Kent College Student Washrooms Refurbishment - Case Study

This independent secondary school approached Commercial Washrooms to oversee and refurbish washrooms used by their boarders. The existing wash space was quite tired and in need of urgent modernisation. Because this part of the school was for students living on campus, the design and specification had a strong emphasis on creating a home-away-from-home environment.

To do this, we employed a softer colour scheme and warm woodgrain effect cubicle panels. We used Altro’s esteemed Whiterock wall cladding panels to deliver strong hygiene and easy cleaning performance, but opted for the Oyster colourway from their Satins range.

A lot of the pipework in this washroom hung just above head high in full visibility. As part of this project we installed a new suspended ceiling which concealed all this from view. We also fitted a new lower energy LED lighting system. This was activated by infrared sensors so that the lights would automatically come on only when a user was actually in the room.

To keep things safe underfoot, we laid Altro Walkway, an anti-slip vinyl flooring. This vinyl also laps up the edges of the room to aid deep cleans and mopping. We used solid grade laminate for the cubicles, a highly durable material that’s also completely waterproof. This means they will never swell, weaken or break from ingress water.

We relocated the new showers in order to deliver a better flow through the room, as well as creating an expansive vanity unit for hand washing and freshening up. This was custom built from solid grade laminate for its strength and moisture repelling qualities. The work surface on top held inset Armitage Shanks basins, which delivered a clean and sophisticated finish. Ample room was made available for students to place their wash bags, while push button taps were sited for convenient water flow into the basins. This style of tap only emits water for a set period of time and removes the risk of taps being accidentally left on. Push button taps not only protect against flooding issues, but can deliver substantial savings in water usage over the course of a school year.

Partnered with the energy saving measures employed for the lighting, the finished washroom at Kent College is incredibly eco-efficient. This project demonstrates how the strong durability required for school washrooms can be balanced with warm and inviting design. We carried out this refurbishment over the summer break so as not to cause any disruption to the students, or day-to-day faculty operations. On budget and on time, the new washrooms were received with high praise from both the school and students who use them.