From old industrial plant to four star hotel. Restoring a property in Italy may sound romantic, but for the ROCKWOOL Group it is a business area with a lot of potential.

Welcome to the Best Western Premier Hotel Monza and Brianza Palace. Located near Milan, the newly opened four star hotel plays a key role in the ROCKWOOL Group's efforts to boost the refurbishment market in Italy. In Italy, attractively priced properties can still be found that are in need of restoration, renovation and modernisation - the Best Western Premiere Hotel Monza and Brianza Palace provides an excellent example.

High thermal and acoustic standard The old building used to house an industrial plant producing car headlights and car accessories. Now, with help from ROCKWOOL Building School, an energy and acoustic consultancy division of ROCKWOOL Italy, it has been converted into a four star hotel with a sumptuous atmosphere and cosy accommodation. For this kind of hotel, comfortable thermal conditions and high acoustic performance mean everything.

ROCKWOOL Italy has been able to deliver these, working closely with the designers at all stages of the project. Commenting on the ambitious refurbishment project, Caterina Rocca from ROCKWOOL Building School says: "Our aim was to ensure an optimum thermal and acoustic standard, which corresponds with the hotel's own high standards in terms of rooms, restaurant and conference facilities. The purchaser originally wanted to install solar and photovoltaic systems without considering the importance of the building envelope. However, through careful project analysis and verifying the building issues we have developed, together with the designers, energy saving and environmentally sound solutions which, at the same time, save money. The project involves high level insulation of the external walls which exceeds the thermal requirements by 30%."