Field House Sports Durable Lockers

Operable glass-wall systems allow architects and designers to create fl exible, enclosed spaces that allow natural light transmission.

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Sources listed below are linked at

commercialarchitecturemagazine. com/1905nanawall.

Harvard Univ., harvard.edu • International WELL Building Institute,

wellcertifi ed.com

Institute of Medicine, ihi.org National Public Radio, npr.org Forbes magazine, forbesmagazine.com office combines private offices, cubicle banks, and open floor plans, as well as communal areas and soundproof rooms where employees can concentrate. Opening glass-wall systems allow a smaller footprint with more multifunctional, sound-controlled office enclosures and meeting rooms while reducing the need for extraneous dedicated rooms that serve only one function. • Light. One surefire way to construct a flourishing office environment is to consult the International WELL Building Institute, New York, standard. According to this standard, lighting has a substantial impact. A thriving workplace should enhance productivity, provide visual acuity, and minimize circadian-rhythm disruption. The Institute of Medicine, Boston, reports that about 50- to 70-million U. S. adults have a chronic sleep or wakefulness disorder, and with people spending most of their waking hours indoors, improper lighting design and insufficient natural light can lead to negative physiological responses resulting in poor sleep and other health concerns.

Operable glass-wall systems allow architects and designers to create flexible enclosed spaces that allow natural light transmission. This has positive effects on stress reduction, cognitive performance, sleep, concentration, and overall mood. Whether open or closed, the transparent nature of an opening glass-wall system ensures greater diffusion of natural light within the space. • Privacy. Privacy, like collaboration, is essential for workplace engagement, innovation, and advancement. Without spatial boundaries to provide privacy, studies show overall communication between team members is lower and workflow is more easily disrupted. Focus work is valued as the most important activity in the workplace and takes up the majority of an employee’s time. To efficiently complete this work, a sizeable amount of visual, auditory, and spatial privacy is needed. This allows individuals to work without distraction, accurately communicate sensitive information, clarify ideas, focus, and re-charge, and can even reduce sick days. Opening glass-wall systems can provide employees with visual privacy through custom solutions such as switchable glass that can go from clear to opaque at the touch of a button, art glass, and easy-to-operate shades. • Sound. National Public Radio (NPR), Washington, reports that noise made by one’s co-workers is rated as the number one distraction in office environments, citing that as many as 74% of workers complain about distractions at work, lowering productivity and worker morale. Open-concept, collaborative spaces facilitate a higher volume of distracting sounds and do not provide the sound barriers needed for enhanced productivity.

Operable glass-wall systems offer an efficient way to create flexible, multi-use spaces with built-in sound protection. Many companies offer folding, sliding, and all-glass wall systems with sound transmission class (STC) ratings of as much as 45 to suit varying office sound requirements and which reduce loud conversations to normal levels of speech and even to a quiet murmur. As the Forbes study notes, all the whirs, clicks, and taps combined with office chatter can add up and create a noisy environment that makes productivity nearly impossible. Operable-glass walls serve as great acoustical barriers when closed, then glide off into a corner to permit a once enclosed space to seamlessly reintegrate with the rest of the office, allowing the space to be truly multifunctional.

By incorporating glass-wall systems, designers and architects can update underperforming workspaces into a modern office that ensures higher levels of productivity, a more efficient use of space, and an increased sense of workplace satisfaction and connectivity. CA

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Field House Sports Durable Lockers

HDPE lockers and partitions provide easy-care furnishings to new athletic complex.

The grand opening of the state-of-the-art Kevin P. Quinn, S.J., Athletics Campus recently highlighted the latest phase of the Univ. of Scranton’s efforts to improve student athlete experiences, beautify the neighborhood, and complement the revitalization efforts in South Scranton, PA.

Named after the Jesuit college’s 25th president, the $14-million sports complex was designed to serve as the school’s home field for soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, baseball, and softball. In addition to three NCAA-regulation all-purpose turf fields, the newly launched facility includes bleacher seating, a 4,000-sq.-ft. field house with team locker rooms and a training room, parking, a community basketball court, and a children’s play area.

Designed with a pragmatic style, coupled with long-lasting functionality, the new field house was also developed to serve as the central hub for all of the different playing fields. Among its many amenities are five locker rooms featuring Tufftec lockers and Hiny Hiders restroom partitions, manufactured by Scranton Products, Scranton, PA.

The locker non-porous surfaces make them easy to clean and resistant to bacteria, odors, mold, and mildew. The partitions offer the same advantages and are also available in a variety of colors and styles that never rust or need painting. In addition, they are resistant to dents, scratches, graffiti, corrosion, mildew, and moisture.

Designers also took advantage of the manufacturer’s customer-service department to include the university’s squib “S” logo and purple signature color in the locker design. These custom features are popular

Lockers in the new Univ. of Scranton fi eld house deliver durability and feature the school colors and logo.

design elements that also instill school pride.

