"altro"

Altro Aquarius and Altro Whiterock offer contemporary shades that suit any domestic environment.

Altro kitchen system provides a perfect fitAltro Whiterock White, Altro Stronghold 30“We chose Altro Whiterock because it provides an easy to maintain, hygienic surface that is ideal for kitchens and have up to date fire certification.”Ben Rodgers,Cladpro LtdIssueBannold are one of the UKs largest independent family run suppliers of natural hard landscaping materials. Based in Cambridgeshire, Bannold wanted to refurbish 1920 railway carriages to create a tea room for customers.The Carriage Tea Room had a dated wooden substrate that needed to be replaced with a modern hygienic clinical finish for the kitchen facilities. The walls were not a square flat surface and needed a flexible product that could be fitted into the space. Floors and walls had to be easy to clean and maintain and fit into an environment without a straight line.ApproachCladpro are leading Altro Whiterock Premier installers specialising in hygienic wall finishes, floor coverings and ceilings. They suggested the Altro kitchen solution for the kitchen carriage. All the walls were thermoformed and wrapped to fit the unusual shape of the carriage.SolutionAltro Stronghold 30 keeps staff safe, with Altro’s highest slip-resistant rating of (PTV 55, R12) even with common kitchen contaminants such as grease, oil and flour. With 3mm comfort underfoot and 10dB impact sound insulation, it makes busy and noisy kitchen environments more comfortable for staff. Combined with Altro Whiterock it creates a full sealed solution to maintain the highest levels of safety and hygiene.

St James’ Catholic High School needed a solution for the corridor that would be durable and easy to clean. The school chose Altro Orchestra flooring and Altro Fortis wall protection.

Dynamic interior spaces created for flagship care homeIssueQuantum Care were launching their flagship care home, Mantles Court, and wanted an interior design that created a warm, welcoming and comfortable space. They asked WHAT IF? Designs to create the interior fit out with a non-clinical feel, making the state of the art, 78-bed care facility feel like a home-from-home for residents.ApproachWHAT IF? Designs looked at the flow of resident living spaces and the needs for each area. Communal spaces including lounges, dining and kitchen areas needed floors that were easy to clean, look fantastic and provide safety from slips. For the ensuite bathrooms, a softer, neutral coloured floor that provided slip resistance for both staff and residents was needed, while bedrooms needed a more homely, domestic feel, with comfort under foot as a priority.SolutionAltro Wood was chosen for the dining room, bedrooms and the hair salon for its natural, homely, good looks. Altro Aquarius and Altro Pisces, with their wide colour palette and lifetime sustained slip resistance, were selected for the ensuite bathrooms, providing safety for shoe and barefoot users. And in the communal areas, Altro Ensemble was chosen for its flexibility and design choices as well as its noise reduction and comfort underfoot.Altro Wood is an attractive wood-effect vinyl flooring helping you create the right look for areas where people live and work. It has sustained slip resistance for the lifetime of the floor.Altro Aquarius was developed for lasting performance in shoes or barefoot, providing lifetime sustained slip resistance in wet and dry environments.Altro Ensemble is a modular flooring system of luxury vinyl tiles that gives complete design freedom to create stunning floors for interior spaces. Altro Ensemble has 15dB sound reduction with added comfort underfoot.Altro Pisces provides superb performance whether wet or dry, in shoes or barefoot in wet environments where the likelihood of a slip is very high."We would recommend Altro to other designers. There is always support when we need it and we will definitely include them in future schemes." Penny Green Co-founder, WHAT IF? Designs"There is a wide range of colour and technical specifications which provided us with the creativity we needed." Penny Green Co-founder, WHAT IF? Designs

Torbay Hospital is South Devon’s main hospital. The eye clinic at the hospital required a floor refurbishment as the old carpet floor tiles were no longer suitable. The hospital needed a floor in blue to complement adjacent finishes. Altro met with the ward and building supervisors to discuss floor options. The Estates Building Supervisor worked closely with and was fully supported by Altro to choose the right product for the clinic. It was decided to use Altro Orchestra in ‘Bassoon’ and ‘Soul’ and helped the hospital to create a design for the eye clinic.

Altro Wood adhesive-free sets a high standard at special schoolIssueAltro Wood adhesive-free safety flooring has been fitted in Kaimes Special School, in Edinburgh, setting a high standard for easy to fit, slip-resistant and homely surfaces for pupils and staff.The installation was part of a wider refurbishment of the school by the City of Edinburgh Council, and integral to their drive to reduce sensory overload in primary and secondary schools by using ‘natural’ neutral colours and textures.ApproachA spokesperson from the Interiors team at Edinburgh Council, says “We worked closely with Altro on Kaimes Special School, and they recommended their Altro Wood adhesive-free flooring for several reasons.“The biophilic design principles of bringing nature into schools have been proven to aid learning, promote calm and improve mood among pupils. Using a wood-effect flooring is a great way to create that atmosphere, and this is why we use Altro Wood adhesive-free – it’s a beautiful, homely and comfortable surface that also has very high slip resistance. It ticks all the boxes for us.”SolutionNick Burge, headmaster of Kaimes School, says: “The feedback from pupils, staff and visitors has been nothing but positive, and the flooring is proving practical too, easy to clean and it looks as good as it did when it was fitted six months ago.”The Edinburgh Council Interiors team also specified two other Altro surfaces for Kaimes Special School. Altro Wood Comfort was fitted in the primary school classrooms, where pupils have high levels of behavioural problems. This 2.85mm thick option gives comfort underfoot and offers 14dB impact sound reduction, and has matching colour and design options with Altro Wood adhesive-free. Altro XpressLay adhesive-free flooring was also fitted in some corridors and circulation areas.Altro Wood adhesive-free creates maximum impact with minimum downtime. Using Altro’s award-winning adhesive-free installation method, it can be welded and walked on the same day, and at the end of its life can be removed easily, allowing it to be reused or recycled. Altro Wood Comfort offers aesthetics combined with comfort and safety. It’s an ideal choice for areas that need to look good while helping to give comfort underfoot.With matching design and colour options across this range, both floors have 14dB impact sound reduction, a 10-year guarantee and Altro’s one in a million slip-resistance reassurance, the flooring offers high levels of comfort underfoot, providing a safe, durable and decorative solution for busy spaces."We use Altro XpressLay a great deal in our refurbishments and new builds. Like the Altro Wood adhesive-free it goes down so easily and quickly and can also be recycled, so it fits in with our principles too." Interiors team at Edinburgh Council"The new wood-effect flooring in the dining room and forum looks fantastic, and it’s playing an important part in creating a space that is now warm, homely, calm and inviting."  Nick Burge Headmaster of Kaimes School

