Urgent climate action isn’t just about protecting the planet but about creating healthier spaces for people as well. Responsible design decisions can help accelerate the way to a more sustainable circular future. At NatWest’s Manchester office sustainable design drove decision making. That’s why the team chose Milliken flooring, renowned for its sustainability credentials and its ability to support a circular future.
Hailed as NatWest’s most sustainable building to date, the design team has succeeded in creating a flexible, future proof workplace that welcomes the company’s employees with comfort and choice. NatWest’s impressive new workplace cleverly embraces Manchester’s rich industrial heritage and urban culture with careful consideration to both the planet and to its workforce.
With an ambition to gain SKA environmental certification for the project, the floor covering material specification was crucial, among a number of other environmental measures, in achieving this. As a long-time corporate standard for NatWest, the Group’s internal design team were familiar with Milliken floor coverings’ performance and sustainability credentials. Fully carbon offset, thanks to its M/PACT Programme, the SKA rated floor coverings are also fully recyclable.
Circular design is fundamental in rethinking how materials interact with the wider environment, keeping materials in use for as long as possible, using the classic tenets of reduce, reuse, recycle to achieve this.
Having specified TractionBack® carpet tiles on recent projects, NatWest chose Milliken’s adhesive-free option once again for a faster, healthier and more sustainable installation. TractionBack tiles are designed with disassembly in mind and are ideal for reuse, the highest form of circularity. TractionBack® securely grips the floor without the need for adhesives, protecting both the carpet tiles and sub floor so that flooring can be re-laid many times over.
The loose-lay LVT that was chosen also offers the flexibility to be installed adhesive-free with IOBAC Tab-It. Glue-free installation systems make it easy to reconfigure spaces and replace individual modules, prolonging the floor’s lifespan and maximising reuse. They also help preserve Indoor Air Quality protecting the health of both the installation team and employees.
Beyond sustainability NatWest’s design also prioritises employee well-being, creating environments that inspire and support productivity. Alongside a variety of work settings and meeting spaces, there are also wellness facilities on every floor, including quiet tech areas, multi-faith rooms and an outdoor roof terrace.
The central atrium is a vibrant hub where NatWest’s employees can come together, interact and engage, away from their desks. The graphic lines of Triangular Path carpet tiles from Milliken’s iconic Clerkwenwell design collection are installed in the shifting blue-grey hues of Whistling Bird, reflecting the sky visible through this space’s glass roof.
Biophilic design and connection to the outside world are at the core of this wellness focused workplace. With spectacular views across Manchester’s skyline, the restaurant floor features Open-Shut LVT from the First Call wood styled collection.
The herringbone installation creates dynamic movement across the floor that complements the angular seating. Specified in the soft ashy tones of Scion, the floorcovering’s micro-bevel edges and textural finish provides an authentic natural wood aesthetic but with all the practical benefits of an LVT product from Milliken.
Likewise, NatWest’s meeting rooms feature abstract artworks designed to bring the outside in. The design team selected the shoreline inspired Landscape design, from the Coastline collection. The oceanic blues of Atlantic uplift and energise the space while reflecting the natural textures and colours of coastal shorelines.
From the Nordic Stories collection, the crosshatches of Tectonic in the deep, richness of Dark Dansk flows seamlessly through the workstation and break out spaces. Islands of Open-Shut LVT are inset to help zone the space by providing transitional shifts of texture for the kitchen areas. By using the floorscape to zone it removes the need for physical partitions and allows employees to intuitively move through a space.