Surface Solutions

Life Floor installations, clockwise from above: Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast, Brisbane's John Carew Swim School and Oaks Sunshine Coast Oasis Resort.

Grant Burgess highlights how aquatic centre fl ooring can meet safety and design demands

Aquatic facility design is unique in many ways and hosts a variety of challenges that aren’t present with dry play applications.

These challenges can directly influence guest experience and include risks such as hydroplaning (skidding on a wet surface), guest swimming abilities, drowning, waterborne illnesses, circulation concerns, and the overall maintenance since many products wear down in chemically treated water, harsh UV rays, and are susceptible to mould and bacteria in aquatic environments.

Accessibility is also a crucial component of aquatic design to ensure people of all ages and abilities are able to interact and engage with features.

Many of these challenges are directly linked to surfacing and become apparent when considering the different options available. Slip-and-falls as a result of hydroplaning are one of the most common injury reports at aquatic centres, but having a durable and easily cleaned surface is also top of mind. Often, centres will choose concrete since it is both durable and initially low cost. However, concrete offers no design benefits and presents safety challenges, which leads to other concerns such as dangerously hot surface temperatures, increased hydroplaning risks, and cleanliness issues. It is also incredibly hard and abrasive which can lead to anything from scrapes and bruises to broken bones and concussive injuries.

Because concrete has historically been used in aquatics, alternatives are often not considered during design stages. As a result, budget is not set aside for better options and the awareness of alternatives in the marketplace remains limited.

The good news is that there is an alternative to traditional surfacing, which has been engineered specifically for aquatic applications: Life Floor.

Life Floor is certified to NSF International’s NSF/ANSI/ CAN Standard 50:26. For a product to become certified to this standard, it must meet or exceed six unique testing criteria including slip-resistance, impact absorption, chemical resistance, UV resistance, impermeability and ease of cleaning. With COVID-19 in recent memory, the cleanliness of a facility has become increasingly important for guests and staff alike.

Life Floor at the Warburton splash pad (above) and Sunshine Leisure Centre (below).

Life Floor is made from a closed-cell foam, which means it does not harbour bacteria, mould, or support microbial growth. During testing for NSF/ ANSI/CAN Standard 50:26, our tiles experienced a 99.9% reduction of bacteria after being sanitised, including the joints of tiles. Impermeability is another important part of facility hygiene. It prevents foreign substances such as sunscreen, fertiliser run-off, and other hazardous substances from being absorbed into the surface material.

Life Floor is certified to this criteria with 99.7% Impermeability which means it does not harbour mould or bacteria.

Safety and design can complement one another. For years, the aquatics industry has strayed towards the belief that a safe surface is different from a beautiful surface, but with Life Floor you don’t need to sacrifice either element. Aquatic centres that install Life Floor can achieve both a safer environment for guests and a beautifully designed surface that complements the overarching design of the space.

As the largest feature present in aquatic centres with the most design potential to appeal to guests, surfaces should complement facility design and provide more options for guests to engage in different ways that encourage free play. Adding a design to the surface of an aquatic centre increases aesthetic appeal, reinforces the theming of attractions, and provides guests with the opportunity to play and engage in more diverse ways.

An aquatic centre can reinforce its theme through colours, shapes, patterns, and characters. Imaginative designs can encourage guests to follow certain paths or hop across certain features. For instance, small lily pad inlays could encourage children to leapfrog across a “pond.” Likewise, winding paths could lead guests through and around spray features. A treasure hunt design could also provide a guided imaginative adventure. Aquatic centres can also enhance guest experience by including games in the surface design.

Hopscotch boards designed into the surface such as the one at the City of Brimbank’s new St Albans Leisure Centre in western metropolitan Melbourne provide a way for children to play and interact with one another. This aquatic centre features a custom Life Floor surface with 12 colours emulating a theme that reflects nature from the blues of water to the reds and tans of desert rock. At this specific centre, the darker blues are positioned leading out from the pool’s deeper section into a zero-depth entry surfaced with lighter blues and teals which in turn leads onto a splash pad surfaced with tan and red tones. This is a subtle method that visually signals to guests that the amenities are changing without disrupting their overall experience.

Free play is only as free as people feel while engaging with an aquatic environment. Do they feel like they can tumble to the ground without fear of a bruised knee? Do they think they can jump around without losing their footing and slipping? Are they certain that there is only the thrill of excitement and not of fear of injury when playing? It is important to design aquatic centres with these questions in mind in order to provide accessible, engaging, safer play offerings for people of all ages and abilities.

Life Floor believes that in addition to beautiful design, aquatic surfaces should lessen the potential for major injury including those caused as a result of unhygienic environments. Our company was founded on the idea that play shouldn’t be painful and that surfacing should be part of the attraction. That’s why the central tenets of our brand are safety and design. Our products provide beautiful, safer experiences which allow guests to play and engage with spaces freely. Grant Burgess is Managing Director of Life Floor, Australia and New Zealand. He can be contacted at solutions@lifefloor.com

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DAVID BENNISON YVETTE AUDET

E: david.bennison@myrthapools.com E: yvette.audet@myrthapools.com M: +61 44 816 6882 M: + 61 410 411 975 myrthapools.com

Life Floor installation at Brisbane's John Carew Swim School.