Christchurch Casino.

As part of a major refurbishment, Christchurch Casino upgraded its main gaming floors with more than 3,000 square metres of new carpet. The project aimed to create a refreshed interior that reflects the creative and artistic spirit of Christchurch, while meeting the performance demands of a busy, high-traffic hospitality venue.

The project called for a bespoke carpet design tailored specifically to the casino environment, where bold patterns, layered colour and visual energy play an important role in shaping the atmosphere of the space. The custom carpet design complements the constant movement and vibrancy of the environment, while delivering a distinctive aesthetic unique to the venue.

A key technical challenge for this project was achieving a seamless, large-scale visual pattern using individual carpet tiles. Belgotex’s in-house carpet designer overcame this challenge by developing a 10mx10m master pattern repeat that was broken down into 20 unique 1mx1m tile designs. A creative and considered pattern, combined with precise installation, ensured the finished floor appeared as one continuous design.

The level of technical complexity and innovative design involved saw the project named a finalist for Commercial Carpet of the Year at the recent FloorNZ Excellence in Flooring Awards 2025. It is a testament to the Axminster carpet tiles’ significant impact to the overall aesthetic and performance.

A modular format was selected over traditional broadloom format to allow easy installation around existing gaming machines, columns, and other fixed structures without extensive cutting or material waste. The modular format also simplifies maintenance as individual tiles can be easily replaced if damaged, without the need to uplift large areas of flooring. To meet the demands of a hospitality setting, the carpet also needed to be hard-wearing, stain resistant, and easy to clean.

Belgotex proposed Axminster carpet tiles to meet the design and performance requirements of the project. Axminster technology enables highly detailed, custom patterns to be woven directly into the carpet, making it possible to achieve a precise, high-quality design tailored specifically to the space.

In addition to the custom design capabilities that it offers, Axminster carpet tiles deliver excellent durability under heavy foot traffic and good stain resistance, making it well suited to high-use hospitality environments such as casinos. The tiles are manufactured using a premium blend of 80% wool and 20% nylon, with the wool yarn primarily sourced from New Zealand and the British Isles. Produced in an ISO 14001-certified facility, Axminster carpet tiles are PVC-free and CRI Green Label Plus certified for low VOC emissions, contributing to improved indoor air quality and compliance with sustainability standards.

The end result is a stunning floor that not only enhances the look of the casino, but will also continue to perform for years to come.