Beauty in Versatility

by Marcy Marro | December 1, 2022 12:00 am

But for all its visual power—and budget-friendliness in the building process—open space comes with a unique set of performance challenges that must be addressed to create interiors that meet aesthetic goals and the ever-evolving demands of occupant comfort.

Aesthetic intents often collide with architectural realities, especially when acoustically reflective materials like glass, concrete and metal maintain a significant presence to contribute to the visual theme. Noise control was not typically part of the design consideration when many of these buildings were constructed, and now that they’re being used for offices and commercial spaces that require varying degrees of privacy and quiet, optimizing acoustics is paramount.

These challenges aren’t exclusive to older structures, however. New commercial construction is also frequently designed with open plans and open plenums, which provide industrial flair but often lead to uncomfortable acoustic environments as unwanted noise travels unimpeded by walls and partitions. Glass, wood, metal, polished stone, concrete and other sound reflective surfaces are also ever-present in newer buildings, which further exacerbates the problem.

An Unexpected Solution

In open space design, ceiling treatments often account for the vast majority of acoustic control. In the past, wall-to-wall suspended ceilings were the go-to option for absorbing unwanted noise and hiding unsightly building mechanicals. But wall-to-wall suspended ceilings are often not visually desirable or even practical in open spaces.

Enter the ultra-modern answer to the acoustical panels of the past: metal ceilings and walls.

As a material, metal is a highly reflective, so it’s not typically the first solution designers think of when approaching acoustical design for open spaces. But today’s metal ceiling and wall products are cool, contemporary, and highly versatile systems geared for aesthetics, performance, and comfort.

Thanks to innovations in ceiling product development, metal can be perforated and combined with sound absorbing backing or to achieve NRC values of 0.70 and higher, creating solutions that have the desired combination of aesthetics and acoustic traits.

Complete Creative Freedom

Across the industry, the first thing you’ll notice about metal products is their distinctive style. Manufacturers continue to innovate new and unique metal concepts that encourage designers to push the boundaries of modern design. Indeed, metal ceilings and walls offer a freedom to explore new creative territory, yielding some of the most progressively designed spaces in today’s interiors.

Part of what makes metal such a versatile material is that it can take on an array of forms and appearances. Most ceilings and walls in the metal category are constructed with aluminum, which is highly workable and adaptable at the manufacturing level.

Ceiling brand metal portfolios are already vast, and they’re continuing to expand. The range of formats, sizes, shapes, colors, finishes and suspension options is extensive, covering everything from beams and baffles to linear and open cell configurations.

Each format has its own unique appearance to contribute to—or even create on its own—a creative theme that elevates open space design.

Metal is an ideal material for designing open spaces where performance factors like plenum access, easy integration with building mechanicals, and noise control are high priorities—all without having to compromise on aesthetics.

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Robert Marshall is the senior technical manager for Malvern, Pa.-based CertainTeed Architectural and a frequent contributor for the commercial ceiling industry. For more information, visit www.certainteed.com/ceilings-and-walls/[1].

Source URL: https://www.metalarchitecture.com/articles/beauty-in-versatility/

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