet tile manufacturer, was able to demonstrate that the15 percent additional cost disappeared when the sustainable installation process was considered. Instead of the usual adhesives, 3-inch square adhesive stickers were applied to all four corners of the tiles.

This method virtually eliminated the VOC fumes typically associated with standard and even low-VOC adhesives. The benefits of this system become apparent with maintenance: Any stained tiles can be quickly replaced with attic stock using the original adhesive stickers.

Linoleum

Photo by Digital Sky Photography.

LEED credits MR 4.1and 4.2, EQ 4.1 and 4.3

The district’s previous standard for resilient flooring was VCT. Perkins+Will was able to demonstrate that linoleum was a better, more-sustainable choice in this case.

Forbo’s Marmoleum linoleum flooring with Top Shield coating was specified for heavy-traffic public areas such as lobbies and the cafeteria. Since the difference (in terms of cost and maintenance) between linoleum and VCT is negligible, this was one instance where sustainability of the product played the critical role in its selection for Perkins + Will. Forbo’s sustainable ingredients, low-VOC installation methods and sustainable (SMART platinum) manufacturing processes became the deciding factors in its selection.

Entrance Floor Mats

LEED credits MR 4.1 and 4.2, EQ 4.1 and 5

Finally, as part of the initiative to create healthier learning environments, permanent entry floor mats were designed for all classroom entrances. Debating various factors such as exterior versus interior and permanent versus portable, the team specified Terra Turf matting by Johnsonite. The matting comes in 12” x 12” tiles for flexibility and was installed with low-VOC adhesive. Over time, the material’s durability has also been proven.

But what may be the most important factor is the matting’s ingredient: 100 percent recycled tires. The students can relate to the use of everyday tires as a building material, making the matting one of the few obvious building components that can directly teach the students about the school’s sustainable design.

A Pop Test

Creekview Ranch Middle School is an example of sustainable material selections and the client’s practical needs being perfectly aligned. During a recent campus site visit by the architects, the district’s facilities director shared this story:

As the most recent school year began, gallons of water were accidentally spilled in the administration area. Simple mopping cleaned up the areas with linoleum flooring. The real story was in the carpeted areas. The maintenance crew peeled the wet carpet tiles off the floor, cleaned and sanitized them, and then let them dry in the central California summer heat. Twenty-four hours later, the same tiles were reinstalled without any hint of what had happened. Since that day, carpet tile has replaced the broadloom as the district’s standard.



Creekview Ranch Middle School

Completed >> April 2009       Size >> 87,623 square feet

Location >> Roseville, Calif.  Certification >> LEED-NC Gold

Design Team >> Perkins + Will



Notable Interior Products

>> Flooring: Marmoleum Real sheet linoleum by Forbo; Cubic Modular, Transformation and Metamorphic carpet tiles by InterfaceFLOR; Johnsonite Terra-Turf recycled tile walk-off mats; Crossville porcelain floor tile; Daltile cermaic floor tile.

>> Ceiling: Armstrong ACT - Fine Fissured, Optima Open Plan, Clean Room Mylar

>> Wood: FSC framing lumber from Lumbermens; FSC wood flooring from Action Floor Systems Inc.

>> Interior Finishes and Furnishings: Skyblend particleboard; Richlite countertops; Trespa Toplab Plus; Icestone countertops; American Olean quarry tile; Forbo cork board; Trespa Athlon toilet partitions.

>> Paints and Wallcoverings: Whispertone Wallboard by Johns Manville; Fabric wrapped acoustical paneling by Lamvin Inc.; Tnemec, Prosoco, Valspar, Dunn Edwards and ICI paints.