Roppe Corporation

Large-scale commercial development is not really my forte, so I was fascinated when a friend of mine, who specializes in rebuilding older establishments into modern commercial spaces, took me on a tour of a recent project: The Bronx Lebanon Hospital Center in Queens.

His firm, AENArchitects, is a top-knotch architectural and design firm, specializing in reforming residential and commercial spaces into beautiful modern establishments.

I am more interested in the aesthetics. The shape, texture and modern decor. But looking further into the picture, you get a better sense of detail that goes really makes or breaks a project. Stuff that you likely don't appreciate unless someone points it out to you.

One of these items was flooring. When was the last time you noticed the flooring at your favorite modern establishment? I had never even heard of Roppe before. It started 50 years ago and has become one of the biggest suppliers of rubber and vinyl flooring products (wall base, stair treads, floor tile, stair nosings, carpet edgings, etc.)

Rubber Tile

Stair Treads

Vinyl Wall Base

Boring? Well what I found is that for large modern architecture and development projects, what kind of details you use make a big difference in immediate and future costs, safety, function and peripheral aesthetics. In an empty building, it was even more obvious.