Nursery St. Katharina

Fresh, cheerful, healthy – child-friendly flooring in the new nursery building. The children and parents were quite amazed when the St. Katharina nursery in Wallerfangen, Saarland, reopened its doors to them following demolition and reconstruction: instead of the usual narrow corridors and small rooms, they were greeted by an open-plan layout with welcoming, child-friendly spaces. The new feel-good atmosphere is greatly enhanced by the flooring: PURLINE wineo 1500 is used across over 800 m² in three variants, ranging from a light, calm grey to a fresh jungle green.

BHK Architekten from Saarlouis were responsible for the new build. Planning and designing the nursery posed a particular challenge for the team of architects. “The nursery was built on an existing floor slab with a partial basement. This approach meant we had to plan a new nursery concept within the constraints of a given floor plan,” recalls Managing Director Ralf Heinrich. The focus was not only on aspects such as functionality and safety, but above all on the children’s wellbeing.

The requirements for the materials used were correspondingly high. “The issue of harmful substances was our top priority. In nurseries and kindergartens in particular, we have to be meticulous about ensuring compliance with all emission limits,” said Heinrich. “When you consider that many of the children spend a large part of the day sitting or playing on the floor, the flooring takes on particular importance. Furthermore, durability and ease of cleaning were, of course, key criteria.”

PURLINE offers the ideal all-round solution. Three different variants of the wineo 1500 roll flooring have been used: in the entrance area and corridors, wineo 1500 chip in ‘Light Grey’ creates a calm atmosphere across a total of 205 m². In the group rooms, which cover 534 m², wineo 1500 chip in ‘Jungle Green’ has been laid – a cheerful colour that sparks the children’s sense of discovery. In the 66 m² activity room in the basement, the wineo 1500 acoustic roll flooring, also in ‘Jungle Green’, covers the floor. The Purline organic flooring special solution also offers excellent shock absorption. “This ensures a comfortable feel when doing gymnastics, jumping and running about,” explains Heinrich. Furthermore, it reduces the risk of injury to the little explorers.

A major advantage during installation is the minimal difference in height between the various floor coverings, which means they can be combined effectively. Floor coverings with sports-specific properties are significantly thicker than wineo 1500 acoustic, which may then need to be levelled out using a screed. A design concept with identical décor and, consequently, colour is guaranteed by the uniform top layer of Purline Bioboden – whether in the standard version or the Acoustic product variant.

A common feature of all floorings in the Purline range is their resilient surface, which creates pleasant room acoustics. Even when gymnastics are taking place in the exercise hall, it remains pleasantly quiet in the play and relaxation rooms one floor above. Thanks to the stain-resistant PU top layer, the flooring can be cleaned quickly and easily. This is particularly important in the corridors, which must maintain the highest standards of hygiene despite heavy footfall. The flooring withstands heavy use with ease: it offers excellent residual indentation resistance of ~0.10 mm (in accordance with EN ISO 24343-1) as well as outstanding resilience.