A complete floors and walls solution from Altro has been used to create a relaxing, stylish home from home environment for mums-to-be in a new birth centre at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital. Products used are Altro Pisces, Altro Whiterock Digiclad, Altro Whiterock Satins, Altro Walkway 20, Altro Wood

The Royal Voluntary Service Hertford branch wanted to provide a lunch club to bring older people together to enjoy a hot nutritious meal and socialise with friends at the same time. The room to be used for the club was not fit for purpose. Altro donated floors and walls to transform the room to create a warm and welcoming environment. Altro Wood Safety Comfort was used for the floor to provide a good aesthetic and easy to clean floor. Altro Whiterock White was used to provide a smooth, easy to clean surface that is impact resistant and reduces maintenance costs.

A 30 year old building previously part of the Hewlett Packard campus in Bristol was selected for renovation to become the University of the West of England (UWE) Future Space. Altro resin floors were selected to meet the needs of the specification.

IssueEstablished in 1916, Doylestown Country Club is a private country club located in Pennsylvania, USA. In addition to its reputation as one of the top golfing destinations in the state, the Doylestown Country Club’s culinary team strives to create memorable dining experiences for all members and guests. To achieve this goal, the country club has created a new space to elevate kitchen safety and ensure efficient back-of-house operations.ApproachDoylestown Country Club wanted a floor that would provide comfort for their staff, who spend prolonged periods on their feet. Other considerations including reducing noise transferrence in a busy commercial kitchen and having a floor that could be installed around the kitchen drains which required a watertight, seamless transition with the flooring.SolutionAfter consultation between the Altro sales and technical teams, together with the flooring installer and specifier, 350sqm of Altro Stronghold 30 was specified, keeping staff safe from slips and helping to reduce fatigue thanks to its 3mm thickness.Altro Stronghold 30 achieves Altro’s highest rating for slip resistance (PTV ≥55, R12) and is designed to minimise risk in wet and greasy conditions for the lifetime of the flooring. As well as helping to keep staff safe from slips, it also helps reduce their fatigue, thanks to its 3mm thickness which provides noise reduction and comfort underfoot.

IssueA rental property in Stourport-on-Severn needed a quick refurbishment, allowing the landlord to turn the property around for tenants who were keen to move in. The main areas to be refurbished were the kitchen and bathroom, both of which needed to be fully re-fitted, providing a fresh, clean home for the new residents. ApproachThe landlord had previously worked with Altro products and needed quick to install products, which would provide ease of installation, durability, and ease of cleaning. “We had received information about a new product, Altro Walls ShowerKit, and were keen to try it out. The house needed a quick turnaround as our tenants were waiting to move in. The installer was also keen to have products that were easy to manoeuvre, carry up and down stairs, and resulted in less waste” said S.Birch, Landlord.SolutionAltro Ensemble luxury vinyl tile in colour Pewter Concrete was selected for the kitchen, providing a luxury feel together with comfort underfoot and impact sound reduction.Altro Walls ShowerKit in colour Cool Mineral and Stacked Metro design was selected for the bathroom, partnered with Altro Wood adhesive-free in colour Post Oak. The combination of an Altro floor and wall results in an easy-to-maintain and safe space, giving the bathroom a homely aesthetic, with ease of cleaning and our Altro one in a million slip-resistance reassurance.

Altro delivers a speedy upgrade to luxury care homeIssueAmana Living is a premium care service provider based in in Australia, who pride themselves on making the welfare of their residents a priority. When the community lounge at Amana Living’s Moline Village needed an upgrade, they knew they needed a speedy solution that would cause minimal disturbance to their residents and offer a superior quality finish.ApproachThe existing vinyl floor was in need of an update, and Amana Living needed a flooring product which would allow them to complete the renovation quickly, with minimal noise, dust, and unpleasant odours but would also look great, and perform even better.SolutionAmana Living chose Altro Wood adhesive-free for their refurbishment. The adhesive-free installation meant that not only were there no adhesive smells, but that the new flooring could be laid directly over the top of the old. This saved valuable time and significantly reduced the amount of dust involved in the project. The time savings that Amana Living made by using adhesive-free flooring meant that they were able to open up the lounge to their residents more quickly than originally planned. The benefits don’t end at the installation either: in their new community lounge, both staff and residents enjoy a relaxing environment with comfort underfoot and 14dB sound reduction. And with the inclusion of Altro Easyclean Technology, the lounge is also much easier to maintain.Altro Wood adhesive-free creates maximum impact with minimum downtime. With 12 colour choices, 14dB sound reduction, a 10-year guarantee and our Altro one in a million slip-resistance reassurance, Altro Wood adhesive-free offers high levels of comfort underfoot providing a safe, durable and decorative solution for busy spaces."The installation was completed in a very timely manner with no take-up of existing flooring, and no dust or adhesive odours causing discomfort to anyone in the facility, all being completed with minimal disruptions." Amana Living"Everyone is delighted with the completed flooring which now delivers great safety underfoot, ease of cleaning and a fantastic looking renovation completed in record time." Amana Living

At the Paris-Le Bourget airport, Air Culinaire Worldwide has just moved into its new kitchen. The kitchen, corridors, locker rooms, preparation rooms (hot and cold) and the storage rooms were fitted with Altro Stronghold 30 on the floor and the Altro Whiterock White on the walls.

