4 minute read

NATURAL MARVELS

CARPETS INTER’S ECO-FRIENDLY CARPET TILES BEAUTIFULLY BLEND WITH THE EXCEPTIONAL DESIGN LANGUAGE OF THE FERNTREE GULLY CAMPUS PROJECT TO CREATE A SERENE AND COSY ENVIRONMENT FOR LEARNING.

An evocation of design ingenuity, the Ferntree Gully campus project comprising a constellation of academic buildings, was a fruitful collaboration between the renowned architectural practice COX and St Joseph’s College.

Drawing inspiration from the College’s natural surroundings, the new Year 7 & Science building features a bright and colourful palette within its interior to generate distinct visual identities for the College’s junior cohorts. In contrast, the new Senior Students & Visual Arts building exudes a more mature aesthetic, with deeper colours and a more sophisticated palette to define the senior student environment. For instance, the deep blues and greens that grace the halls are infused with natural materials and textured finishes, connecting the spaces to their awe-inspiring surroundings.

To bring the project’s unique aesthetic vision to life, Carpets Inter was brought in to complement the exciting campus design with its exquisite range of eco-conscious carpets. Over 3,740 sqm of the campus space was enhanced with EcoSoft® carpet tiles, providing premium underfoot comfort while ensuring superior acoustics to create a calm and productive learning environment.

In addition to being an element of beauty, the EcoSoft® carpet tiles contain over 187,000 recycled PET bottles, which play a role in minimising the burden on our landfills and diverting them from our oceans. Made from 80% post-consumer discarded water bottles plus 5% postindustrial recycled PET, the cushion backing of EcoSoft® carpet tiles merges top-of-the-line performance with unwavering environmental consciousness. The backing not only surpasses the rigorous performance criteria mandated for commercial applications but consistently outshines conventional PVC and bitumen hard backing, as well as all polyurethane cushion backings, in terms of dimensional stability, durability, comfort, sound absorption, thermal barrier, hygiene, and indoor air quality.

“ COLLABORATING WITH CARPETS INTER, COX WERE ABLE TO HONE AN AESTHETIC APPROACH THAT REALISED THE EXCITING VISION FOR THESE LANDMARK PROJECTS. CAPTURING A CHALLENGING DESIGN INTENT IN SUCH A REFINED AND BALANCED WAY WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE PRODUCT QUALITY, RANGE, AND FLEXIBILITY CARPETS INTER COULD OFFER. TOGETHER WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO CREATE SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL FOR THE STUDENTS AND COLLEGE COMMUNITY AND WE ARE INCREDIBLY PROUD OF THIS. ”

- COX Architecture

“At Carpets Inter, we practice prevention at the source rather than relying solely on purchasing carbon credits to offset our carbon footprint. To date, we have recycled over 920 million PET bottles into the manufacturing of our unique EcoSoft® cushion back modular carpet tiles, thereby reducing the impact of plastic pollution on our planet,” the brand states.

Without the unparalleled product quality, range, and flexibility that Carpets Inter could bring to the table, achieving the challenging design intent of the project with a level of refinement would have remained an unattainable feat. “Together, we have been able to create something very special for the students and college community, and we are incredibly proud of this,” the brand remarks. CARPETSINTER.COM