Healing environment

Altro floors and walls have been used in the award-winning Ferndene Children and Young People's Centre in Northumberland to create a healing environment that is visually pleasing, as well as safe, hard-wearing and hygienic. The purpose-built £25 million inpatient centre provides assessment and treatment for young people with complex health, behavioural and emotional needs, as well as those with learning disabilities.

On why Altro flooring was chosen, Scott Stewart from Medical Architecture, which designed the centre, said that the floors and walls "had to comply with a number of regulations such as slip ratings, cleanability and life cycle. This is a young person's mental health unit, so safety is paramount".

Specified by the centre, Altro Suprema II safety flooring and Altro Whiterock wall cladding are durable, easy to clean, provide the suitable safety levels and come in a wide range of colours. Altro smooth flooring and rubber flooring were also chosen.