By Satinder Chawla, Managing Director, Span Floors
Span Floors, a leading brand of wooden flooring in India and a provider of premium flooring solutions, explains the insight of wooden flooring, façade design, and innovations. In the realm of architectural aesthetics, the façade of a building serves as its first impression. It’s the face of the structure, and as such, it must seamlessly blend beauty with functionality. Recognizing wood’s timeless appeal, SPAN FLOORS has seamlessly integrated it into architectural aesthetics. In this pursuit, Span Floors has been a forerunner of innovation, constantly redefining the boundaries of façade design. The company’s keen eye for detail and unwavering commitment to excellence have shaped Span Floors into a prominent player in the world of wooden flooring and architectural design.
The word facade comes from the root ‘Face’. One can thus imagine the importance of Facades in a building. They actually set the tone of the area where the building is located. Research shows that aesthetics has an uplifting effect on the observer. Hence facades play a very major role in setting the mood of any environment.
In the world of Wood, Wood modification & construction technologies are currently the forerunners in the field of facades. Being a natural and sustainable material, humans have a very high affinity towards wood. However, the traditional challenges with wood such as warping, coating life, and pest attacks have been an area of concern that has affected usage despite high liking. This has prompted research for solutions which in turn has led to wood modification technologies that have now handled these concerns.
It is possible now to have wood facades that have the necessary stability, durability and all other physical characteristics expected of other materials. This in turn allows the end user & the building designer to use wood without compromising on performance.
Aesthetics of the project, personal liking, durability, ease & cost of maintenance, thermal performance as well as fire ratings are some of the key factors that need to be factored in while selecting a suitable material.
Retrofitting has its own set of skills and intricacies while new construction is an area in itself. Choosing one over another depends on individual preferences, practical constraints, and budgets.
In the sector of wood, third-party certifications such as FSC, PEFC, Rain Forest Alliance etc. are some of the ways sustainable origins of wood can be ensured. Compliance with these can ensure that the building facade does not have a negative impact on the environment.
In residential construction, we are seeing a growing trend of wood usage on the facade. With the advent of wood modification technologies, it is now possible to make the best of wood use, particularly in the Indian climate. Even commercial projects are now showing increasing interest towards facade applications.
Span Floors’ key product is Vulcanized wood which is sourced from world leaders in this area. This wood is extremely stable, does not warp, has a beautiful deep brown colour that can be coated or left uncoated depending on the needed aesthetics, and has very high resistance toward termites & fungal decay. Warranties against termites with this level of stability are something that is not available in the Indian market.
Besides the product attributes as mentioned above and deep technical know-how with around two decades of experience in the sector & key international partnerships with industry leaders provide Span Floors an edge over others. A testimony to that is a host of successful high-end projects done across India over the years. Span Floors is at the forefront of sustainable design, offering environmentally responsible solutions that make a statement in the world of wooden flooring, façade design, and innovation.
