3 St. Paul’s Place is featured in Architecture Magazine, highlighting the project’s considered flooring specifications and their significant contribution to the overall design language.

3 St Paul’s Place, Sheffield, A Floor-by-Floor Approach to Sustainable Design

Architecture Magazine is a well-established professional publication covering architecture, construction, products, technology and emerging design trends. Its readership includes architects, interior designers, architectural specifiers, product designers and other professionals influencing the built environment. Alongside industry news and product insight, the magazine uses detailed project features to explore how design ideas are translated into real buildings.

Its August/September 2026 issue features 3 St Paul’s Place in Sheffield, designed by Jasper Sanders + Partners, exploring how a relatively young office building can be repositioned through intelligent, targeted intervention rather than wholesale replacement.

Designed by Hodder + Partners and completed in 2016, the 76,000ft², nine-storey building occupies a prominent position beside Sheffield’s Peace Gardens. Approaching its first decade, the project presented an opportunity to rethink the shared spaces of the building, improving arrival, circulation, amenity and active travel facilities while creating a more welcoming and contemporary workplace.

A central theme running through the article is the relationship between design quality and sustainability. Rather than assuming that refurbishment means stripping everything back and starting again, Jasper Sanders + Partners looked carefully at what was already there and asked a more useful question, what can we retain, improve and give another life to?

Flooring became an important part of that strategy.

In reception, the existing ceramic floor was retained. Detailed investigation confirmed that it remained technically suitable, so rather than demolishing a perfectly serviceable floor, it was mechanically cleaned and resealed. New barrier matting was introduced at the entrance to better capture dirt, grit and moisture, protecting the floor and extending its useful life.

Where replacement was necessary, materials were selected for longevity and performance. European oak engineered parquet from Havwoods brings warmth and tactility to the front-of-house lounge and meeting area. Its substantial wear layer means it can be sanded and renewed over time, placing durability and embodied carbon at the heart of the specification.

Across the lift lobbies, Forbo Tessera Harmony carpet tiles introduce colour, softness and atmosphere, while their replaceability allows individual areas to be renewed without replacing the complete installation.

In the basement cycle and vehicle arrival areas, the existing concrete floor was retained and transformed with coloured Watco floor paint and graphic markings. Combined with architectural lighting, the treatment turns a functional surface into part of the building’s identity and wayfinding.

The resulting flooring strategy is therefore less about choosing a single sustainable product and more about making intelligent decisions about the whole life of a floor. Retain it where possible, repair it where necessary, replace it where it adds genuine value, and design every surface to work harder and last longer.

That, ultimately, is the story of 3 St Paul’s Place, sustainability through intelligent design, rather than simply through specification.

Read the full article in Architecture Magazine