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2006-06-15 News Headlines

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Trespa interior panels dress up modern sports complex

Trespa Virtuon state-of-the-art decorative panels add aesthetic appeal and durability for SportPlaza Leuven in Belgium, a new concept in Sports Centre development.

SportPlaza Leuven in Belgium is a new concept in Sports Centre development: a private developer has worked closely with a local authority to create a range of modern sports facilities. Trespa Virtuon was chosen for changing rooms and toilets. In addition to great looks, low maintenance costs, ease of cleaning and durability too were key considerations.

SportPlaza Leuven is a brand-new indoor sports complex, catering for a range of sports ranging from indoor climbing to squash. The 12.000 m2 complex is currently the largest in the Benelux and contains amongst others a leisure pool, fitness facilities and a sauna – all supported by a Brasserie and , Restaurant and Seminar Center. The whole operation is a unique combination of public and private cooperation. During its first year of operation the complex expects 250.000 visitors and this number is set to rise to between 350.000 and 400.000 in 10 years’ time.

SportPlaza Leuven in Belgium: Trespa Virtuon was chosen for changing rooms and toilets. Click Go for High resolution image. photo: Trespa

SportPlaza Exploitation Manager Bert van Cauteren explains: “About 3 years ago, The City of Leuven indicated that it wanted to build a sports complex and swimming pool. It owned a suitable piece of land, an old industrial site, but budgets were limited. Following a contest, a contract was awarded to a group of companies with relevant experience: they included Axima, Sportfondsen and Van Roey. The Group had appointed De Gregorio & Partners Architects in Hasselt.

“Under the terms of the contract, the group, now formally established as a joint-venture business, Sportavan, undertakes to build, maintain and manage the centre for a period of 34 years. During that time, all income will be used to offset all costs. After 34 years, the entire complex will become the property of the City of Leuven.

Trespa Virtuon interior decorative panels. Click Go for High resolution image. photo: Trespa

“This type of co-operation between local authority and private business is probably the only way to combine loss making operations such as swimming pools with more profitable – and trendy - activities such as fitness and catering. Also, local schools are able to use the swimming facilities during the daytime – giving us a guaranteed turnover throughout the academic year.”

Modern design
The entire complex is impressive because of its highly functional design, using a range of materials including bricks, concrete and local stone. According to Bert van Cauteren – who has worked in sports projects for more than 15 years, the choice of materials was made on the basis of aesthetics and durability: “This approach has changed our way of thinking. When you want to achieve an operational success over a period of 34 years, you need to select your building materials with care. Durability is as important as overall performance and you need to obtain the best price/quality for the duration.”

Tresapa Virtuon panels. Click Go for High resolution image. photo: Trespa

“SportPlaza has a clear local and regional function. During the week most of our visitors come from a radius of 20 kilometres – but at week-ends they come from as far away as 50 kilometres, so not all visitors are locals. We have many clubs visiting and not everyone takes as much care of the facilities as we would like. So we do have a grafitti problem – especially in the changing rooms.

“It is for this reason that changing rooms and toilets are all fitted with Trespa Virtuon panels. Exteremely robust and available in a range of colours and finishes, these panels will retain their looks and their hygienic properties for many years. The cubicles were manufactured by Leerkotte of Hengelo, The Netherlands – a company that produces and supplies cabins and changing rooms for projects throughout Europe. Bert van Cauteren: “When you look at the amount of detail in the finishing, it is clear that a lot of thought has gone into the manufacture of these cabins. For instance, the doors have been designed in such a way that little fingers (or even big ones) cannot get stuck in a closing door. Safety and hygiene are key considerations – and we believe that Trespa Virtuon provides us with the best looks, the lowest cleaning and maintenance costs and the highest level of hygiene in the business.”

Trespa Virtuon interior panels. Click Go for High resolution image. photo: Trespa

Trespa Virtuon: state-of-the-art decorative panels
Trespa Virtuon is an interior panel which provides architects, designers and installers with an excellent combination of plain colours and textures as well as special effects such as the very popular range of metallic colours. These help to create an interior that is both highly individual and exceptionally functional.

The panels, which have an integrated decorative surface, are manufactured under high pressure and temperature. The panels have an integrated decorative surface and excellent properties. Trespa Virtuon is produced using proprietary EBC technology. This means that the resin in the panel’s top layer is cured by an electron beam. This gives the panel a smooth, impermeable and impact resistant surface, with a unique brilliance and long-lasting aesthetic appeal - making it ideal for intensive use over a prolonged period of time. And Trespa_Virtuon is easy to clean so that it will keep its good looks for many years.

Available in a range of fashionable colours, its top layer is impermeable - with a very low surface energy - so dirt has little opportunity to grab hold. This helps to maintain hygienic conditions, even in the busiest of environments.

Trespa International, whose head office is in Weert, The Netherlands, specializes in producing high-quality panels for outdoor and indoor applications. Trespa has the expertise and resources in house to develop specific products for various market segments. In addition to their excellent functionality, Trespa products focus on providing the user with a broad range of design options.

Find more information about Trespa International.

Read a recent press release from Trespa about - 'Trespa International expands Meteon collection enabling architects and designers to create contemporary natural reflections, both in terms of colors and image.'

Find Information and Suppliers of interior decorative panels.

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