The dramatic style evolution of porcelain stoneware raised floors
The perception of technical flooring has changed radically in recent years. Once confined exclusively to utility rooms and data centers, today, raised porcelain stoneware floors have become one of the most popular solutions in contemporary interior architecture. In fact, architects and interior designers now leverage floating floor technology not only as a way to install utilities intelligently, but as a genuine design tool. Leaving a space between the load-bearing structure and floor offers new compositional perspectives that allow fluid, dynamic interiors to be created in line with the aesthetic standards required for retail and office floating floor designs. So now, choosing a raised porcelain stoneware floor means adopting a system that combines utility system efficiency with the elegance of highly refined surfaces.
Textures and formats: the latest trends in indoor flooring
Ceramic technology has reached such high standards of definition that tile surfaces are now indistinguishable from the natural materials that inspire them. This is opening up new levels of technical floor customisation. The latest indoor floor trends focus on minimalist textures and a wide variety of formats with porcelain stoneware finishes that range from brushed concrete effects, ideal for industrial-chic environments, to reproductions of cosy natural woods, and slab tiles that recreate prestigious marbles.
This range of styles creates highly sophisticated spaces by leveraging specific elements, like:
- Natural-effect porcelain stoneware that enhances environments with all the welcome, authentic character and three-dimensionality as the original surfaces.
- Indoor visual continuity thanks to porcelain stoneware flooring that allows the same finish to be used on floating structures and traditional screeds, thereby creating style consistency throughout an entire building.
- Innovative porcelain stoneware textures that enable natural and artificial light plays to be constructed that alter the way spaces are perceived throughout the day.
Resistance and style: the key features of porcelain stoneware
When designing environments with a high footfall, style has to be resistant too. Porcelain stoneware has certain key features that make it the material of choice for raised floors, as it outperforms any other finish, including laminates, carpet and natural wood. The compact nature of the material ensures non-porosity and an exceptional level of resistance to loads, abrasion, and chemicals. Porcelain stoneware is also completely colourfast, so a floor that is laid today will remain exactly the same colour even after years of exposure to the sun. This is crucial for buildings with large glass surfaces.
This combination of porcelain stoneware resistance and design also offers concrete benefits for property management:
- Indoor floors with an accessible cavity underneath them allow the utility systems installed inside them to be inspected or repaired rapidly without damaging the aesthetic finish. This naturally ensures the longevity of the original design.
- Offices with raised floors can be cleaned, sanitized and restyled easily, thereby keeping the floor looking new with minimum maintenance costs.
- High-end technical flooring increases the perceived value of the property by combining structural strength with a sophisticated visual impact.
- Porcelain stoneware technical flooring solutions are also fireproof, safe and comply with the strictest regulations without sacrificing design elegance.
Futureproof: flexible, modular technical flooring solutions
The concept of immobility in architecture is obsolete. Today’s trend-setting floors are designed to adapt to change. They feature an advanced system that allows office or showroom layouts to adapt to business developments. Thanks to the way modular indoor flooring is designed, individual tiles can be replaced in order to install new electrical turrets or to change the style of a particular area due to corporate rebranding, for example. This flexibility is the key benefit of floating porcelain stoneware flooring, as it combines the versatile style of porcelain stoneware with the mechanics of a dry raised system to offer removable, contemporary design flooring. This approach makes raised floors a strategic and sustainable choice that ensures long-term style and raised floor functionality, as well as easy adaptability to any future need, like matching up floating floor materials or reorganising layouts.
Creating a project that combines aesthetic vision and technical performance requires an expert partner. Whether this involves defining the ideal layout for an open space or selecting the best finishes for a showroom, Imola Tecnica works side-by-side with designers to turn ideas into constructed reality. Contact us to discover how our technical flooring solutions can enhance your next project.
