An
integrated acoustic solution from Sto has been used to create a balanced
acoustic environment for a major Scottish medical training establishment.
The
StoSilent Distance system has been installed in the main auditorium space at
the world-famous Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
The college
provides specialist education, training and examination services for the
medical profession, and the Physicians International Conference Centre
auditorium plays a key role in these activities.
“As the
auditorium is used for all types of presentations and events, speech
intelligibility within the auditorium is obviously of paramount importance,”
says Neil Greenshields of LDN Architects. “Our aim was to reduce the
auditorium’s reverberation times, increase speech intelligibility and to work
to the 0.9 second remit.
"The StoSilent Distance system provided an excellent way to achieve
the required acoustics and aesthetics within the space.”
The
StoSilent Distance system incorporates a metal profile sub-construction, onto
which the recycled, expanded glass granulate acoustic boards are fitted. This
lightweight, monolithic system can be used to create clean, seamless and
uncluttered ceiling solutions. Where ceiling voids are being used to
accommodate services behind the system, it can be adjusted to suit the
requirements, as in this case, and to achieve a certain aesthetic and shape to
suit the space, creating a modern, clean, homogeneous, seamless appearance.
“The curved
design of the auditorium posed certain challenges, in that there were a number
of structural elements which effectively cut across the curves,” adds John
Russell of Roskel Contracts Ltd, a Sto authorized applicator who installed the
acoustic system.
“Fortunately,
the StoSilent Distance system includes a versatile suspension system to which
the acoustic boards are installed. Together with the fact that the boards are
lightweight, easy to cut and form on-site, this gave us the flexibility we
needed to create the design of the individual hemispheres and help create the
clean, seamless surfaces that were required.”
The benefit of the StoSilent Distance
system to the end-user and on-site building management team is that it can be
maintained and effectively repaired throughout the lifetime of the auditorium,
to maintain its clean,
monolithic appearance well into the future. Sto’s specially-formulated
StoSilent Décor M acoustic plaster
was used to finish the acoustic system. This spray-applied finish features a
minimal granular aesthetic which has a high degree of light resolution, and
this helped create a visually attractive finish for the auditorium.
StoSilent Décor M can be tinted to
match both RAL colours, subject to confirmation,
and a wide range of shades from the
StoColor system.
