Altro helps to breathe new life into ICU at Royal Free Hospital

Altro Whiterock Chameleon wall cladding has breathed new life and vibrancy into a refurbished fourth-floor ICU at the Royal Free Hospital in London.
Built in the 1960s, the Royal Free Hospital ICU was in urgent need of modernisation and updating. As part of the project, the Architects were tasked with creating a more interesting walling effect that would appeal to both patients and ICU staff.

Tangram Director Susan Wainwright said: “Most ICU walls are painted off-white, which can be rather uninspiring and very flat. We wanted to produce a more interesting aesthetic using colour, unusual textures and shapes. In addition the walling had to meet stringent infection control regulations and be easy to clean.

“We have specified Altro Whiterock for previous projects, but this was the first time we selected the Altro Whiterock Chameleon range. There are some fantastic colours to choose from and we selected two for this project – Slipstream, which is a royal blue, and Eau de Chic, which is an olive green. We used Altro Whiterock White as well.

“Using the Altro Whiterock Chameleon has really lifted the ICU; for example the sluice area, which is usually a rather unattractive space, is now lovely to look at with the Slipstream Blue colour and stainless steel working very well together. The surface of the Altro walling is very easy to clean, and the welded joints means there is no issue with infection control, so it’s perfect for all types of clinical applications.

“In the staff area of the ICU we used a darker blue Altro Whiterock Chameleon above the sink and in a diagonal across the wall. It looks superb. Other areas that feature the wall cladding are buttresses in corridors, service islands in bed bays and isolation room partitions.

“There is a particularly nice feature in the ICU which really shows how Altro Whiterock Chameleon can be used to enhance something that may not traditionally be very attractive. There is a series of duct doors in the ICU, which lead to riser spaces. These are usually painted into the wall to disguise them, but these doors and their frames have now been covered with Altro Whiterock Chameleon and the effect is stunning – rather like the edge of a grand piano!

With vibrant solid colours or more natural tones in a high gloss finish, Altro Whiterock Chameleon makes a confident statement wherever it is installed. Its broad palette is perfect for creating a variety of effects to suit the mood of the application, using it either as a primary focus or as an accent to an existing wall.

Ideal for feature walls in a variety of applications, it is highly durable and provides a water-tight, wipe clean, smooth surface.