There is no second such material, whose essence would be distorted by industrial production as much as it happened with linoleum. Initially natural and healthy, over time it turned into its complete denial. Now, true linoleum is returning. However, under a different name - marmoleum.
In the crypt of the Florentine Duomo hides the Church of Saint Reparata, the first version of which dates back to the 5th century. However, little remained of it: the three-aisled basilica with an apse was demolished in the name of the construction of a new cathedral in 1375. Six centuries later, traces of Santa Reparata were found during excavations, and a couple of years ago they were opened to visitors. It turned out that the tombstones of the prelates, the frescoes of the Trecento, and, most importantly, fragments of the ancient mosaic floor were preserved. Here is the grave of Brunelleschi himself and early Christian artifacts are on display.
The exhibition was designed by the architect Guido Morazzi, and his colleague Samuele Cachiali chose a neat interior solution for it. In the crypt, it was necessary to use a floor covering with characteristics that seemed completely incompatible. It had to be extremely durable in order to withstand the endless flow of tourists, but at the same time without rigid installation, because there are ancient stones below. In addition, a completely natural material was required, otherwise the released chemical compounds could damage the ancient mosaics located almost end-to-end, resistant to the dampness of the underground and able to withstand regular wet processing.
It turned out that there is a floor covering that combines all these properties - this is Forbo's marmoleum. They covered the crypt of Santa Maria del Fiori.
Benefit
In 1863, Frederick Walton patented the world's most popular floor covering, linoleum. Initially, it was based exclusively on natural ingredients. Later, in an effort to make linoleum more affordable, industrialists began to add more and more synthetic ingredients to the material, gradually nullifying the beneficial properties of the coating.
The Swiss company Forbo, the oldest manufacturer of linoleum, has recreated and improved the original recipe. This is how marmoleum appeared - the Forbo trademark, a modern and ultra-ecological coating.
Marmoleum is 97% natural raw materials: flaxseed, wood flour - a waste from the forest industry, and jute, which is a membrane for the calendered layer. It is environmentally friendly not only in terms of performance, but also in production. 70% of the ingredients Forbo makes marmoleum are renewable and 43% are recycled.
The production technology is still simple. The recipe is based on oil extracted from flax seeds, which is mixed with wood resin. These ingredients create what is called linoleum cement. Finely ground wood and limestone are added to their mixture, as well as natural pigments to obtain the desired color and texture.
Real linoleum at the time it was invented was prized primarily for its antibacterial qualities. Jute and flaxseed oil reduced the risk of asthma and allergies. Forbo's innovative developments have enhanced the antibacterial and anti-allergenic properties of marmoleum. The international healthcare organization Allergy UK has approved it as a material to help fight lung and allergic diseases. Such a coating is considered an ideal solution for rooms where children or people with weakened immune systems are located.
These properties of marmoleum are especially appreciated in Japan, where natural materials are traditionally preferred. Marmoleum was used in the interiors of the ultra-modern clinical hospital of Juntendo University in Tokyo. The designers have chosen the Vivace and Real series in a discreet gray-beige range for finishing the floor in wards, vestibules, corridors and treatment rooms. Confident color - brick-orange Real Kyoto - they designed only the treadmill in the gymnastics room.
The authors of the kindergarten project in Tochigi prefecture, on the other hand, opted for the rich colors of the Real series marmoleum. They took the dark blue Marmoleum Real Deep Ocean and the blue Marmoleum Real Blue as a basis and sent red crabs and green fish across the “sea” background to make it easier for the smallest to navigate the corridors.
It is easy to wash marmoleum, wet processing does not affect its service life in any way. In addition, unlike synthetic linoleum, the surface of natural does not slip. This is important not only for children and those whose mobility is limited, but in public buildings, where visitors come in street shoes soaked from rain and snow. Marmoleum is used in the interiors of state institutions, such as the Estonian National Archives, as well as in the flooring of hotels, shops and showrooms.
Strength
Marmoleum breaks down the main building stereotype of the twentieth century - the belief that natural flooring is ultimately inferior in wear resistance to artificial. Dutch Railways have dealt with this myth clearly: they lay marmoleum in trains and commuter trains, where it can withstand not only the load of a huge passenger traffic, but also the pressure when rolling from luggage.