Altro solution rocks Rockville HospitalAltro Pisces, Altro Whiterock White, Altro Whiterock recessed shelfIssueRockville Hospital, part of the Eastern Connecticut Healthcare Network, boasts a strong behavioural health unit that provides support and specialized, sophisticated services for many areas of mental health, including additions, anxiety, depression and other counseling.The project had originally called for competitor products, but the Altro Regional Representative met with Jeff Lawton and Rockville Hospital housekeeping staff and presented Altro products, showing the proper cleaning regimen.ApproachJeff Lawton worked with the hospital, selecting Altro floors and walls to ensure a safe, easy and familiar bathing experience for residents at the unit. The hospital was impressed, and staff members continue to be happy with their installation.SolutionFor the bathrooms and other wet areas throughout the unit, award winning Altro Pisces was specified for the floors, accompanied by Altro Whiterock White hygienic wall sheets, preventing moisture and water ingress. With increasing efforts to combat healthcare acquired infections in hospitals around the country, impact-resistant and hygienic wall products are essential. With creating a safe environment for users a priority, Altro Whiterock recessed shelves were selected to offer a lip and ligature-free solution for holding toiletries.Altro Pisces achieves Class B to DIN 51097 for barefoot use, plus a Pendulum Test Value (PTV) of ≥50 (Slider 96). Altro Pisces offers 16 soft-look shades; the result is the soft appearance that you would want from domestic interiors, with the lifetime sustained slip resistance you expect from Altro.Combined with Altro Whiterock White hygienic wall sheets it pro vides an impervious and easy to clean solution for wet environments.The Altro Whiterock recessed shelf is a pre-fabricated unit, us ing proven Altro Whiterock hygienic walls sheet, providing a watertight, rust-proof shelf for shower toiletries which is tamper-resistant and free from potential ligature points, helping to keep users safe.

Bright modern spaces created in quick timeframeIssueA rental property in Stourport-on-Severn needed a quick refurbishment, allowing the landlord to turn the property around for tenants who were keen to move in. The main areas to be refurbished were the kitchen and bathroom, both of which needed to be fully re-fitted, providing a fresh, clean home for the new residents.ApproachThe landlord had previously worked with Altro and needed quick to install products, which would provide ease of installation, durability, and ease of cleaning. “We had received information about a new product, Altro Walls ShowerKit, and were keen to try it out. The house needed a quick turnaround as our tenants were waiting to move in. The installer was also keen to have products that were easy to manoeuvre, carry up and down stairs, and resulted in less waste” said S. Birch, Landlord.SolutionAltro Ensemble luxury vinyl tile in colour Pewter Concrete was selected for the kitchen, providing a luxury feel together with comfort underfoot and impact sound reduction.Altro Walls ShowerKit in colour Cool Mineral and Stacked Metro design was selected for the bathroom, partnered with Altro Wood adhesive-free* in colour Post Oak. The combination of an Altro floor and wall results in an easy-to-maintain and safe space, giving the bathroom a homely aesthetic, with ease of cleaning and our Altro one in a million slip resistance reassurance.*(Altro recommend a specialist safety floor, such as Altro Aquarius or Altro Pisces, for wet room and bathroom installations)Award-winning Altro Ensemble is a modular flooring system that gives complete design freedom to create stunning floors for interior spaces. From colour blocking to geometric patterns, the possibilities are as endless as your imagination.Altro Wood adhesive-free creates maximum impact with minimum downtime providing a safe, durable, and decorative solution for busy spaces.Altro Walls ShowerKit is suitable for all residential bathroom and wet room installations. Available in a range of colours and designs, from classic white to tile-effect, helping to create a neutral and clean appearance or a contemporary ambience.

