This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.
This Website Uses Cookies
By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Learn More
This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.
Floor Trends logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Floor Trends logo
  • Home
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Digital Edition
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
  • News
    • Breaking Flooring News
    • Show & Event Coverage
  • Floor Coverings
    • Carpet
    • Resilient
    • Tile & Stone
    • Hardwood
    • Laminate
    • Specialty
    • Area Rugs
    • Residential Flooring
    • Commercial Flooring
    • Installation
    • Products
  • Business Insights
  • Web Exclusives
    • TISE Spotlight
  • Columns
  • Multimedia
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • Photos
    • Quiz
    • Interactive Spotlights
  • Directories
    • Buyer's Guide
    • Wood Flooring Guide
  • More
    • eNewsletter
    • Market Research
    • Wood Flooring Directory
    • Buyer’s Guide
    • Calendar of Events
    • Associations
    • Custom Content & Marketing Services
    • Store
    • Classifieds
  • Talkfloor
  • Contact
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
Home » Using Design to Address Specialized Needs

Using Design to Address Specialized Needs

August 31, 2000
Jeffrey Stouffer
Reprints
No Comments
The kitchen at Braille Institute San Diego presented issues of both style and durability.


Braille Institute San Diego
More than just maintenance and installation concerns faced interior designers charged with specifying the flooring needs of a California school for the visually impaired.

Braille Institute San Diego is a $6 million, 28,000-square-foot, co-educational training facility for the blind and visually impaired. The non-profit organization improves students’ self-sufficiency skills while providing a recreational outlet, as well as offering classes on computer skills, Braille, cooking, arts and crafts, and fitness.

Interior designers Ann Cummings and Andrea Brehe of Design InSite chose warm hues for the facility’s overall color scheme, focusing on bright colors to increase the visual stimulation of the occupants. Additionally, the designers added striking contrasts in every room to help students distinguish the floors from the walls.

The high-traffic arts & crafts room is a centerpiece of the institute.

What to choose, what to choose...

The custom-design requirements of the project, combined with the need for a durable, easy-to-maintain flooring surface, led the design team to investigate the Azrock integrated product line. The team selected two products — Thru Quartz VCT tile and Linosom sheet resilient. VCT was used in the kitchen of the home management apartment and the large arts and crafts classroom, as well as in auxiliary areas such as storage rooms, workrooms and the machine repair shop.

“Azrock VCT was chosen for its durability, and also for the versatility the 12 x 12-inch tiles afforded for creating patterns and borders,” said Cummings. She continued the warm color palette with a tan flooring field accented by green and brown tile patterns.

“In the kitchen and the arts and crafts room, the ability to create a border on the floor provided the contrast needed to give visually-impaired students a reference point to enable them to determine where the cabinetry was located,” Cummings explained.

The large, open, 40 x 100-foot dining and multi-purpose area led to a set of design challenges unto themselves. Maintenance was of utmost importance — because students would take daily meals in the heavily trafficked room, the material chosen had to be durable and easy to maintain. Acoustics and sun glare were also factors; the ceiling is more than 30 feet high at its peak, and clerestory windows flood the room with light.

Due to the vastness of the space, the design team also felt it necessary to break the room down into smaller visual pieces. According to Cummings, Linosom enabled the designers to address the increased specification demands, without compromising style, with a field of gold with terra cotta and sage green accents.

“The diamond flooring pattern used in the multi-purpose room was designed to mirror the pattern of the ceiling,” Cummings said. “It was also used to break the space into three smaller segments. In the serving area, the pattern actually serves as a guide leading the visually impaired into the space.”

The Design InSite team complemented the custom-designed floors with walls of soft gold and sage green, and cream walls accented by cherry wood. Braille Institute San Diego was designed by architect Chris Gedrose of Architects/Larson/Carpenter, and opened to students in February 1999.

The multi-purpose dining area offered challenges all its own.

Mission accomplished

Cummings said that, to date, the Braille Institute installations have met or exceeded the expectations of both her and her client. She credits the conscientious professionalism of installer Astra Flooring and distributor Diamond W Floor Covering for the smooth completion of the project.

“We are very pleased with the look and performance of the Azrock flooring products,” said Barry Kaye, Braille Institute San Diego’s vice president of Operations. “We look forward to many beautiful years with this installation.”

Design InSite is an affiliation of certified interior design firms qualified to work with building, life-safety, flammability and disabled access code issues for interior spaces.

subscribe to Floor Trends

Recent Articles by Jeffrey Stouffer

Tracking Trends, Wherever They May Be

Surfaces 2013: Bold Looks and Brighter Days Ahead

Market Trends 2013: Confidence, Enthusiasm Lead the Way

Chip DeGrace: The Creative Conscience of Interface

Trendsetters: Shaping the Path of Progress

Features Editor

Related Articles

Coverings 2001: A Bounty of Tiles, Tools and Technology

The Lennox Grande: Tiling In to High-Rise Luxury

Blinds, Shutters, Valances, and Shades: The 21st Century Profit Window

2000 Spectrum Awards Recognize Ceramic Installation Innovation

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Subscribe For Free!
  • Print & Digital Edition Subscriptions
  • eNewsletter
  • Online Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service

More Videos

Popular Stories

Eddie Bauer outlet

Fashion Forward: The Revel Woods Eddie Bauer Collaboration

Mannington-logo

Mannington Mills to Acquire Phenix Flooring and Pharr Fibers and Yarns

Mohawk-logo

Mohawk Industries Announces Q3 Financial Results

Karastan-Hardsurface

Karastan Expands into a Total Flooring Brand with Hardwood an LVT Introductions

Pantone-CotY

Pantone Announces 2020 Color of the Year: PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue

TalkFloor videos and podcasts

Poll

Customer Service

In our latest issue, Tom Jennings discusses the elements of good retail service. He says quality service is a differentiator and one that customers will gladly pay more for. Do you believe this to be true?
View Results Poll Archive

Products

Tiling Floors - DVD

Tiling Floors - DVD

Ceramic tile is a versatile and popular material for all kinds of floors.

See More Products

FT Flooring Buyer's Guide

Floor Trends Magazine

FT December 2019 cover

2019 December

In the December 2019 issue of Floor Trends, we look at trends in high-end carpet. Also in this issue, find out how Millennials are shaking things up in the flooring industry.
View More Create Account
  • Resources
    • List Rental
    • Survey And Sample
    • Flooring Group
    • Web Exclusives
    • Polls
    • Privacy Policy
  • Want More
    • Connect
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise With Us
    • Advertise

Copyright ©2019. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing