Churchill College, Cambridge

Cottrell + Vermeulen Architecture has designed new, bright and airy postgraduate accommodation for Churchill College, Cambridge with interiors featuring Junckers’ solid maple flooring. Cottrell + Vermeulen won a competition to design the new buildings, 16 years after the studio completed a
housing scheme on a neighbouring site.

The 35 new units of accommodation comprise five studio flats and 30 en suite rooms with spacious communal areas on each floor, spread across three buildings. The design builds on the original architectural scheme, designed as an extension to CVA’s previous work on the site. The architects
sought to recreate the warmth and brightness of the original college rooms from the 1960s and found Junckers maple flooring a good match.

The choice of two-strip boards, where two staves of wood make up one floorboard, was also a reference to the narrow boards used in the original rooms. The naturally pale tone of the maple floor is matched by joinery in birch faced plywood to form a comfortable and welcoming space.

VA Hutchison Flooring fitted the solid wood floor over New Era acoustic cradles which provide an impact sound reduction of 27dB. The New Era acoustic system is height adjustable for use on structural concrete slabs, block and beam floors and almost any other type of sound, dry loadbearing base. The new system complies with Building Regulations for multi-occupancy residential buildings.

Quiet floors in multiple occupancy buildings

An important consideration for student accommodation is how impact sound travels through floors from one dwelling into another. Building regulations set out minimum standards for impact and airborne sound through floors which apply to residential buildings and buildings converted to new uses, including hotels and care homes.

The floor finish will usually act in combination with other elements of the building to achieve the target levels of sound insulation. The design of the subfloor and ceiling beneath play an important role, as does the way the floor finish may need to be isolated from the walls that surround it, but there is no question that the right acoustic floor will control the transmission of impact sound.

Junckers has a range of acoustics systems available which comply with building regulations. The newly updated New Era acoustic system is a height adjustable system for use on structural concrete slabs, block and beam floors and almost any other type of sound, dry load-bearing base.

The New Era system uses acoustic cradles with 10mm thick recycled rubber pads, factory-fitted to the underside. The cradles are height adjustable using purpose-made packers, supporting laminated timber battens. 50mm thick mineral wool insulation is placed between the battens and Junckers 20.5mm or 22mm thick solid wood floorboards are fixed to the battens to complete the installation. The use of 36mm thick battens achieves an impact sound reduction of 27dB; and a 48mm thick batten achieves an impact sound reduction of 28dB, thus complying with building regulations.

For Junckers 14mm thick sold wood flooring installed with Junckers’ Clip System, an impact sound reduction of 19dB can be achieved with Junckers’ 5mm thick CA2 Acoustic Underlay, loose laid with the floorboards installed on top as a floating layer, no fixings required.

Junckers’ floor system specifications are available on NBS Plus and draft NBS clauses are available on request. Junckers also provides BIM Objects for all systems. Junckers solid hardwood floor systems are guaranteed for 25 years when installed by a Junckers Approved Contractor. Junckers Approved Maintenance Contractors offer a care scheme where the client’s floor is periodically inspected and maintained so as to keep the floor in good condition and to maximise its life.