Providing a resident community with lasting comfortIssueThe Village Langley consists of a large community centre and six corresponding cottages. Dedicated to ensuring that residents coping with the degenerative effects of dementia are able to direct their own day-to-day living in a safe, natural environment, The Village provides holistic care centred on forming relationships and finding a sense of place in one’s surroundings.Each cottage features the comforts of a typical home environment, including a living room, dining area, an open kitchen and private rooms with adjoining bathrooms. Small groups of residents live together in these spaces, allowing trained household teams to focus on their individual abilities and promote an improved quality of life.ApproachThe Village collaborated with NSDA Architects to develop the most efficient layout possible. This involved finding a flooring solution that would address the residents’ unique needs, while adhering to the desired home-like aesthetic.SolutionVisual perception plays an important role in designing for memory care facilities. High-gloss surfaces and complex patterns can cause disorientation in residents and potentially increase the risk of injury. Non-glare finished floors such as Altro Wood avoid compromising vision in these environments.“The beautiful matt finish was essential to eliminate glare and reflections that can be detrimental to residents with dementia,” explained Dust.The firm specified Altro Aquarius for resident bathrooms. In the community centre and activity rooms, Altro Operetta was chosen for its ability to withstand high volumes of traffic. Altro Stronghold 30 was used in its commercial kitchen area to provide its staff with the highest available slip resistance.Altro Operetta is a robust floor perfect for medium to high traffic areas that is easy to clean and maintain. It has attractive, natural and contemporary colours and finishes.Altro Aquarius is especially suitable for environments with high slip risk in wet and dry conditions. It achieves class B according to DIN 51097 for barefoot use, as well as a pendulum test value (PTV) of ≥50 (slider 96).Altro Wood is an attractive, general purpose safety flooring with design and colour options that match Altro Wood adhesive-free and Altro Wood Comfort to achieve a consistent look in different areas.Altro Stronghold 30 achieves PTV ≥55, R12 with 3mm thickness. Altro Stronghold, combined with Altro Whiterock wall sheets, provides an impervious, easy to clean and safe Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) approved solution for kitchen environments."Altro Wood was selected for the cottages for the warmth of its woodgrain and visual familiarity for the residents. It provides excellent slip resistance to mitigate resident falls."Brian Dust Architect, Principal at NSDA"Altro has a well-thought-out line of products with exceptional technical and design features that coordinate well together. Residents, families and healthcare professionals have been highly complimentary on the home-like cottages, and Altro products have contributed significantly to the aesthetics of the buildings."Brian Dust Architect, Principal at NSDA

Altro flooring now standard for welsh social housing providerAltro Wood, Altro Aquarius“We have a longstanding and very strong relationship with Altro. Our decision to exclusively use their flooring going forward will ensure consistency and a high level of quality, durability and aesthetics across the homes we have available where we have developmental control.”Elliw OwenSenior Development Surveyor at AdrassueAdra, a leading affordable housing provider in North Wales has constructed a large scheme of mixed housing units in Caernarfon, Wales. The scheme offers 46 properties comprising two, three and four-bedroomed houses and bungalows available as market sales, rent to own and social rented units. Adra creates comfortable, affordable, contemporary and stylish homes for their clients using quality interior components.ApproachAltro’s wide range of colours offers choice and flexibility in terms of design, enabling Adra to match to kitchen units and Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) recommendations, making this housing scheme accessible for all. With proven durability combined with good looks, performance and impressive safety credentials, Altro products have delivered great results for Adra over many years with long-term sustainability of quality and standards, and it is for these reasons that Adra have chosen Altro as their standard flooring supplier on all their new-build programmes.SolutionAltro Wood safety flooring was fitted in all kitchens on the scheme in a choice of three colours. All bathrooms and shower rooms were fitted with Altro Aquarius safety flooring in the colours Swan, Cygnet, or Tern.“We have not had one problem with the flooring, and the 12-month assessment reported it looked as good as the day it was fitted,” said Elliw Owen, Senior Development Surveyor at Adra. “Another big plus for us is that our local flooring installers love working with Altro flooring because it’s an easy product to lay and work with. This means we don’t need to bring in expensive specialist flooring contractors, and we can keep it local.”“We want to offer our residents beautiful, stylish flooring they can be proud of. We are pleased to be working with Altro; their flooring ticks all the boxes for us.”Elliw OwenSenior Development Surveyor at Adra

Calming and practical spaces created for neurodiverse residentsIssueA unique housing concept was created on the Foxcote housing development in Heald Green by Bloor Homes and Stockport MBC in partnership with MSV Housing Association and Lifeways care provider. The house was to provide fully adapted, independent living accommodation for young people with autism, learning difficulties and mental health issues.Built on land sold by the Seashell Trust, the house was designed as a single supported dwelling, providing living spaces for three young adults with neurodiverse needs.The home needed to convey a biophilic feeling of space and light, with muted tones and earthy colours.ApproachMSV Housing Association, Sara Darwin of Phi Architects and the parent of one of the young adults worked hand-in-hand to create a specification for the build that considered all requirements. This included a connected, welcoming, shared living, dining and kitchen space that could be separated as and when needed, individual homely bedrooms, a calm and soothing sensory room, safe and hygienic bathrooms and kitchen area – all of which were anti-pick, reduced transference of noise and provided ease of cleaning.SolutionIn the dining and kitchen area, Altro Wood Comfort in colour Aged Oak was specified bringing a biophilic feel into the open areas. The bathrooms were furnished with Altro Whiterock Satins in colour Linen, Altro Whiterock Digiclad (Custom) walls with an underwater theme, and Altro Pisces safety floor in colour Cuttlefish. Altro Pisces was also specified for the individual toilet. Altro Wood Comfort provided comfort and sound reduction throughout the house in the bedrooms, sensory room, and hallways.Altro Whiterock is the hygienic alternative to tiles that’s impact resistant, grout-free and easy to clean.Altro Whiterock Digiclad (Custom) walls give you the ‘wow’ factor in the simplest way. Great for areas where looks count, for feature walls, entire spaces, and to aid with wayfinding, Altro custom walls are ideal for a huge variety of public spaces.Altro Pisces provides superb performance whether wet or dry, in shoes or barefoot in wet environments where the likelihood of a slip is very high.Altro Wood Comfort offers aesthetics combined with comfort and safety. It’s an ideal choice for areas that need to look good while helping to give comfort underfoot.

The school opened in September 2016. As part of the build, Julian James, Managing Director at Julian James Cladding Ltd., recommended the Altro Fortis wall protection system. Doors and plaster board walls can easily be damaged, be it scrapes and knocks as people pass, or more serious dents and holes caused by wheeled traffic. Altro Fortis Titanium has been specifically designed to protect these surfaces. Altro Fortis Titanium is dense, impervious and resistant to bumps. It features a lightly textured surface, which camouflages scuffs, keeping the wall area looking better for longer.