Marmoleum for use in commercial premises belongs to the 41-43 class of wear resistance of floor coverings, that is, to those used for finishing industrial enterprises. Any Forbo marmoleum, regardless of its purpose, is covered with an innovative protective top layer Topshield2, which preserves its appearance for a long time.
Forbo has a special series of marmoleum for sports fields. In addition to wear resistance, characteristics such as elasticity and coefficient of friction, as well as ball rebound indicators, are taken into account here. In all these parameters, Marmoleum Sport meets the European standards for sports flooring EN14904, it reduces the likelihood of injury and creates a quality environment for training and competition.
Marmoleum has good impact noise absorption characteristics. The special series Marmoleum Decibel and Marmoleum acoustic, depending on the substrate - cork or polyolefin - provide sound absorption from 14 dB to 17 dB. Korean designers use marmoleum even for finishing karaoke floors. In one of these clubs in Incheon, they not only provided soundproofing, but also made the decoration of each room individual, combining only two collections - Real and Fresco. This was done due to the fact that Forbo produces marmoleum not only in the usual rolls, but also in slabs of various sizes, which are assembled using the lock method. This material is a "cake" of HDF-panel, sound-absorbing cork base and 2.5 mm of marmoleum itself.
All Forbo marmoleum is antistatic, but apart from that the company has developed a special series of marmoleum with current-dissipating properties. Marmoleum Ohmex has a resistance index of less than 1-108 Ohm and readily conducts electrical current, protecting static-sensitive equipment. Such marmoleum is most often chosen for server rooms and rooms with a large amount of office equipment.
the beauty
One of the most famous sites where marmoleum was used as flooring is the Bauhaus library in Dessau, located in a former cafe from the Gdrow times and connected with the famous school building by a new building. The entrance is through a former grocery store. Furniture, walls and ceiling in the renovated building were made white, the ends of the shelves were made in gray, and the key red tone was given to the floor. As in the mansion (now a museum house) of the director of the Van Nelle tobacco factory, Albertus Sonneveld, a remarkable example of Dutch functionalism in Rotterdam, natural linoleum was laid on the floor of the restored building in Dessau. It is emphatically simple here - exactly the same as it was in the thirties of the last century.
Many people take this styling at face value. In reality, Forbo produces marmoleum in 300 colors and a variety of textures.
Marmoleum lies on the floor in the St. Petersburg Museum of Water. Coverage area 200 m2 is a geographic map with well-defined bays, capes and peninsulas. Forbo uses Aquajet cutting technology, which creates an exact copy of the customer's drawing. In addition, laser engraving of any complexity can be applied to marmoleum, taking into account the direction of the fibers of the material, that is, the embossed pattern will not affect its service life. Both of these custom design methods are not only good for patterns and drawings, but are also often used in company offices for applying logos and navigating a building.
Forbo company actively cooperates with European designers. The famous Alessandro Mendini created a collection for Forbo called Marmoleum meets Mendini. It consists of three multicolor combinations that are somewhat reminiscent of his famous Proust Geometrica chair: the first, Proust, is covered with huge half-meter strokes, the second, Harlekino, with a clear geometric pattern, and the third, Plato, following the principles of pointillism, consists of many small dots.
The complete antithesis of Mendini's marmoleum is the Weave collection of the young designer Sigrid Kalon. She creates her graphic one- and two-color patterns based on a rectangular grid - they grow from endless variations of the connection of dots.
Sigrid Kalon is a Dutch designer and artist, and marmoleum for her is a kind of “national product”. Although the Forbo concern is Swiss, the plant for the production of this type of flooring is located in the Netherlands, which in itself already implies that the material undergoes strict environmental control. The color and texture of marmoleum are given exclusively by natural ingredients - right down to crushed coconut shells.
Using natural ingredients requires a lot of skill, especially if they are heat treated. However, the inhabitants of the Netherlands have a lot of experience in how to cope with nature - just remember the polders and canals. However, some famous artists come to mind when they mention Holland.
By virtue of an amazing coincidence, the components from which marmoleum is made refer us to painting - after all, it was linseed oil that was used to dilute pigments for paints, and many Forbo collections even resemble Dutch landscapes.
