Educational buildings — universities, research centres, technology campuses — have a singular demand profile. They must be flexible enough to adapt to pedagogical and technological change, technically robust enough to withstand decades of intensive use, and sustainable enough to meet the environmental commitments that an increasing number of institutions are adopting as part of their identity.

In that context, raised access flooring is not simply another building component. It is an infrastructure decision that conditions the building’s capacity to evolve with the needs of knowledge.

Flexibility as a pedagogical requirement

Educational models change. Laboratories are converted into collaborative classrooms. Computer rooms evolve into hybrid workspaces. Research centres incorporate new equipment requiring different electrical, data and HVAC configurations.

A raised access floor system allows the building to respond to all of these changes without construction work — redistributing installations, updating data networks and reconfiguring climate control zone by zone, in a matter of hours and without interrupting academic activity.

This adaptability is not just an operational advantage — it is a factor that extends the useful life of the building and reduces the total cost of ownership over decades of use.

Technical performance for intensive-use environments

Large-scale educational buildings — university campuses, applied research centres, technical training facilities — combine high occupancy density with high-demand technological equipment. The raised access floor system must be dimensioned to support these requirements simultaneously and continuously.

GAMAFLOR PAC and Full Steel systems cover the full spectrum of demands in the education sector — from administrative spaces and standard-load classrooms to research laboratories, server rooms and academic data centres where point loads and electrostatic control are determining criteria.

UFAD: energy efficiency and comfort in large spaces

Large auditoriums, lecture halls and collective-use spaces on university campuses face a very specific climate control challenge — large volumes, variable and unpredictable occupancy, and the need to maintain optimal comfort conditions for concentration and learning.

UFAD (Under Floor Air Distribution) technology offers a technically and energetically efficient response to this challenge. By distributing conditioned air from the plenum directly into the occupied zone, UFAD allows temperature to be managed with precision in large-volume spaces, reducing energy consumption and improving student comfort regardless of occupancy levels.

Sustainability and LEED certification

Sustainability is today a strategic criterion for educational institutions — not just a regulatory requirement. An increasing number of universities and training centres are pursuing LEED certification as part of their commitment to environmental responsibility.

GAMAFLOR PAC and BANK systems incorporate materials with recycled components, in compliance with LEED v4 certification parameters. This compatibility makes them a natural choice for educational projects seeking to accredit their sustainable commitment — without compromising the technical performance of the system.

Acoustics: the criterion that most impacts learning

In educational environments, acoustic quality is a factor directly linked to academic performance. Impact noise between floors, vibration transmission from mechanical equipment and sound propagation between adjacent spaces are variables that the raised access floor system must manage from the design stage.

The GAMAFLOR structure incorporates rubber acoustic insulation at all contact points between pedestals and stringers — significantly reducing impact noise transmission between levels. The choice of finish — carpet, ceramic or vinyl — complements this acoustic performance according to the specific needs of each space.

Reference projects

Polygroup has a proven track record in education sector projects internationally. Among the most notable in the portfolio, the Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-JUST) in Cairo — with 15,000 m² of GAMAFLOR PAC 35/05 with HPV Lider finish — and the CIETD at Universitat Jaume I in Castellón, where the GAMAFLOR Full Steel system was specified to meet the demands of a high-level research and innovation environment.

These projects demonstrate the capacity of GAMAFLOR systems to simultaneously meet the flexibility, technical performance and sustainability demands that characterise the world’s most advanced educational buildings.

A decision made at design stage

The specification of raised access flooring in an educational building must be made at the design stage — not on site. Plenum height, UFAD integration, finish selection by zone and the definition of the maintenance strategy are variables that must be defined before construction begins.

At Polygroup, we work alongside architects, engineers and developers in the education sector from the earliest stages of each project, ensuring that the floor solution is technically and operationally optimised before the first panel is installed.

Working on an educational or research project? Our technical team can support you from the very first sketch. Contact us.