The 65-year old Altro safety flooring that is still performing todayWhen West Bridgford Baptist Church refitted its kitchen, they wanted high quality flooring that was safe, durable and easy to maintain. They chose what was then a new product – Altro safety flooring – and hoped it would deliver. That was in 1950, and over 65 years later, after innumerable coffee mornings, christenings and other events, Altro revisited the site with the most modern testing equipment and found the original safety flooring still meets the latest HSE standards. A pendulum test achieved PTV 40, representing a one in a million risk of slipping in both wet and dry conditions.Church Secretary Carol Hodgkinson said: “Our kitchen has had much use over the years and is important to the people who attend the Church and use its facilities. We’ve run a lunch club, cooked up amazing Christmas dinners and plenty of simple lunches too. Today it’s mainly used to prepare refreshments for our own church activities and for other groups that use our building, which includes toddler groups, keep fit groups, uniformed organisations and U3A groups, amongst others.“We were amazed when we were told how old the flooring is, we had no idea! We just know that it’s easy to clean. It’s reassuring to know that it’s still helping to prevent people from slipping after all this time.”The flooring that was laid at West Bridgford Baptist Church was called ASF Classic X25 and was the first Altro safety flooring solution. Roll-on to today and Altro Classic 25 is still here, albeit with a few tweaks! It remains a popular choice, although these days you’re more likely to find it in craft, design and technology rooms plus circulation areas.

Sustainable focus and biophilic aesthetics for new schoolSwitching the specification from adhered floors to adhesive-free, gave an approximate carbon saving of 59.27%, saving 3,893.34kg of Co2 emissions.IssueHolyrood Academy provides secondary education for 11–18-year-olds in Chard, Somerset. One of the schools’ values is for pupils to ‘be supported and challenged to achieve the very best they can.’ Carrying this ethos through into the furnishing of a new school extension, main contractor BAM Construct UK wanted to utilise sustainable products, reducing the buildings carbon footprint, and ensuring the build was delivered to timescales and budget.ApproachTo ensure the project was finished as sustainably as possible, representatives from BAM Construct UK, Altro and Recofloor met to discuss options for specification, and managing and recycling waste from the build.After the consultation, and with prior knowledge and experience of previous successful installations, adhesive-free floor options were reviewed and selected based on the cost, time, and carbon-saving benefits. “It was imperative we delivered the build to timescales, but as sustainably as possible. The adhesive-free floors saved project time and reduced carbon output.” said Graham Holt, Construction Project Manager, BAM Construct UK.SolutionCreating maximum impact with minimum downtime, Altro Wood adhesive-free was specified for the dining area and Altro Cantata adhesive-free was specified for the corridors and communal areas, providing a safe, durable and decorative solution for the busy spaces.Altro Stronghold 30 was specified for the commercial kitchen providing comfort underfoot and keeping staff safe from slips.Hard-wearing Altro Walkway 20 was specified for the toilets providing abrasion resistance, PUR cleanability, and superior chemical and stain resistance.Altro Stronghold 30 achieves Altro’s highest rating for slip resistance (PTV ≥55, R12) and is designed to minimise risk in wet and greasy conditions for the lifetime of the flooring.Altro Walkway 20 is a versatile, hard-wearing safety flooring for general purpose areas. A contractors favourite for over 30 years as it’s easy to install.Altro Wood adhesive-free uses our award-winning adhesive-free installation method, it can be welded and walked on the same day, and at the end of its life can be removed easily, allowing it to be reused or recycled.Altro Cantata adhesive-free provides enhanced cleanability making it ideal for busy public spaces where disruption needs to be minimal, and it has no associated adhesive odours.

Willowbrook Care Home in Birmingham provides specialist support for people with dementia and mental health problems who need personal care or nursing care on a long term basis. The care home recently extended the premises and Altro floors were used throughout the over 2000m² new build extension. Paul Willis, Care Home Owner said: “We chose Altro Wood Safety, Altro Pisces and Altro Walkway 20 to help provide a homely appearance with excellent sustained slip resistance, durability and ease of maintenance. The end result is superb and we have had many wonderful, positive comments from residents, families and numerous healthcare professionals.”

Altro floors for design and quality at busy aquariumIssueThe Deep Aquarium is an education and conservation charity and one of the UK’s largest aquariums, with over 3500 fish, stunning marine life and plenty of activities for all the family. Located in Hull, The Deep Aquarium takes visitors on a journey of the world’s oceans travelling through a unique blend of beautiful marine life from warm tropical waters to the cold Antarctic seas.With an average of 450,000 visitors a year, the high footfall had worn out the floors and needed to be replaced.ApproachThe Deep was keen to install a safety vinyl flooring for the visitor walkways and ramps. As The Deep is open from 10 am – 6 pm daily, work had to be undertaken at night. The gift shop and Two Rivers Restaurant were closed for the installation.SolutionAltro Reliance 25 was selected to provide a durable solution underfoot for the visitor walkways to keep visitors safe.Altro Wood was installed in the restaurant. Altro Ensemble, a modular flooring system, was installed in the customer Gift shop. All the products were chosen for their ease of installation, designs and guarantees."We chose the Altro flooring range based on their safe, hard wearing and attractive appearance for our customers. The choice in range appealed, giving us solutions to the different areas and environments within the attraction, complementing the styling and quality needed to work within the aquarium."Jason Bache Facilities Manager, The Deep"We had never used Altro Ensemble before and our fitters found it a very nice product to work with an install. The ability to offer our client a variety of floor solutions for the various environments was a bonus. I would have no hesitation of recommending Altro products to clients in the future."Jonathon Simpson The Hull Flooring Co Ltd

The Milton Keynes Hospital Paediatric Emergency Department was undergoing a refurbishment. The overall aim was to create a child-friendly environment that would appeal to children of all ages. AD Architects designed the new unit and chose Altro Orchestra to create two colourful, reception play areas. The variety of different shades and textures gave scope for an enchanted woodland forest theme to be created using Altro Orchestra throughout. Altro Suprema safety flooring was also fitted in the new unit’s observation areas, treatment bays and examination rooms.

