The warmth of natural surfaces combined with the performance of the most advanced ceramics technology are perfect for covering spaces for care, rehabilitation and the search for personal well-being.
Isokinetic in Milan is one such facility, a cutting-edge sports rehabilitation centre which is highly specialised and forward-looking, in terms of both medical skills and advanced specific equipment, and in terms of architecture and interior design.
The surfaces of the centre are covered with Iris Ceramica porcelain slabs, selected by architect Giacomo della Villa, who has designed Isokinetic sports rehabilitation centres in a number of cities in Italy and in London.
The history of the Isokinetic group begins in the nineties, inspired by an intuition of Stefano Della Villa, who is now the group’s president. When the group was just starting out in the business, it operated in the small gym of a multipurpose medical centre on the outskirts of Bologna.
After these first steps, Isokinetic’s desire to improve and stand out in its field led the company to move to larger facilities, opening a specially designed centre in Bologna in 2004, "with a net interior floor space of 2300 sqm, permitting spaces and surfaces unthinkable in the past (the first centre with an indoor rehabilitation pool measuring 25 m x 11 m)". This was also the occasion of the group’s first specially created interior design, a feature now shared by all Isokinetic centres.
Iris Ceramica products were chosen for their ability to offer the highest possible performance while responding to the desire to offer hospitality and comfort for patients and the people accompanying them.
All with the overall aim of offering an experience that is as gratifying as possible, far removed from the aseptic traditional image of the hospital.
The vast catalogue of Iris Ceramica coverings allowed the architect to freely mix and match the different effects and expressive potential of tiles and coverings.
And that’s not all: Iris Ceramica ceramic products also permitted complete compliance with the strict standards applied by local public health units, which require use of category R11 materials, suitable for areas with high humidity.
In the Isokinetic centre in Via Vivaio in Milan, from the flooring in the entrance hall to the public offices and all the utility areas, Iris Ceramica laid Avenue Ivory (300x100 cm maxi-slabs), Shire Dorset (R11, in the 120x60 and 60x60 cm sizes) and Calx Panna and Grigio (10x30 cm).
With its innovative concept based on lightness and simplicity, the Avenue Ivory maxi-slab is ideal for expressing a sense of hospitality and natural warmth, amplifying the sensation of perceived space. The slab’s extreme formal cleanliness infuses the space with a sense of power and delicacy at the same time.
Starting with the expressive richness of Pietra di Luserna, the choice of flooring materials therefore focused on the Shire Dorset collection, in which contemporary style and tradition are combined in the distinctive features of a material of great beauty and charm.
Simple and elegant traditional-sized Calx tiles in the Panna and Grigio variants are made of semi-gres, the perfect combination of neutral and minimalist hues, in which light adds a touch of timeless beauty to surfaces.
