Courtesy Ashley McGraw Architects
Sometimes, when clients come into the office of Ashley McGraw Architects in Syracuse, N.Y., they look down at the floor and say, "Oh! I played on that." Why? Because the firm's maple flooring is reclaimed from the gymnasium of Geneva Middle School, built in the early 1920s in Geneva, N.Y., only an hour away. The flooring was supplied by Pioneer Millworks, and is 15⁄16 inch thick and 21/2 inches wide in random lengths up to 5 feet. There was enough material to fill up most of the space at Ashley McGraw, and the space left over was covered with gym floors reclaimed from two schools in Maryland. The firm chose to install old school gymnasium floors in their office because their niche is designing schools. The flooring not only connects the firm's clients to its work, it helps Ashley McGraw's employees too, says Susan Angarano, an interior designer with the company. For the employees who choose to stand at their desks instead of sit, the gym floor is easier on their feet and knees than other floor coverings, she says. The design team chose against sanding and finishing the gym floor because they got a kick from seeing the painted court lines. The firm concentrated the painted floorboards in the office walkways and laid them down randomly, which created a unique look. "It looks like confetti," Angarano says. "That's fun, too."
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