IssueA 15-year-old bathroom in a housing development was looking tired and dated and the owner wanted to refresh the area with minimal disruption in a quick timescale. The bathroom had three walls of ceramic tiles, and a sink splashback, which were in good condition but were unfashionable and required high levels of maintenance to remove limescale and mould.The property, a first floor flat, had easy access but no lift, so equipment, materials and any waste needed to be carried up and down the stairs.Approach“We wanted to replace the ceramic tiles, without having to re-plaster the bathroom walls which would mean a complete renovation and redecoration project,” said Helen Green, the owner. “We live in an area with hard water and limescale is a real problem so a wall that is easy to keep clean would be ideal.”SolutionAfter liaising with Altro customer services, the new Altro Walls ShowerKit was recommended as being the ideal solution as the wall panels can be installed over existing ceramic tiles and provides ease of maintenance for residents. There is also no requirement for construction materials or heavy equipment as Altro Walls ShowerKit is lighter to transport than ceramic tiles.

Design-led interiors for supported living homesIssueA dilapidated former care home was being redeveloped into high specification, modern flats, and communal spaces. The new flats were to provide bespoke, accessible accommodation for people with autism, learning disabilities and physical disabilities, with an on-site café open to the community. The aim was to create bright, modern, living, and communal spaces, without an institutional feeling.ApproachThe flats offer different levels of support for residents. Support provided within people’s own homes is tailored to each person’s needs and supports individuals who are stepping down from secure units and hospitals including those who may have experienced previous placement breakdowns.Interior Designer Penny Green, having worked with Altro products for many years, liaised with Altro to select a range of floor options to deliver flexible solutions in the different application areas, suitable for resident’s needs.SolutionAltro Ensemble modular flooring system was specified for The Foundry Café, bringing the benefit of 15dB sound reduction, and added comfort underfoot.In areas with a higher risk of slip, Altro Wood was selected to match the colour scheme, providing a biophilic safe option together with homely aesthetics.Altro Pisces specialist safety flooring, designed for shoe and bare foot use, was specified for all bathrooms and wet rooms. For the Foundry kitchen Altro Stronghold 30 was selected to bring safety and comfort underfoot for staff, and Altro Reliance 25 was specified for the back of house and delivery areas bringing a hard-wearing and durable finish."WOW is the best way of describing the interior…fresh, appealing, homely, very good taste - well thought out and not what supported living places are usually like."Tina Hanson-Jones Project Manager, Precious Homes"We work collaboratively to create a home for people – a calm haven, a safe space. We use a palette that allows people to add their own personality."Penny Green Interior Designer

Altro wall solutions support fight against COVID-19ChallengeNew Jersey’s Holy Name Medical Centre was at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19, coping with an alarmingly high rate of new COVID case admissions. It became clear that for Holy Name Medical Centre to continue providing its patients with crucial life-saving care, their existing Intensive Care Unit (ICU) space would need to undergo an essential update.Approach“Our ICU was built in the 1960s and was in need of an upgrade,” stated Melissa Candela, Holy Name Medical Centre’s Manager of Design and Construction. “Our experience at the epicentre of New Jersey’s outbreak triggered an action plan to transition the outdated space to a unit with the highest technology, safety, and design standards, in addition to strong functionality.” The design of the unit needed to prioritise interiors that could endure frequent cleaning and disinfecting routines while helping to create a design-oriented space with a patient focus.SolutionHoly Name Medical Centre selected Altro Whiterock White and the decorative Altro Whiterock wall designs throughout the ICU to create a high design, hygienic space for patient treatment. Altro Whiterock is a hygienic walls system, providing smooth impact-resistant surfaces and leaving dirt and bacteria nowhere to hide. This is especially practical in the case of Holy Name Medical Centre’s ICU, where thorough cleaning is vital in promoting the safety of patients and staff alike. Altro Whiterock wall designs can be used alongside Altro Whiterock White to create a less clinical feel in patient areas.

Altro provides durable solution for seclusion room at psychiatric hospitalAltro Zodiac, Altro Aquarius, Altro Whiterock DigicladSpringfield University Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Tooting, South London and also the headquarters of the South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust. Springfield University Hospital has been the primary location for mental health services in south west London for over 175 years. The Trust serves 1.1 million people across the London boroughs of Kingston, Merton, Richmond, Sutton and Wandsworth and employ more than 2,000 staff who provide care and treatment to about 20,000 people from south west London and beyond at any given moment.The hospital has a seclusion room with ensuite bathroom facilities for service users. The room was already installed with Altro Zodiac smooth flooring in the room, and Altro Aquarius safety flooring in the bathroom. The Trust added Altro Whiterock Satins and Altro Whiterock Digiclad on the walls to create a fully tanked room with one part joints, making the room resilient and secure. Altro Whiterock was also thermoformed into all the window frame reveals for extra security.The Director of Nursing and Quality commented: “In creating a new seclusion space on the Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), we wanted to create a secure but therapeutic environment for our service users. We were able to take advantage of the ability to print a large image across one complete wall. The result is that we have a fantastic soft- focus leaf image with warm autumnal colours, which helps create a sense of calm.”Altro Whiterock Digiclad is created by reproducing a photographic image or vector art onto Altro Whiterock wall sheets, with consistent, photographic quality. Hard-coat technology provides scratch-resistant properties for added surface protection, making Altro Whiterock Digiclad ideal for areas where durability is important. In the seclusion room a calming image of autumn leaves was used to brighten the room and create a visual focal point.Altro Aquarius is a specialist safety flooring developed for use in wet and dry environments, providing optimum slipresistance for shoe and bare foot use for the lifetime of the flooring, and a colour range ideal for creating home from home environments. Combined with Altro Whiterock Satins, it can create an impervious and easy to clean surface from floor to ceiling that meets strict hygiene standards.

