Altair goes for Italian marble flooring, exceeding customer expectations

Colombo’s architectural marvel Altair has announced that its 400 apartments will have floors finished in Italian Botticino marble, following a decision by the developer to upgrade from marble sourced from Central Asia or the Middle East, as originally proposed.

The upgrade at the developer’s own volition, represents a significant value addition at no extra cost to the buyers of the apartments, and demonstrates Altair’s commitment to exceed customer expectations wherever possible, the company said.

Towards this end, Altair Directors Pradeep Sureka and Pradeep Moraes recently visited quarries and processing facilities in Vincenza, Verona, Brescia and Chiampo in Northern Italy, the home of the best Botticino Marble, to handpick suppliers for the project.

Botticino marble has very low porosity and ferrous content and is extremely hard and robust, making it ideal for installation in the humid conditions of Colombo.

“Our commitment to customers was to provide marble from Central Asia or the Middle East,” Moraes said on his return to Colombo. “However, we are constantly looking at ways of improving our offering, because Altair is intended to be the benchmark in luxury living in Sri Lanka.”

He said Altair has already pleasantly surprised buyers of its apartments by over-delivering on several promises by offering them numerous value additions including extensive home automation, chilled water air conditioning, double-glazed windows, Duravit sanitary ware from the Philippe Starck designer range, a concierge-serviced Reception with Quintessentially Lifestyle and free hot water.

“Although about two thirds of the construction has been completed, it is our intention to continue to upgrade our offering wherever opportunities arise,” Moraes added.

Now at its 57th level on the vertical tower and the 53rdon the sloping tower, Altair will on completion comprise of a 63-storey tower which leans in to a taller, 68-storey tower. Acknowledged as a game changer in contemporary living in Sri Lanka, the Altair building has already brought a new dimension in aesthetics to Colombo’s skyline. It is intended to be a one-of-its-kind development in South Asia in terms of architectural design, structural engineering, and living experience. Altair will offer its 400 apartments spectacular views of the Beira Lake, the Indian Ocean and the city of Colombo. The development’s 1.5 million square feet of high-end eco-friendly living space will be supported by 40,000 square feet of supportive up-market retail space.