Cork Flooring: Comfortable and Healthy Floor Solutions
03/07/2024
Human health and comfort are of great importance, especially in living and working areas. In this context, the choice of floor coverings plays a critical role. Cork floorings offer a qualified option in terms of both health and comfort by showing superior performance in important issues such as walking comfort and indoor air quality. In this article, we will discuss cork flooring, which offers various benefits in terms of both comfort and health by combining the positive properties of cork, a natural and sustainable material, with modern flooring technologies.
Silence: Natural Sound Insulation
Cork is an effective natural sound absorber thanks to its cell structure that works as an acoustic insulator. These floors act as an effective noise buffer for impact sound insulation and minimise noise radiating into the rooms below the floor. This proves how effective cork flooring is in creating a quiet and peaceful environment, especially in residential and commercial areas. In parallel, Amorim Cork Flooring, distributed by Dendro, creates a comfortable living space by significantly reducing noise such as the sound of walking within a room. Tests show that Amorim Cork Flooring products reduce walking noise by 53%.
Natural Thermal Insulation: Optimum Comfort All Year Long
The natural thermal insulation properties of cork make floors energy efficient. These floors offer an optimum floor temperature throughout the year, offering a pleasant touch even with bare feet. Compared to other flooring materials such as wood, vinyl or ceramic tiles, cork parquet retains heat better and prevents energy dissipation. Foot temperature tests with different materials show that cork parquet performs well as a heat preservation solution. In addition to saving energy, this feature increases overall comfort and makes these spaces a comfortable place to use in all seasons.
Walking Comfort: Healthy and Relaxed Steps
Walking comfort is an important factor in the evaluation of floor coverings. Walking on excessively hard floors creates vibrations that damage muscles and tendons as the heels hit the floor. Over time, these vibrations can cause tension in the feet, legs and back. Floors that are too soft cause fatigue. Cork parquet offers an ideal balance between these two extremes. Softer than laminate and harder than carpet, cork flooring improves foot comfort by reducing the effects of heel strike and associated body tensions. These floors alleviate body fatigue by reducing walking effort and provide a comfortable movement in daily life.
Indoor Air Quality: A Clean and Healthy Environment
Indoor air quality is critical for healthy living and working environments. Amorim Cork Flooring offers a qualified performance in this field. The products have been tested on more than 2000 potential chemicals and found to comply with the most stringent indoor air quality standards. The French certification, which evaluates products according to their vocal emission levels, classifies Amorim products at the highest level (A+). This indicates that the products have low chemical emission levels and improve air quality in the environments where they are used.
Greenguard North America certification recognises products that have low chemical emissions and improve the air in which they are used. In this context, Amorim Cork Flooring has been awarded the GOLD level. This is a stricter certification criteria that ensures products are acceptable for use in sensitive environments such as schools and healthcare facilities.
Tüv-Proficert is a certificate that certifies that a product complies with different national regulations such as AgBB (Germany), Belgian VOC regulation, Finnish M1, BREEAM, LEED v4 (outside North America), RAL-UZ 120 and Austrian Eco Label. In October 2018, Amorim Cork Flooring became the first flooring company to receive tüv certification at the highest level, Premium. These certificates show that Amorim Cork Flooring minimises its environmental impact, improves indoor air quality and complies with sustainable production processes.
Healing Power of Cork: Heart Treatment Centre Transformation Project
Image taken from amorimcorkflooring.com.
Swiss studio Dost has transformed a 1960s restaurant into a modern heart treatment centre in Zurich, a remarkable project in terms of both aesthetics and functionality. In the project, cork coating was preferred on all surfaces from floor to ceiling. Tables, counters, cabinets and walls were completely covered with cork, creating cork cubes that organise the space and create pathways for users. The architects say that natural cork provides a comfortable sound reverberation, regulates humidity and absorbs odours, providing both visual continuity and a natural and warm feeling to the space. The resulting spaces embody the clients' core values of care and tranquillity. The acoustic comfort provided by the cork reinforces the quietness and calmness of the environment, while its humidity-regulating properties improve indoor air quality.
The use of cork is not only an aesthetic preference, but also a functional solution. These versatile properties of natural cork offer a comfortable experience in the space, while at the same time standing out as a sustainable material choice. This transformation project is a qualified example of how conscious choices about sustainability and the use of natural materials can make a big difference in terms of health and comfort. This project shows how cork can be used creatively and effectively in architecture and interior design. Amorim Cork Flooring, which offers healthy and comfortable floor coverings by combining innovative technologies and natural materials, is not only a sustainable and reliable choice, but also adds value to the identity of the space.
References
https://www.amorimcorkflooring.com/brands/projects-item?lang=en&placeholder=reference-projects&idItem=1
https://www.hgtv.com/design/remodel/interior-remodel/the-benefits-of-cork-flooring
https://www.thespruce.com/cork-flooring-pros-and-cons-1314688
