Resilient Flooring: Reducing Design Risk Through Specification-Led Material Choice
Resilient Flooring: Reducing Design Risk Through Specification-Led Material Choice
Resilient flooring is sometimes treated as a late-stage finish. In practice, it increasingly carries design, compliance, and professional-liability risk. As projects move through the RIBA Plan of Work, material decisions made at Stages 2–4 now surface much later as questions around embodied carbon, VOC compliance, installation and dimensional integrity, and supply continuity.
At RIBA Stage 2–3, resilient flooring selection affects downstream performance. Early clarity supports embodied-carbon reporting (A1–A3), contributes to BREEAM Mat 03 responsible sourcing pathways, and reduces uncertainty around indoor air quality requirements. Leaving flooring generic at concept stage can increase a project's risk profile.
By RIBA Stage 4, ambiguity becomes risk. Vague descriptions such as “resilient flooring equivalent” invite loose value engineering, inconsistent installation methods, and product swaps that may not match the original environmental or technical requirements. This is where specification integrity matters.
Using the National Building Specification (M50), resilient flooring should be defined as a system, not a surface finish. That means:
- declared EPDs with published A1–A3 data,
- verified VOC performance,
- known roll widths and installation methodology
Rubber flooring performs well in this context not because it is fashionable, but because it simplifies compliance. Fewer layers, no applied finishes, stable installations, and predictable long-term performance that reduces variables that may emerge during post-handover review.
Artigo Rubber is designed around this specification-first approach. Rather than treating resilient flooring as a late aesthetic choice, it provides NBS-ready information, RIBA-stage-aligned technical data, and comparable environmental declarations that allow architects to make early, defensible decisions.
As scrutiny increases, resilient flooring choices sit closer to risk management than interior preference. The most robust specifications are those that remain clear, compliant, and defensible long after the drawings are issued.
Please speak to us directly to discuss your specificaiton and project needs.
