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Nastola pool, Finland

Altro Aquarius helps keep swimmers safe

Altro Aquarius

The Nastola pool in the city of Lahti, Finland, was originally built in 1984. The popular public pool building went through a thorough refurbishment two years ago, as it required new technology and accessibility solutions and an overall face-lift. One improvement in safety was the use of Altro Aquarius in dressing rooms where people walk in shoes and barefoot on a wet surface.

“The refurbishment of the pool building was an extensive project, because almost everything beside the supporting structure was replaced. The challenge was to bring accessibility to the level of today’s standards,” says Pirkko Puttonen, buildings manager for the city of Lahti.

“During the planning stage we were in touch with the Pool and Spa Technology Association and were reminded of the slipperiness typical of floors near pools. Thus Altro Aquarius was used in the dressing rooms, which helped create an accessible space and it is now easier to move around in a wheel chair.”

The pool renovation project’s architect Reino Toivonen of ArkRenew agency found the design work challenging but motivating.

“Pool floors are slippery as water is always present so I specified Altro safety flooring in the dressing rooms. I was already familiar with the product and knew it prevents slipping accidents underfoot, with walking frames and wheel chairs. It is also easy to keep clean and hygienic. I chose Altro Aquarius flooring in light gray Tern to bring a lighter feel to the dressing rooms.”

Airiness and lightness are the things that have been commented on by the regular pool users.

“We have between 4,000 – 5,000 visits per month, a large part of who are regular visitors, including competitive swimmers, water gymnasts and exercise swimmers. They have been favorably impressed by the lightness of the venue. For maintenance purposes it is very important that with safety flooring there are much fewer difficult-to-clean seams that are unavoidable in a tile floor,” says Juha Ahola, building janitor of the Nastola Pool.

Altro Aquarius is a specialist 2mm safety floor for wet and dry areas and for any shoes and bare feet. In a practical sense this means it protects users in real situations in real environments. Whether someone is walking into a wet changing room with their shoes on, or stepping back into the room barefoot after a shower, the level of protection is the same.

Altro Aquarius achieves a Pendulum Test Value (PTV) of ≥50 (Slider 96) and Class B to DIN 51097 for barefoot use and provides optimum lifetime sustained slip-resistance in its recommended areas of use. Altro Aquarius performs against a range of contaminants typically found in wet environments.

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