Olympic Middle School
Auburn, WA
Category: 2020 Education
Architect: BLRB Architects
Starnet Member:
Great Floors, an ADG Company
Starnet Preferred Vendors:
Altro, Antron, ARDEX, Armstrong Flooring, Daltile, Johnsonite By Tarkett, Mannington Commercial Carpet
Project Strategy
Designing for school district clients can be challenging, but with every great challenge comes great rewards. The Auburn School District is very methodical about their choices in materials and have a list of products and materials that they prefer for their highly efficient maintenance program. The architect BLRB utilized Armstrong VCT as their main flooring material for the hallways throughout the school and in the Commons. They utilized Mannington carpet in the classrooms, library and offices with VCT at the entrance to all the classrooms. One of our installation challenges was that the contractor had us install the VCT in the classroom entries before the hallways, making it very tricky to lay out the VCT pattern as it aligns throughout the school, but we managed to do so successfully. Another challenge was the classrooms were done first and upon starting the halls we discovered that the concrete pour in the halls was dramatically uneven, resembling a roller coaster. However, a liberal application of Ardex leveling and preparation materials solved the problem.
The floor in the commons at Olympic Middle School is VCT. By removing the linear lens of the standard 1'x1' shape of the tile and viewing the space through a wider lens, the architects were able to craft a design that was unique, dynamic and reflective of the owner’s vision to create a timeless, modern building with influences from classical architecture. When BLRB began crafting designs for the commons floor, they started with Roman architecture and looked at their approach to tile, specifically old Roman baths. Instead of replicating their designs, they wanted to extract the logic of the patterns and apply it in a more contemporary way. The end result is truly impressive. Eloquently put by the architect, “At ground level the pattern reads more like a mosaic, but as you begin to ascend the adjacent main stairwell and approach level two, the pattern transforms and an entirely different, larger scale pattern begins to appear. This really speaks to the layers of culture and community that make up the student body at Olympic Middle School. This multi-faceted pattern has a deeper meaning rooted in diversity, community, change, and the way people can unify to create harmony.”