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OCTOBER 2017 | 49 Raised Access Floors PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY FREEAXEZ Business is brisk for raised access flooring providers by ROBIN BRUNET D espite their popularity in the design community and their undeniable energy saving benefits, raised floors are on the cusp of still being a special consider- ation on one hand, and a common feature in new builds on the other. That's because some property managers and building operators are still reluctant to utilize a raised floor in an office space, because their conception is of a raised floor several feet high – the type more commonly found in industrial settings. Another cause for resistance in using raised floors is that, ironically, there are more types of raised floors than ever to consider, with systems designed specifically for cool- ing and air distribution, cabling and wiring, and for weight and load capabilities. Plus, numerous examples abound of raised floors being inappropriately developed, case in point: in data centres where 12- to 24-inch floors have been installed as a standard minimum for air distribution, and yet are also choked with wires, cables and pipes. Fortunately, a greater amount of developers appreciate the enormous benefits of raised floors, and differing types aside, there remains only two general systems: low profile (less than six inches in height), and standard access (anything higher than six inches); and they accommodate an ever-increasing range of beautiful finishes. Accordingly, business is brisk in 2017 for raised floor providers. Brad Johnson, marketing manager for Tate Access Floors says, "Gone are the days when carpet or HPL were the only real finish options for a raised floor, and any hard finish would be applied either directly onto a raised concrete slab or over top an underlayment, ren- dering the pathway inaccessible. Today the industry is far more capable of a variety of finishes that allow architects and designers to capture the esthetic their clients need. While still maintaining all of the traditional benefits provided by an access floor – and while raised floors aren't utilized in every project, I think these new and exciting finish options will compel many more designers and building owners to incorporate them into their designs moving forward." Tate has been involved in several high-profile projects of late, arguably the most prominent being Salesforce's new LEED Platinum-certified office tower in San Francisco: this project was driven by rigorous environmental performance goals and a desire to stimulate social engagement. Early on, the design team incorporated underfloor air and power distribution (UFAD) for energy efficiency and all-important occupant comfort. In fact, the team studied many options for the HVAC component of the building, including chilled beams with a dedicated outside air system, and an optimized overhead variable air volume (VAV) system. An underfloor air delivery strategy, however, was proven to achieve all the project goals, including the owner's vision for a flexible office space, improved indoor air quality and energy savings – UFAD also achieved the required cooling capacity output needed to offset the envelope thermal loads. End users generally have only one consideration when it comes to raised floor- ing: does it look attractive? "And on that score, the Salesforce project is a real show- case, with finishes of teak wood and multi-plank porcelain with a unique curved transition between the two," says Johnson. "We're extremely happy with the out- come, and it's a great example of how early collaboration with the design team can result in a beautiful end product." Close collaboration has also resulted in Tate providing Calgary's New Central Library with a raised floor finished in multi-piece porcelain (with two pieces of porcelain on a single access floor panel in order to minimize the floor grid), and Kellogg's new School of Management with a five-piece porcelain finish to its raised floor system. "If there's a message to be had with regards to these projects, it's that pretty much anything you can envision, we can design and execute," says Johnson. A project that has proven to be enormously successful for Camino Modular Building Systems is Queen Richmond Centre West (QRC West), marketed as a model of urban "intensification" featuring the modernization of a historic warehouse. A new office tower was built over a restored four-storey heritage masonry structure; the design is cantilevered to make it appear that the tower is hovering over the old building. Dragan Djurickovic, senior VP, strategic accounts, at Camino, says, "Typically with office projects, an acoustic ceiling with light fixtures and supply and return air grilles is incorporated into the design, but the architects and owner, Allied Properties REIT, didn't think this would be the best way to deliver a comfortable environment for occupants of QRC West. Rise Above It "Essentially, they wanted to avoid the common problem of occupants either feel- ing too hot or too cold in the open plan office space depending on their proximity to standard overhead ceiling diffusers, which results in property managers getting emails from the occupants requesting to turn up the temperature on one hand and turn it down on the other." Camino's 14-inch raised floor solution incorporated a plenum pressurized with 65-degree air, as opposed to 55-degree air flow found in conventional overhead sys- tems. "That 10 degree difference in temperature alone amounts to a huge energy savings," says Djurickovic. "We also allotted one floor-based diffuser per occupant, with larger offices receiving two diffusers, to optimize personal, individual control." Djurickovic credits Allied for being "very in tune with the needs and wants of the workforce and very green minded. The system we provided for QRC West has numerous benefits in addition to lower energy consumption. For example, if some- one has a cold and sneezes or coughs in an office with a traditional overhead sys- tem, those exhalations are warm air that rises and is then pushed back down by the overhead ventilation, spreading the germs everywhere. This situation is avoided with our system, which provides fresher and cleaner air quality." Ongoing raised access flooring development is crucial considering the rapid evo- lution of voice and data systems, which often test the limits of a building infrastruc- ture and pose a challenge for cable management. With this in mind, FreeAxez of New Jersey has developed an adaptive cabling distribution system called Gridd, which eliminates the expensive and time consuming process of pulling wires through ceil- ings, down power poles and core drilling, and enhances raised floor performance. As clients such as Johnson & Johnson and Lockheed Martin have discovered, Gridd is installed simply, like an erector set, and the all-steel system's high-capac- ity channel raceways make a building's wiring completely organized and trace- able. Gridd is also the lowest access floor available at only 1.6-inches high, and it is designed to be solid and virtually silent. Gridd Power is an accompanying integrated modular system: a 50 amp electrical bus track that fits neatly underneath the channels, thus providing a cost-effective way to connect devices and appliances. Another benefit of Gridd is that if a company relocates to another building, the system can easily be taken apart and moved to the new headquarters. TecCrete raised access floors from Haworth are used in some of North America's largest and highest scoring LEED-certified buildings; this is a concrete faced, screw down system, commonly covered with carpet tile for office application but, in the United Kingdom at least, is increasingly being used as an architectural floor laid bare in order to create stunning visual spaces (however, a wide range of finish options and opportunities for customization are available). Unlike steel access floors, TecCrete's weldless construction can handle the heavy rolling and impact loads that occur during construction, move-in and reconfiguration without weld points breaking, or surface denting or dishing. In fact, TecCrete's 10-pass rolling load performance exceeds the equivalent welded steel panel by 20 percent. Also, when compared to the common cupped underside of steel access floor pan- els, the TecCrete panel's flat underside results in less expensive installation and more reliable sealing of underfloor plenum dividers. Additionally, the flat under- side allows for placement of pedestals anywhere under the panel, making support of partial panels at walls and columns easier and more secure. Finally, while carpet was the original material that facilitated raised floors' migration from a data room solution to an esthetically pleasing office component, Interface products prove that carpet tile can impart a striking architectural ambi- ance: for example, its Human Connections Collection Moss in Stone resembles exactly that: stone cobbles covered erratically in moss – perfect for waiting rooms and large common spaces with lots of natural light. Interface's Flagstone, Kerbstone, and other stone-patterned panels are ideal for architects who want to impart a distinctly urban ambiance to their projects, but without the logistics of working with real cobbles or brick. A Gridd adaptive cabling distribution system from FreeAxez.

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