The versatility of Lapitec® for a hotel in Castelfranco Veneto

Floor surfaces, wall coverings and various worktops and horizontal surfaces in sintered stone

Albergo Roma is a landmark in the mediaeval town of Castelfranco Veneto in the province of Treviso in Italy. This iconic hotel occupies a privileged position opposite the city walls and overlooking Piazza Giorgione, one of Italy's largest and most romantic city squares. In June 2014 the building suffered a fire outbreak that completely gutted the fourth floor with its 14 guest rooms and also caused extensive damage to the other floors of the hotel, including the basement. The refurbishment work was entrusted to architects Mauro Argentin and Simone Daminato of AD Studio, who brought a creative approach to writing a new page in the annals of the town's historic hotel.

Phoenix from the fire: an opportunity for renewal and improvement

The customer saw the fire as an opportunity to transform the hotel, extending the offering of services available to guests by means of a radical renovation designed to modernise the entire building, although striving to preserve the original character by proceeding with a series of confined and high precision interventions. In view of the fire damage, the customer decided to convert the fourth floor into a breakfast room, restaurant and kitchens (the restaurant is a new feature, while the breakfast room and kitchens were originally on the basement floor). Five suites were also created on the fourth floor, all with contemporary décor that sets them apart from the hotel's other rooms. The other floors were completely renovated (utilities, painting and decorating, and floor surfaces), recovering the original furniture and fittings wherever possible. Also the foyer was given a makeover, with a new reception desk, a new colour scheme and updated lighting. Finally, the original kitchens and breakfast room in the basement were replaced by a spa centre (sauna, steam room, sensory showers, relaxation lounge and oxygen therapy room) with an adjoining gym.

Lapitec®: the perfect choice for a thousand solutions

Due to the diverse nature of the various works, the architects needed to use a versatile material that would be easy to machine and compatible with the colour schemes chosen for the renovation project. Lapitec® was thus identified as the most suitable product for floor surfaces, wall coverings and various worktops and horizontal surfaces. Several solutions were employed: the Satin finish was chosen for the lift car floor in the Grigio Piombo colour, and in the Moca colour for bathroom tops, writing surfaces in the guest rooms and the worktop behind the bar. The Moca colour, in this case in the Lithos and Fossil finishes, was also chosen for the coping on the parapet outside the panoramic windows, while Lithos was used for the floor of the restaurant, the floor and wall coverings in the toilets, and the counter top on the fourth floor. The exceptional chromatic continuity offered by sintered stone was the key aspect that recommended Lapitec® for large surface areas, while the ability to create mitre joints or fit recessed LED lighting in machined channels was seen as proof of the exceptional technological potential of the material.