Barry Fire Station / Altro case study

Comfortable space created for parents and babies at university hospitalIssueLa Paz University Hospital in Madrid is a national centre of expertise in neonatal care. They wanted to transform the Neonatal Acute Unit, to allow families to stay together with their babies while they are receiving treatment and care. In total, 24 units were created to accommodate and make this visit more comfortable.ApproachA homely, family-friendly space was needed that was also hygienic and reduced the transfer of noise. Víctor de las Casas, Architect at EACSN studio, said: “We wanted to modernise the neonatology area: not only in terms of materials, but in the very “neonatal concept” of La Paz, which wants to encourage parents to be with their children in the most normal and welcoming way possible”.SolutionSandra Fuentes, Maintenance and Works Technician at La Paz said: “The professional high standards of the medical team had not been reflected in the quality of the neonatal unit, and that was frustrating.” The flooring needed to be able to cope with foot traffic, hospital beds, trolleys and wheelchairs. It also needed good looks and design flexibility. The hospital team opted for robust Altro Operetta flooring, which provides 4dB impact sound reduction, comfort underfoot and ease of cleaning.Altro Operetta is a robust floor perfect for medium to high traffic areas and is easy to clean and maintain. Designed in line with the Bauhaus ethos that style is as important as function, it has multiple attractive, natural colours and finishes to fit in your interior design scheme."Altro Operetta gives the same warm feeling that carpet does, but also provides safety to both staff and patients." Sandra Fuentes Maintenance and Works Technician, La Paz University Hospital"Basically, all the technical issues have been resolved and the floor has provided more comfort for families staying in the unit." Víctor de las Casas Architect, EACSN Studio

Pigglefairy Puppies, based near Kings Lynn, are council-licenced breeders of Kennel Club registered miniature Dachshunds. The kennel where the dogs slept was five years old, and was starting to look tired. It needed a refit but owner Debbie Casemore wanted a solution that would not stress the dogs. She also needed a quick turnaround to make sure the dogs were able to return to the kennel quickly. Altro Cantata was chosen to provide an easy to clean floor that would be quick to install. It is installed without adhesive, which is a benefit when adhesive smells can cause stress.

Altro Serenade reduces noise and increases comfort for schoolIssueThe newly-constructed £17 million Reach Free School has created places for 840 secondary level students in a cutting-edge environment. Architect ADP’s concept for the school was an open plan space with a lot of openings that connect the various floors. This meant the potential for noise and reverberation throughout the school was quite high. The Reach Free School specified vinyl flooring rather than carpet, for robustness and ease of cleaning. It was also important for the school that the flooring would bring comfort underfoot. Reducing noise throughout the new building was a priority.ApproachADP consulted an acoustician at the early stages of the design, and were advised that a flooring with an acoustic rating greater than 17dB would give significant reduction in noise from footfall, chairs scraping in the classrooms and overall background noise volume.Altro Serenade flooring was recommended by Horizontal Limited, which installed 1500m² of the flooring on the ground and first floor in all communal areas, stairs and classrooms.SolutionAt 3.9mm thick, Altro Serenade provides 19dB impact sound insulation to reduce noise and provide comfort underfoot. The Reach Free School selected the shade Encore, a pale grey with a good textural design which complements the strong school colours of teal blue and purple."I would recommend this flooring to anyone that wants a hard-wearing, great looking modern solution that also helps to reduce noise and increase comfort in the environment."Richard Booth Headteacher at The Reach Free School"Altro Serenade fit the brief perfectly. It’s ideal for this type of busy, noisy environment where there is a great deal of foot traffic. Many manufacturers struggle to make good acoustic flooring that doesn’t mark or indent but, with Altro Serenade, Altro has cracked this issue with a superb quality product."Jonathan Bown MD, Horizontal Limited

