Bristol Beacon

For a refurbishment of Bristol Beacon, Bristol’s historic music and cultural venue, Gollop Contract Flooring selected Forbo Flooring Systems’ Tessera Topology carpet tiles and Surestep Original safety vinyl.

Bristol Beacon is a Grade II listed building, first opened as a concert venue in 1867. It has been renovated, adapted and extended repeatedly throughout its history, including several times over the last 25 years. In 2009, a new five storey foyer area was created as part of a £20 million project. The flooring installed at this time had since become badly worn and needed to be replaced. Bristol-based commercial flooring specialist Gollop Contract Flooring was selected to carry out the installation of the new flooring, following previous work at Bristol Beacon.

The Gollop team worked closely with the client to understand the exact requirements of the work, with one of the key considerations being the project’s environmental impact. Based on this, Gollop recommended Forbo’s products for the renovation. Tessera Topology tiles are manufactured from Thrive matter by Universal Fibers, a yarn that contains 90% recycled content, giving a total recycled content figure of over 75%. Tessera Topology is also made using 100% renewable energy, with an embodied carbon of less than 1.5 kg CO2 e/m2, cradle to gate, without offsetting.

Tessera Topology also delivers durability and underfoot comfort with its 700 gsm pile weight and achieves 27 dB impact sound reduction for minimal noise transmission. In total, 1,000m2 of Tessera Topology in the Night Space colourway was installed throughout the five floors of the foyer area, including on the stairs and landings.

Forbo’s Surestep Original safety vinyl in the Elephant colourway was also utilised to provide an easy to clean, slip-resistant solution in the bar areas, where spillages posed a potential safety risk. With Forbo’s non-slip Step Crystal particles integrated into the material, Surestep offers lifetime slip-resistance as well as the durability required for high traffic areas. Supporting the environmental aims of the project as well as the safety considerations, Surestep Original contains 24% recycled content, is manufactured using 100% renewable electricity and has one of the lowest embodied carbon figures on the market for a safety flooring.

Commenting on the project, Mark Brown, Contracts Manager at Gollop Contract Flooring said: “The transformation achieved with the new Forbo flooring has been amazing, creating a modern and refreshed look for the space. Our client is very happy with the end result and the feedback from those working at the venue has been very positive too.”

Donna Hannaway, Head of Marketing UK and Ireland at Forbo Flooring Systems concluded: “This superb renovation of the Bristol Beacon venue demonstrates how our product portfolio can fulfil the design and functional requirements, as well as delivering the environmental performance that is now a priority for many organisations.”