When fitting out the new Ministry of Education offices in Whangārei, designers Catalyst looked for a carpet solution that would let them have fun with colour.  

‘The client wanted beach and sea colours,’ says designer Stefanie Roodt, ‘blues, pearly greens and creams, with greys for contrast. They didn’t want dark colours, they wanted moana – the ocean.’

The newly built Whangārei office caters for 110 employees, with offices, meeting rooms, conference room, reception and waiting areas. Catalyst selected a combination of City Square and Prima carpet tiles from Advance, allowing them to create a series of colourful motifs to enliven the various spaces.

‘We were guided by QS as to which products we would need to use to meet the budget. Because it’s public spending, we had to be careful,’ says Roodt.

The challenge was to find quality and design within a set budget. ‘Carpet tiles from the City Square and Prima range met that challenge, for both style and durability. It’s easy to paint over colour on a wall, but the carpet needed to last.’

The designers were aiming for a certain look and didn’t want a plain, flat carpet. ‘Carpet colours provide a lot of scope to create spatial interest,’ says Roodt, and for the large, open spaces ’we wanted a pattern to make it more interesting, to have a bit of fun’.

With vibrant blues set against neutral greys, Catalyst creates a pattern around meeting room entrances which scatters and fades as you move away, like a wave receding from a beach. In the reception area that wave is given dramatic graphic form, utilising the ability of carpet tiles to be cut and matched seamlessly.

City Square carpet tiles offer a range of colours including neutral greys, natural earth tones, vibrant reds, blues and greens, as well as more striking options like purple and forest green, providing a wide palette for designers to mix and match from.

The natural theme is enhanced by the selection of Gecko entrance tiles, which can be used in conjunction with traditional carpet tiles, for the main entry. Gecko tiles have coarse, bristle-like fibres to remove dirt and moisture, trapping it from footwear approaching from all directions, and offering superior performance in heavily used areas.

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CREDITS

Project: Ministry of Education offices, Whangārei

Architect: Catalyst

Product: City Square, Prima, Gecko entrance tiles

Photographer: Aerial Vision

Writer: Folio

Installer: MeasureUp Flooring