Newbury Corn Exchange Washroom Refurbishment - Case Study

A thriving theatre and cinema in the heart of Newbury, Berkshire, the Corn Exchange is a busy local hub. The bar and café had recently been refurbished to a high standard and the modern facilities were not matched by the premises’ existing washrooms which did not meet customer expectations.

The client's brief was to combine the traditional, upmarket look that accompanies their brand and befits a theatre and cinema venue with modern materials and a design which facilitates ease of maintenance.

Commercial Washrooms undertook the specification of the washroom fixtures to complement the proposed washroom design to meet the client brief. While Lan Services took care of the refurbishment works for all the washrooms within the building.

Washroom Hygiene

Sensor operated washroom fixtures were chosen for their energy and water efficiency, stylish finish, and of course for hygiene.

This included specification of the Dart Valley Systems (DVS) A45 no-touch sensor taps, which feature programmable run times. No-touch sensor toilet and urinal flush kits from DVS were also installed to further limit the number of surfaces a washroom user is required to touch therefore reducing the opportunity for germs to spread.

Plumbing to and from the toilets, urinals, and sinks is concealed, behind duct sets and within vanity units respectively. Concealing the pipework behind laminate paneling such as this provides smooth easy to clean surfaces and the provision of lift of panels still provides easy access for facilities managers and maintenance staff.

Stylish Modern Washroom Design

White solid surface vanity tops with integral Corian basins and solid grade laminate underframes were installed in the ground floor washrooms. Solid surface is a resin-based material and unique in that the composition is uniform throughout the material. Therefore it may be reworked, providing the opportunity for scratches or damage to be polished out. The vanity units therefore not only look bespoke and exclusive but will last for many years.

The ground floor washrooms also had the original solid wood toilet cubicles re-installed while the rooms on the upper floors had new woodgrain solid grade laminate cubicles installed. The wood grain pattern and colour was chosen to complement the look achieved in the ground floor washrooms. These were installed with robust stainless steel cubicle fittings.

To finish the design the handwashing areas in each of the toilet rooms were finished with the addition of dark wood framed mirrors, stainless steel wall mounted bottle soap dispensers and Franke brushed stainless steel maxi toilet roll holders.