A look at Specification & Design Risk in the UK: Why Rubber Flooring works.

For architects and specifiers in the UK, material choices aren’t aesthetics only— they become risk decisions embedded in a structured project process. The RIBA Plan of Work underlines how decisions about products and assemblies must be captured, communicated and justified throughout design and delivery. Clear, unambiguous specification data feeds into cost planning, technical design and procurement; it reduces uncertainty and helps client teams manage cost, programme and compliance risk.

A robust specification becomes, in effect, part of the professional risk strategy. According to recent industry analysis completed by NBS, good specifications protect projects from delays, support the information required under building safety regimes, and embed performance data — from fire to indoor air quality — early in design.

This matters because built-in product weaknesses don’t just surface visually; they show up as maintenance liabilities, occupant complaints, and professional liability exposures later in the building’s lifecycle. Materials that lack transparent performance records or environmental data increase this risk profile.

From an environmental risk perspective, traditional materials like concrete screeds carry a well-documented carbon burden due to cement manufacture and wet-trade programme costs. Rubber flooring systems, when responsibly produced, avoid these burdens and provide consistent documented data on VOC emissions and durability — two performance vectors that feed directly into RIBA’s sustainability checkpoints within the Plan of Work. Products like Artigo Screed capture the coveted aesthetic of a hand finished concrete without the environmental and programming burden.

Rubber products can act as a risk-reduction choice where lifecycle performance and environmental clarity are priorities. They help architects meet internal project requirements and broader industry expectations around documentation, performance and defensibility — not by marketing claims but by providing the records that a contemporary design team needs in a RIBA-aligned workflow.

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