A new £4.5 million hotel spa features a dramatic £60,000 timber ceiling, manufactured by leading architectural products manufacturer Hunter Douglas.

The state-of-the-art Clubspa and Evergreen Spa at Kenwick Park Hotel in Louth, Lincolnshire, opened in July 2016, 20 months after its former leisure facility was destroyed by fire. The building features a 20-metre indoor swimming pool complete with 600m² Hunter Douglas 111mm module linear open solid wood ceiling system, which was specified by Nottingham-based Franklin Ellis Architects, which undertook the interior design.

One of the most important aspects of the ceiling design was that it should look as similar as possible to the original timber ceiling because it held a special place in members’ hearts. Specified in African Ayous on a corrosion-resistant suspension system, the exterior grade multi-faceted ceiling, which was specified with a 19mm gap, was complex in design and installation due to the shape of the triangular openings that were formed by the roof structure, into which the solid wood ceiling had to be installed.

David Harris, general manager of Hunter Douglas Architectural Products UK, said: “This was another successful swimming pool installation for us and it was great to see how good the eye-catching design looked in its new home.

Our linear open ceiling is one of the most popular options because it is visually attractive.” As you would expect for a leisure centre environment, the wood panels are finished on all sides with a water-based varnish, and they are impregnated with Magma Firestop, which achieves Class ‘0’ BS476 fire rating.

The wood panels also have Hunter Douglas’s standard non-woven acoustic fleece bonded to the back of them, which closes off the void visually but still allows sound to be absorbed by the ceiling. Hunter Douglas worked closely with Elmsmere Engineering, the Hinckley-based installation company, to ensure that the ceiling was installed quickly and without complications.

“The whole operation went very smoothly indeed, which is testament to the professionalism of both teams, which worked together very well to get the ceiling in place,” added David.

It is the latest in a string of successful projects that Hunter Douglas has completed with Elmsmere Engineering, before including Siemens National Training Academy, Selly Oak Care Village, Kingswinford School and the Avon Rooms at the University of Birmingham.

Hunter Douglas has considerable experience in manufacturing ceilings for leisure schemes, including two visually striking wood linear open ceilings that stretch across the entire entrance and main atrium, and expanded metal acoustic rafts beneath an exposed soffit in the gymnasium, at the £16 million Ashington Leisure Centre in Northumberland, and also a 400m² metal linear ceiling at the £35 million Hengrove Leisure Centre, Bristol.

Denise Ellis, of Franklin Ellis Architects, said: “It was very important to the hotel and its club members that the ceiling retained a timber ceiling that was as close as possible to the one that was destroyed in the fire because it remained embodied in the hearts and minds of the visitors.

“We’ve worked with Hunter Douglas before on a number of projects and noticed that it had completed a similar style of ceiling at Abingdon Pool. We thought its products would give the ceiling the preferred look while taking advantage of the latest technology and materials. “Everybody loves the new ceiling and it is testament to Hunter Douglas’s expertise and focus on customer service.”