Stylish Fittings Enhance Glasgow’s Award-winning Visitor Attraction

Today’s visitors expect a tourist attraction to have quality toilet and washroom facilities. Indeed, for many people it’s a deciding factor in rating a destination. When it came to updating the facilities at Kelvingrove art gallery and museum, one of Scotland’s most popular visitor attractions, the specifier and installation team chose Delabie `for the taps, liquid soap and paper towel dispensers.

With over one million visitors each year, Kelvingrove is the most popular free-to-enter visitor attraction in Scotland and the UK’s most visited museum outside London, making it to the top of tripadvisor’s best rated art museums in 2018.

Appreciating the key role washroom facilities play in ensuring visitor satisfaction, Glasgow Life, the charitable organisation which manages Kelvingrove among many other facilities in the city, wanted the washroom refurbishment to embody the latest in technology, styling and safety.

Andy Taylor, facilities manager at Glasgow Life and responsible for 168 properties within its estate, explains: “The toilets were in need of some TLC and the scheme was undertaken for tourism awareness. While quality was the main driver, our priorities were infection prevention, efficiency with water savings and user-friendliness. We were also looking for a long product guarantee.

“We specify the look and the feel, the warranty, the scope of the scheme,” said Andy. “It’s then passed to capital projects. The main builder was City Build, who handle the projects for Glasgow Life. They specified products that matched the requirements from plumbers’ merchants.”

Andy adds: “The Delabie team are helpful and proactive in approach. There’s been no issues around the performance or durability of the products installed. Delabie have also been specified for the Gallery of Modern Art and Scotsun Leisure Centre.”

The washroom fittings chosen for Kelvingrove’s refurbishment were Delabie’s BINOPTIC electronic taps, coupled with PREMIX NANO thermostatic mixing valves, together with wall-mounted liquid soap dispenser and wall-mounted paper towel dispenser. All the products have Delabie’s 10-year warranty.

Winner of the German design award in 2019, BIOPTIC is a sleek and stylish electronic tap with a timeless design. Offering total hygiene, it requires no manual contact as an active infrared movement detection sensor at the end of the spout optimises detection. BINOPTIC delivers an impressive 90% water savings compared with a conventional tap. It has an independent IP65 electronic control unit.

A duty flush limits bacterial proliferation. The adjustable duty flush may be pre-set to flush from 60 seconds to every 24 hours after the last use. BINOPTIC’s spout has a smooth interior and low water volume, limiting bacterial niches. The tap has a chrome-plated, solid brass body, a scale-resistant flow straightener and a flow rate pre-set at 3 litres pm at 3 bar. This can be adjusted from 1.4 to 6 litres pm.

To ensure user safety, the tap is teamed with a PREMIX NANO thermostatic mixing valve. Delivering a safe, stable temperature, with an automotive thermo-reactive cell, the brass-bodied PREMIX NANO has an automatic shut off if hot or cold water fails. The non-return valve and filters are easily accessible. Temperature is pre-set at 38oC and can be adjusted by the installer from 34 to 60oC. Thermal shocks are possible.

The wall-mounted liquid soap dispenser has a 1 litre capacity. Ergonomic with soft touch operation, it is vandal resistant and designed to ensure anti-blocking, delivering a single dose per press, even if the button is pressed for prolonged periods. It has a no-waste, non-drip (waterproof) pump dispenser. Manufactured in bacteriostatic 304 stainless steel with a polished satin finish, it is easy to clean with a one-piece hinged cover for improved hygiene. The tank is easy to fill from large containers. A window allows monitoring of the soap level.

The wall-mounted paper towel dispenser holds 500 sheets, dispensing one sheet at a time. Manufactured from 304 stainless steel to reduce bacterial development, it has a polished satin finish which is easy to clean.

Both wall dispensers are vandal resistant, with a lock and Delabie key.

Commenting on Kelvingrove’s attractive washroom facility, Dean French, Delabie’s regional sales manager – North, explained: “The higher the level of commitment to design and aesthetics, the lower the level of vandalism. Today’s users are more environmentally aware and more demanding; have higher aspirations and habits.

“Washrooms are now better equipped, with design-led products, and are now evaluated by the users. Attractive, highly rated washrooms have a positive impact on the visitors’ mood. A smart, clean, quality facility all adds to giving a good customer experience.”

A spokesperson for Glasgow Life added: “Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is tripadvisor users’ top-rated attraction in Glasgow and is regularly among the most visited in the UK. The experiences our visitors have at the museum are shaped by the magnificent building, the outstanding collection and its interpretation, and by their opinions of the ancillary services offered onsite.

“Visitors expect modern, fresh and usable services and providing them are key to maintaining their positive impressions of visiting Kelvingrove.”

In keeping with Delabie’s energy and water saving credentials, Kelvingrove hosted an exclusive dinner for world leaders from across the globe to mark the opening of COP26 in 2021, as part of the ongoing United Nations Environmental Challenge.

Itself a multi international award-winner, Delabie is an expert in design and manufacture. A family group of four generations, exporting to 90 countries, Delabie has total control of the manufacture of its products, guaranteeing delivery times are kept to a minimum.