Interviews / 8/5/2025

High performance for offices

Flexible flooring solutions that meet the design challenges of modern environments

Interviewee

Paola Di Silvestro

Corporate product manager - Resilient, textile and LVT product line, Mapei

In the design of modern workspaces, flooring must meet technical, aesthetic, and functional challenges. Resilient and textile floors stand out for their versatility, comfort, and performance. Mapei offers complete and sustainable systems for both new constructions and renovations. From substrate preparation to installation, every phase is designed to ensure efficiency, durability, and flexibility. We talk about this with Paola Di Silvestro.

What are the main factors to consider when choosing flooring for offices? And when and why should you opt for resilient and textile flooring?

Designing flooring for workplaces and offices requires know-how, experience and skills to meet a variety of needs. As well as fulfilling technical and functional requirements, such as wear resistance, dirt resistance, cleanability, acoustic insulation, comfort, flexibility and safety, in terms of slip resistance and fire resistance, workplace flooring also has to meet aesthetic and design requirements and be a good fit for the company’s image. Because of their versatility and technical features, resilient flooring and textile flooring are a perfect match for all these requirements.

What solutions does Mapei offer for the installation of resilient and textile flooring in offices, both for renovation/restyling projects and for newbuilds?

As well as having a long and proven track-record in this field, Mapei offers reliable, long-lasting, specific installation systems for resilient and textile materials, which adhere to the principles of certified sustainability by complying with international programmes for safeguarding health and the environment. This makes Mapei a reliable partner for the design and execution of even the most complex works. For newbuild projects, Mapei has a wide range of products for laying and levelling substrates with the proper mechanical strength, as well as soundproofing products, adhesives and installation systems for all types of resilient and textile floor and wall coverings. There has been a particular focus, in recent years, on developing products that address contemporary challenges, such as the need for solutions that are quick to implement and materials with strong environmental credentials. For renovation and restyling projects, our focus is on products that are both quick and easy to apply, because this is the key to minimising downtime. Mapei meets this need with state-of-the-art systems that speed up redevelopment work and deliver long-lasting results, without any disruption or demolition.

Ultrabond Eco Tack TX+ was chosen for the installation of textile floor coverings in the offices of the newly redeveloped DSTRCT.Berlin

Raised flooring is becoming more and more widely used for office applications. What does Mapei offer for this type of flooring?

Raised flooring is a system that raises the floor surface in relation to the substrate, leaving a cavity beneath the surface to house various technical services, such as power cables, water pipes, telephone and data cables and air distribution systems. The system consists of modular, interchangeable panels supported by a steel structure, which provide personnel with access to the technical services in the under-floor cavity whenever they need maintenance. Designed for completely dry installation, raised flooring leaves users free to lay out their space however they see fit. This makes it an ideal solution for both renovations and newbuild projects. It is used in offices, business complexes, data centres, museums and retail spaces, and there are even specific versions designed for outdoor use.

Mapei offers a comprehensive range of systems for the installation of this type of flooring, from preparing the substrate (Eco Prim T Plus dust-fixative primer and Ultraplan Trade or Planitex S self-levelling smoothing compounds), to bonding the pedestals of the steel structure (Ultrabond Eco P16 polyurethane adhesive in bottles), and installing self-laying resilient and textile floors on panels (Ultrabond Eco Fix, Ultrabond Eco Tack 4LVT and Ultrabond Eco Tack TX+ permanent-tack adhesives).