Forbo Flooring’s Global 3 Marmoleum has been recently installed at a restaurant in Adelaide to fulfil the brief of a durable flooring with a strong colour palette. Stephanie McDonald reports.

The Panacea Restaurant in Adelaide, South Australia, was partway through a development application and liquor licensing process when it approached interior designers Abitare to assess a concept plan. After consultation with the building owners and vendor operators, it was established the restaurant would be a Mediterranean-inspired tapas eatery, catering for up to 100 patrons and include inside and outside dining.

“Original plans included a carpark area to satisfy council development requirements, however, we were able to have this redefined as an internal courtyard complete with the introduction of an established 6m high Chinese elm, decking and a wall integrated aquarium which also acted as a window to the common service area,” says Steven Henderson from Abitare.

The project included new building works and also the refurbishment of the existing office structure. This required Abitare to pay careful attention to the design and construction programme, and also minimise the impact on adjacent properties during construction.

Abitare clad the façade in Alucobond to contrast with the existing 1970s office structure. “By combining contemporary materials and large wall openings we were able to provide a space which provides intimacy during inclement weather and an open environment, both to the street and internal courtyard when the weather was more favourable,” Henderson says.

The interior designers also utilised materials such as Forbo Flooring’s Global 3 Marmoleum for the flooring to establish a strong colour palette. Using ceramic tiles at the restaurant for the flooring was restricted due to the disabled entry ramp and toilets with hardwood decking, which was installed with concealed fixings for the internal courtyard.

Abitare used the product as it provided a design feature which established the basis for fabric-covered acoustic panels at the eatery.

Global 3 Marmoleum was used in the project throughout the restaurant and adjacent service areas, with Forbo R12 Surestep installed within the kitchen and food preparation areas. Abitare also vertically extended the flooring up the front of the bar service area.

The flooring is made from natural raw materials, including natural flax, rosins, wood flour and backed with jute. It also provided a resilient surface, with a life expectancy of over 25 years. “When selecting the Forbo Global 3 Marmoleum flooring the most difficult decision was selecting from the numerous colours available to establish an environment which incorporates both warm and cool colours to contrast the black and white base colours defined by the Panacea logo,” Henderson says. “Our client’s initial request was to try and utilise the entire Marmoleum colour range!”

To achieve the colour combination it required, Abitare ordered individual sheets of Marmoleum in eight colours: Walton Black Croco, which is embossed with a crocodile skin’s texture; Aquarius; Peacock Green; Kerala; Red Violet; Purple Passion; Sangria; and Poppy Fiesta. It then cut the sheets into 1,000 mm x 1,000 mm tiles.

The flooring was installed with a self levelling compound which was applied over the existing concrete floor surfaces. The underfloor substrate also included a three zone underfloor heating system. “All coved areas were installed prior to the self levelling compound to ensure a smooth transition between the floor and vertical cabinet surfaces,” Henderson says.

He says Abitare had previously used Marmoleum for several projects because of its low maintenance properties, flexibility and substantial colour range. “As interior designers our catalogues are continually updated by Forbo.”

Other initiatives at the project include a 3,000 mm x 300 mm aquarium as a window, wet area laminates for all wet area wall finishes, LED lighting concealed behind vanity mirrors and attention to acoustics both internally and externally.

Working with a client who was open to a collaborative approach on the project was positive for Henderson, as well as the extra perks for Abitare and the construction team of working on a retail project. “Our clients were owners, construction managers, labourers and ultimately restaurant operators. Trades were involved not only in the construction process, but were also engaged as taste testers as the menu was developed throughout the construction period, with samples of food, coffee and wine delivered regularly on-site for assessment,” Henderson says.

“The easiest part of the project was working in conjunction with a client who was willing to take part in every process of design, development and construction — this project could certainly be described as collaborative.”

Stephanie McDonald

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