Flowcrete Goes for Gold in Nanjing Youth Olympic Centre

The internationally renowned architect Zaha Hadid chose Flowcrete Asia’s premium decorative flooring solution for the most complex construction in China since the 2008 Olympic Game’s Bird’s Nest stadium.

Nanjing was the host city for the 2nd Summer Youth Olympic Games in August this year and the city’s new Youth Olympic Centre, which played a significant role in the proceedings, was constructed especially for the event.

The highly stylised design of the building meant that the floor area of both the lobby and music hall had to be able to combine high-end aesthetics with the strength to withstand a substantial level of foot traffic.

During the tendering process there were many companies competing to secure the project. Out of all of these businesses Flowcrete Asia came very highly recommended thanks to its impressive previous work for prestigious clients such as Shanghai APM, Galaxy Soho and Zinoro.

To demonstrate the appearance and functionality of its Mondéco Earth system Flowcrete Asia presented the designers with an impressive 40m² mock up of the final floor.

This example proved that the quality of Flowcrete Asia’s resin flooring system surpassed the alternatives put forward by several domestic and foreign competitors and on the basis of this was personally selected by Zaha Hadid for the project.

The Nanjing Youth Olympic Centre needed to be completed within a strict time scale, which meant that Flowcrete Asia’s team of licensed applicators had to work night and day to get the job done on schedule. As well as this the construction environment was far from ideal due to cross construction from various other companies that were on the site at the same time.

A total of 1700m² of Flowcrete Asia’s attractive terrazzo flooring system, Mondéco Earth, was laid in the lobby area and another 1900m² of the seamless, epoxy floor finish was applied within the building’s music hall.

Mondéco Earth has been designed to provide architects with the flexibility to create bespoke, shimmering designs across a venue’s floor area. Zaha Hadid utilised this aesthetic potential to create a smooth almond coloured surface with an eye-catching arrangement of rich brown squares that are dynamically dispersed across the floor.

The floor finish matched the colour and pattern of the surrounding walls and roof, artistically connecting the interiors and reinforcing the building’s fluid design style. Flint and granite aggregates incorporated within the floor’s resin matrix create a luxurious glittering lustre underfoot.   

Mondéco Earth is often installed in environments where aesthetics, durability and hygiene are of paramount concern. The system is easy to clean and maintain and boasts excellent abrasion and impact resistance, making it perfect for a building that needs to maintain its appearance in the face of large numbers of visitors.

Having supplied flooring systems for South Africa’s Soccer City stadium ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, as well as London’s Emirates and Wembley Stadiums, Flowcrete are no strangers to working on the biggest and most high profile global projects. 

Flowcrete and its licensed contractors delivered a stunning floor on time and against the odds despite a tough schedule. The client was delighted with the end result and the building went on to play a starring role in the Youth Olympic Games this summer.