Why Rubber Flooring Is One of the Best Architectural Flooring Choices for Projects
Discovering why rubber is one of the best architectural flooring for RIBA projects — uniting design-led performance, sustainability, and long-term resilience.
Across the UK, RIBA architects tell us that they are face mounting challenges — tighter building regulations, carbon-reduction targets and client expectations for healthier, longer-lasting materials. Every finish now carries weight in compliance, sustainability, and aesthetics. In this environment, we feel rubber flooring stands out more and more as one of the best architectural flooring products: design-led, technically robust, and proven to perform for decades.
1. Compliance and Durability That Reduce Risk
Over the last ten years building safety requirements have changed and the RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge now demands certified, low-risk products. Many of the standard Artigo Rubber products offer Bfl-s1 fire rating(EN 13501-1¹) and slip resistance, making them ideal for high-traffic, safety-critical settings such as education, healthcare, public buildings. Its dimensional stability and long lifespan mean fewer replacements — a clear lifecycle advantage for architects balancing risk and cost.
2. Sustainability Without Compromise
Rubber flooring is also meeting the growing need for sustainable flooring that doesn’t sacrifice performance or design intent. Products containing natural or recycled rubber score strongly in BREEAM, WELL, and LEED assessments². With low VOC emissions and circular-reuse potential, rubber consistently outperforms carpet tiles and vinyl in embodied-carbon analysis.
3. Design-Led Flexibility for Modern Spaces
As one of the best design-led flooring solutions, rubber offers architects a palette of refined textures, matt finishes, and deep, consistent colours that complement contemporary interiors. Loose-lay formats —such as Artigo UNI LL provide speed of installation and adaptability across raised floors, labs, or retrofits, reducing coordination issues and downtime.
4. Enhancing Comfort and Wellbeing
Aligned with RIBA’s Plan of Work 2020³, rubber’s acoustic absorption, underfoot comfort, and balanced thermal properties improve indoor quality and occupant satisfaction — key in schools, offices, and R&D facilities where wellbeing metrics now carry contractual weight.
The Architect’s Pragmatic Advantage
When sustainability, design quality, and compliance come together, rubber flooring delivers all three. It is no longer just a durable product — we feel its one of the best architectural flooring products for architects seeking design-led and sustainable flooring solutions that meet the pressures of 21st-century practice.
The full range can be seen on our product page HERE
Third Part References used in this blog post:
¹ EN 13501-1 Fire Classification of Construction Products
² BRE Green Guide to Specification v5
³ RIBA Plan of Work 2020 Sustainability Strategy
