Stonhard Floors Offer Dramatic Appeal at Kalamazoo’s Air Zoo and Silences Unwanted Noise
Design Challenge
Stonres RTZ floor has visitors to the Kalamazoo Air Zoo buzzing throughout the museum. The Kalamazoo Air Zoo in Kalamazoo, Michigan, a state-of-the-art 150,000 sq. ft. interactive aviation museum, containing 80 vintage airplanes, along with the world’s only Blackbird spy plane. Visitors entering the facility are immediately surrounded by the wonders of aviation – from the ground up.
Overhead, hangs prominent WWII Flying Tiger and underfoot, lies an eye-catching propeller designed into the floor. Stonhard, the world leader in polymer floor systems, provided a flooring solution to satisfy the demands of this sophisticated facility.
During the museum’s design phase, architects decided to incorporate various aspects of airplanes within the facility’s structural elements. When evaluating flooring options, they initially investigated traditional ‘museum flooring’ materials like terrazzo. Unfortunately, this hard-surface product was known for creating an unwanted din of noise from foot traffic as patrons moved throughout the exhibits.
Stonhard’s Stonres RTZ product resolved this problem by combining the durability and cleanability of cast-in-place, seamless flooring with the sound dampening properties of vinyl sheet or rubber flooring. In addition, this engineered system offered custom design and custom color capabilities – making the sky the limit for the design team’s creativity in floor design.
Visitors to the museum begin their aeronautic experience the moment they enter the atrium.
Engineered Solution
Stonres RTZ’s easy-to-clean, impervious surface requires minimal maintenance and resists the wear, impact and staining common in high-traffic areas. Its resilient properties allow museum patrons to enjoy the exhibits undisturbed by excessive noise from foot traffic or large equipment being moved through the facility.
Stonhard’s first mission was to create two custom colors to suit the decor of the Air Zoo. Stonhard’s territory manager worked closely with Air Zoo designers to create a custom color match to the official Air Zoo mascot – a pink WWII Flying Tiger, created as a tribute to the WWII Flying Tiger pilots. The pink mascot is incorporated throughout the museum so it was only fitting to continue the color scheme in the floor system as well. This color, officially named K-200 Pink, was used to accent the subtle hues used in the main floor areas.
Other custom colors were created to complement the aircraft exhibits and create an environment where guests can enjoy their visit. Once Air Zoo representatives and the design team approved all of the custom color formulations, Stonhard began engineering the templates required to complete the various floor design elements throughout the facility.
To complement the innovation and outstanding achievements of the world’s flight pioneers, architects proposed a floor design in the lobby area that would re-create one of the most amazing feats of flight engineering – the propeller. In addition, the cafeteria used random circles on the floor to mirror similar patterns on the ceiling. Subtle geometric patterns in various colors were used in display areas, washrooms and stairways.
Stonres RTZ reduces noise in areas throughout the facility.
Installation - Ahead of Schedule
Stonhard’s installation teams installed over 19,000 sq. ft. of RTZ in less than four weeks – enabling the museum project to proceed ahead of schedule! After completing the necessary concrete preparation (i.e., crack repair, scarifying, grinding), the crew installed the RTZ product with skill and precision to create the various floor patterns. RTZ’s urethane chemistry kept cure time to a minimum and allowed the museum contractors access to the newly applied floor areas after only 12 hours.
Air Zoo representatives were excited about the finished product and pleased with Stonhard’s ability to manage the flooring project from start to finish. This showplace of amazing artifacts now boasts an innovative floor worthy of museum distinction.
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