Hull Women and Children’s Hospital

Altro solution brings life to design-led Hull birth centre

Altro Aquarius, Altro Whiterock Digiclad, Altro Whiterock, Altro Walkway 20, Altro Wood

A complete floors and walls solution from Altro has been used to create a relaxing, stylish home away from home environment for moms-to-be in a new birth center at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital. The new midwife-led Fatima Allam Birth Center 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 colors and textures, which makes them ideal for creating a modern and stylish environment.”

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 colors, 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.”

Flooring for the birth center was key to creating the home-like, non-clinical feel. Andrew Ledger and the project team wanted natural, warm, wood-look flooring and chose Altro Wood.

“Wet areas in clinical environments need to be very safe underfoot, so we chose Altro Aquarius 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.”

Andrew Ledger continued, “We get a lot of medical professionals visiting from around the world and they say the center 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.”