|
MEMTECH |
illbruck-sonex noise
control |
architectural l
broadcast / audio |
|
|
|
|
Improving Learning with willtec® Acoustical FoamPanelsFaced with severe reverberation problems in all 14 of their classrooms, officials at the Shir Hadash Religious School, Los Gatos, CA, sought an acoustic solution that would reduce distractions and enhance learning. The classrooms' 12-foot walls, concrete ceiling beams, tile floors and drywall created an echo effect that prevented students from hearing normal conversation. Studies have shown that noisy distractions from inside or outside the classroom can affect students' ability to comprehend instructions and discussion. The Acoustical Society of America recommends that classroom noise not exceed 35 decibels and that reverberation time not exceed 0.8 seconds. School officials at Shir Hadash decided to experiment with sound control by trying two different solutions. They put carpet on the floor in one classroom and illbruck's willtec acoustical foam panels on the ceiling in another. The purpose was to find one simple, cost-effective solution to reduce disruptive noise. After installation, school officials agreed unanimously that the acoustic panels were more effective than carpet. "Before we installed the panels, the classroom sounded like a warehouse," says school principal Sherri Geeser. "It was hard enough to hear if only one person was speaking; during a group discussion it was impossible to hear." Installed on the ceiling between concrete beams, the foam panels reduce reverberation and noise. The panels are Class 1 fire-rated for flame spread and smoke density. Their flat-white finish blends unobtrusively into the room's décor, and installation was easy with a water-based adhesive. Describing the room with the new panels as "very livable — and learnable," Geeser says the school now plans to put the same ceiling panels in the rest of the school's 13 classrooms. illbruck manufactures a broad range of attractive acoustical ceiling tiles, wall panels, baffles, and other noise control products for commercial and industrial applications, including: SQUARELINE® Metal Ceiling Tiles, HARMONI™ and WHITELINE™ Ceiling Tiles, CONTOUR® Wall and Ceiling Tiles, FABRITEC™ Wall Panels, SONEX® Wall Panels and Baffles, and PROSPEC® Barriers and Composites. back to Facilities and Applications
For more information contact: |
||
|
Memtech
Incorporated, |
||
