Form and function come together in rooms used by the public

"The optimum DST Collection is one of the greatest strengths of Pfleiderer, on which many of our customers rely for fitting out offices, schools and other public buildings", explains Sebastian Heese, Industry Sales Manager and Markus David, Head of Projects Advice in the Pfleiderer Group, in unison. The collection ensures that decors, textures and core materials can be freely combined. The same decor can be used, not only as a faced or coated board, but also as a Duropal HPL and as an HPL element with different cores. "For example, a desk is used differently to and with greater exposure than a shelf system. Thanks to the DST Collection, we can use the same decor in application-orientated products and therefore, not only satisfy our customers' use requirements but also their design standards."

The variety of possible combinations, combined with the segment-specific knowledge of the Pfleiderer experts, impressed the interior designers of the World Academy, an international school of the King Abdullah Economic City in Saudi-Arabia. The learning concept involves common spaces, an open library as well as areas for group teaching, which are fitted out with individual and flexible furniture and elements for active learning. The design throughout the sensational building construction uses expressive plain decors, which run continuously through different equipment and furniture elements. "The optimum colour match across the different materials was used in particular in this concept", said Markus. "Our material expertise helped us, together with the architects responsible, to identify the products that were precisely suited to their respective area of use."

Due to the high standards of wear resistance and durability, in many places the project designers opted for Duropal HPL Compact, a high-pressure laminate with white-coloured core and decorative melamine resin surface on both sides. "The fact that this material was chosen, is a reflection of the high standards of the project partners, not only for form but also for function", said Markus. "Duropal HPL Compact stands for unusual furniture and interior concepts, including in damp and wet zones, especially if minimum material cross-sections are required with particularly high aesthetic, function and durability standards."

The interaction of design and functionality was also the deciding factor in the following example from Denmark: As one of the most important sightseeing locations in Copenhagen, the National Museum of Denmark, attracts visitors and tourists from all over the world. The daily streams of visitors mean maximum exposure to use and wear for the furniture and interiors of the museum.

When redesigning the museum shop in the building's entrance area, the architects responsible therefore opted for the functional XTreme surfaces of Pfleiderer. In the plain Cashmere decor, thanks to their enormous colour transparency and depth, the matt surfaces appear particularly fine and elegant. At the same time, the texture is durable, resistant and easy-care. "Fingermarks do not adhere to it and even stubborn dirt can be easily removed – ideal for highly frequented rooms such as those in the museum in Copenhagen", said Markus David. "In combination with our DST Collection, at the same time, the XTreme surfaces fit seamlessly into the overall interior design concept in the museum's entrance area."