If cleaned and maintained properly, HDPE partitions and lockers reduce long-term costs. Most stains and general soiling are often removed with a mild cleaner and water. Since plastic is a solid composite, it also maintains a property of impermeability that does not allow them to retain and/or absorb water. This makes the HDPE products ideal for power-washing and hose-down cleaning. CA

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EDITORS’ CHOICE Trimboard accessories

Trimboard accessories:

PostWrap columns and corners Decorative mouldings Variety of lengths, colors

A line of PVC trimboard accessories for the Color2Core (C2C) products includes PostWrap column wraps and corners, and two extruded decorative mouldings: Bead Board with Nail Flange and Brick Mould. Products are available in white, sand, and clay in multiple widths and lengths. The column wraps use Wrap-n-Snap design for quick installation. Palight PostWraps are available for 4-, 6-, and 8-in. posts in 8-ft. 6-in. and 10-ft. lengths in smooth or woodgrain finish.

Palram Americas, Kutztown, PA Circle 81 palram.com

Luxury vinyl tile The company’s LooseLay Longboard line features 59-in. planks in a non-interlocking floating range, offering multi-directional planks, fast installation, acoustic properties, and individually replaceable planks. Fabric Oaks uses weathering effects; European Oak has a delicate grain; American Pines mirrors barn boards from the Allegheny Mountains. The flooring can be laid over most existing hard floors with minimal preparation, and subfloors with an RH of as much as 95%.

Karndean Designflooring, Export, PA Circle 83 karndean.com

Wallcoverings Digital Collection wallcoverings use high-tech digital images for use on any surface. The 37 designs include high-impact patterns for a range of spaces. Bold, vibrant hues and substrates infuse traditional wall art with luminosity.

MDC, Glendale Heights, IL Circle 82 mdcwall.com

Table collection Potrero415 Light table brings flexibility in design to workplace collaborative spaces. The slim structure supports a range of applications with standing- and seated-height tables and an understructure for plug-and-play power. Available to 10 ft., the table is customizable from tabletop materials, including laminate, veneer, and Corian, to frame colors.

Coalesse, Grand Rapids, MI Circle 84 coalesse.com

Resilient-tile collection Monochrome and Surface Tone resilient tiles feature abstract visuals with a natural, sophisticated aesthetic. Monochrome offers contrasting matte and gloss textures that allow designers to play with the effects of light to control the design of various end-use environments. Monochrome Matte is available in 18- x 36-in. tiles. Monochrome Gloss accents are available in 9- x 36-in. tiles, intended only for accents and borders and limited to no more than 20% of a space. Surface Tone is available in 11 colors from neutrals to brights in 9- x 36-in. tiles.

Patcraft, Cartersville, GA Circle 85 patcraft.com

Soil-hiding carpet fiber Duracolor Tricor carpet fiber reportedly has enhanced soil-hiding and removal capabilities. With a modified-delta shape and triangular hollow core, the fiber is said to provide stain resistance, colorfastness, durability, color clarity, and enhanced soil performance. Most stains can be addressed with water instead of harsh chemicals.

Mohawk Group, Calhoun, GA Circle 86 mohawkgroup.com

Carpet for hospitality environs The Forum collection is designed for today’s rapidly evolving hospitality-centric environments, no longer looking at hotels just as places to sleep, but as places to gather, connect and rejuvenate. The collection features a subtle palette of light, neutral tones, interspersed with calligraphic lines in a rich black.

Shaw Contract, Cartersville, GA Circle 87 shawcontract.com

Concrete-flooring system PrīmXComposite is a steel fiber-reinforced, no-shrink concrete flooring system. The flooring contains steel fibers and two types of admixtures combined with ready-mix concrete to create a composite material. It requires no joints or saw cuts within each pour. Said to be as much as 60% thinner than traditional concrete with a much higher load-bearing capacity, applications include distribution centers and other facilities benefitting from jointless floors

Primekss North America, Tampa, FL Circle 88 primxcompositena.com

Tile collection Four glass blends are an addition to the Tommy Bahama tile collection. Cayo Coco is a wash of neutrals in white, creams, greens, and grays. San Blas features whites, grays, creams, and teal. Skyros channels the beauty of Greece with a blend of blues, greens, and grays. Twillingate uses blue, white, and grays.

Lunada Bay Tile, Harbor City, CA Circle 89 lunadabaytile.com

Workplace furnishings for mobile workers Altitude A8 workplace furnishings was based on observational research of users and their existing height-adjustable tables. The A8 solution addresses challenges including cable management, quick-access power and data, visual and auditory distractions in seated and standing positions, and storage and mobility. Components work together to provide ease of use and movement for users. An under-desk power drawer acts as a hub for all power and cables. A privacy screen tucks between desks in a benching configuration.

Allsteel, Muscatine, IA Circle 90 allsteeloffice.com