Altro solution brings life to design-led Hull birth centreA complete floors and walls solution from Altro has been used to create a relaxing, stylish home from home environment for mums-to-be in a new birth centre at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital.The new midwife-led Fatima Allam Birth Centre meets the needs of women who want a more natural childbirth experience.Andrew Ledger, contracts manager for Apleona, which provides facilities management for the building, oversaw the new construction and was part of the team that devised the overall concept.“We specified Altro floors and walls from the start because we are using these products elsewhere in the hospital with a great deal of success. They meet all our clinical hygiene and infection control needs, while also offering a superb range of colours and textures, which makes them ideal for creating a modern and stylish environment.“The quality and durability of Altro is a major factor too because, as a PFI project, the long-term cost is under close scrutiny.Adele Howitt, from Studio Eleven Gallery & Workshop in Hull, won a commission from the hospital to design the interior concept.“Once we had decided on colours, we worked closely with Altro to look at the specific products. They completely understood our practical and aesthetic needs.”“I used Altro Whiterock Digiclad to create statement walls from floor to ceiling. This is a fantastic product for design-led projects because you can print any image or photograph onto it, and the quality is superb.”Adele chose Altro Whiterock Satins for the shower rooms. She says “It has some wonderful shades, and the subtle, sheer texture is very stylish.”Flooring for the birth centre was key to creating the homely, nonclinical feel. Andrew Ledger and the project team wanted natural, warm, wood-effect flooring and chose Altro Wood.Andrew says: “Wet areas in clinical environments need to be very safe underfoot, so we chose Altro Pisces safety flooring for both the shower rooms and around the birthing pool. This flooring performs superbly in both wet or dry conditions, and with bare feet or shoes, so it’s perfect for keeping both patients and staff safe. Altro Pisces also looks good enough to work within our design themes and there are some great colours.”The flooring was installed by Floorcovers UK. Partner Phil Morris said: “For quality and reliability Altro is the best, and they are a pleasure to work with."The Altro wall sheet was fitted by Richardson Claddings. Owner Joe Richardson comments:“The beauty of the Altro walls system is that it is so quiet, easy and clean to install. Altro sends the sheets to us ready-cut, which means minimal cutting or shaping on site.”Andrew Ledger says: “We get a lot of medical professionals visiting from around the world and they say the centre is the best of its kind they have seen anywhere.“Most importantly, the mothers who have given birth here are thrilled with it too.“After each birth, the rooms are completely disinfected and cleaned, and the Altro floors and walls are proving very easy to maintain.“We are delighted with this amazing facility.”

A dramatic space for a busy officeIssueSovereign House, a busy office building built in the 1980s, has a footfall of 800 people per day. Ben Adams Architect were tasked with creating a renovation that would tolerate this heavy use, while looking impressive and appealing in the longer term.ApproachThe front facade and reception areas of the building needed to be redesigned to create a welcoming and dramatic entrance, and to provide additional office spaces within the existing oversized and underused atrium.SolutionInnovative Altro Flexiflow resin flooring in Doe, a light grey colour, was selected to provide a practical, yet visually appealing solution to a challenging space. Specifying flooring for the reception and ground floor atrium was a challenge because the entrance is on a diagonal, meaning that floor tiles wouldn’t have worked.Altro Flexiflow is tough, flexible and can withstand the kind of movement that other resin floors cannot. It’s designed to recover from scuffs and knocks, so was the perfect choice for the day-to-day high traffic use in this Brighton office space.Altro Flexiflow has the benefits of a standard resin, but in addition is flexible enough to move with your building. Day joints can be overlaid with it and it takes up building movement so can be applied over existing expansion joints, within certain tolerances (see website for details).Altro Flexiflow is a polyurethane resin and couldn’t be easier to install. It’s self-smoothing, giving a seamless and uniform finish with uninterrupted lines, and can be laid over green concrete with Altro Proof™ damp-proof membrane, to speed up installation.It features a PUR top coat for UV colour stability, durability and ease of cleaning, and is available in 27 pastel, solid and bright colours with an eggshell-like finish."We needed a solid, high quality, visually appealing surface that was flexible enough to go down on the existing substrate, without cracking or bending with any structural subfloor movement."Julia Hamson Architect, Ben Adams Architect

Nature inspired aesthetics and safety for customersIssueDobbies Garden Centres welcome two and four-legged customers into Pet Corner at their Huddersfield centre, providing a challenge for any floor. With wet paws and floors comes the risk of a slip, so a safety floor with natural aesthetics was required when the centre was undergoing a recent refurbishment.ApproachMichael Brooks, Head of Construction and Maintenance for Dobbies Garden Centres liaised with Altro Sales Consultant, Kevin Jackson on the different floor options for the space. Wanting to match the Dobbies ethos of ‘not an average garden centre’ the floor solution needed to provide durability, be easy to clean, and have a natural biophilic feel to the design.SolutionThe specification led the Dobbies team to a brand new safety floor, Altro Illustra. Designed to bring natural elements in a range of contemporary and flexible colours, shades and fabric effects, Altro Illustra is also smooth to the touch, functional with a natural beauty. This stylish, safety floor is also available as a sustainable, adhesive-free option.Altro Illustra is available in a range of contemporary and flexible designs. This stylish, functional and design-led safety flooring has enhanced sustained slip resistance, making it great for busy classrooms, entrance areas, care home and hospital wards, corridors and shop floors.New Altro Illustra is low maintenance, incorporating Altro Easyclean™ technology.

IssueA dilapidated former care home was being redeveloped into high specification, modern flats and communal spaces. The new flats were to provide bespoke, accessible accommodation for people with autism, learning disabilities and physical disabilities, with an on-site café open to the community. The aim was to create bright, modern, living, and communal spaces, without an institutional feel.ApproachThe flats offer different levels of support for residents. Support provided within people’s own homes is tailored to each person’s needs and supports individuals who are stepping down from secure units and hospitals including those who may have experienced previous placement breakdowns.Interior Designer, Penny Green, having worked with Altro products for many years, liaised with Altro to select a range of floor options to deliver flexible solutions in the different application areas, suitable for resident’s needs.SolutionAltro Ensemble luxury vinyl tiles was specified for The Foundry Café, bringing the benefit of 15dB sound reduction, and added comfort underfoot.In areas with a higher risk of slip, Altro Wood was selected to match the colour scheme, providing a biophilic safe option together with homely aesthetics. Altro Pisces specialist safety flooring, designed for shoe and bare foot use, was specified for all bathrooms and wet rooms.For The Foundry Cafe kitchen, Altro Stronghold 30 was selected to bring safety and comfort underfoot for staff, and Altro Reliance was specified for the back of house and delivery areas bringing a hard-wearing and durable finish.