Improving acoustic clarity in a specialist healthcare environment
At Leeds University’s Worsley building, a major refurbishment created a dynamic learning environment. The 15-month project included a full refurbishment of Levels 11, 10 and 9, partial refurbishment of Levels 8, 7 and 4 and improvements to the main entrance off Clarendon Way. The newly refurbished building also has two storey height space on level 9, […]
At Leeds University’s Worsley building, a major refurbishment created a dynamic learning environment. The 15-month project included a full refurbishment of Levels 11, 10 and 9, partial refurbishment of Levels 8, 7 and 4 and improvements to the main entrance off Clarendon Way.
The newly refurbished building also has two storey height space on level 9, paving the way for a café area and the introduction of a landscaped inner courtyard.
Having previously worked with the University on a number of other operable wall installations, and working alongside NRB Construction for this refurbishment, Style was asked to install a new moveable wall to replace an older problematic wall from a previous supplier.
The optimum solution recommended by Style was a Dorma Huppe Variflex moveable wall with semi-automatic operation and impressive 55dB acoustics.
This not only gave University staff the ability to quickly and easily create two adjacent lecture rooms or open it into one large open plan teaching area, the acoustic integrity is of such high quality that lectures can take place undisturbed either side of the wall when in place.
“Flexible space is important to any educational establishment because it’s important to make the most of the teaching areas, which can be used for different sized groups of students each and every day,” said Andy Gibson, Style’s director for the north.
“For this installation, we had the added ingredient of there being a step at one end of the room where the lecturer stands, and we reduced the height of two panels to accommodate this.
“As social distancing measures become vital to all teaching establishments, we are able to offer a wide range of solutions to help sub-divide space and make it safe and adaptable, including glass systems where students are safely divided but retain that open plan feel.”
Style is the UK market leader in moveable walls and the exclusive UK partner to Dorma, Skyfold and SWG.
Talk to us about your acoustic goals — we’ll help you design a solution that sounds as good as it looks.
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HBN 00-09 sets out these surface characteristics because unsealed joints are a recognised place for moisture and micro-organisms to collect. A genuinely joint-free edge is designed to address that specific detail.
This is a surface and edge specification, not a clinical claim. Zero-joint technology has not been evaluated or certified by NHS England, and does not claim to reduce infection rates.
Food-service and guest-facing areas are typically inspected under hygiene and housekeeping standards that look closely at surfaces and joints. A seamless, moisture-resistant edge is designed with exactly that kind of scrutiny in mind.
Every one of these sectors shares the same underlying surface problem: a bonded-strip edge is a seam, and a seam is a place where dirt, moisture or wear can concentrate in a way a continuous surface can't. Zero-joint technology addresses that one structural detail across offices, schools, healthcare and hospitality settings alike — one construction detail, one shared weak point removed, four sectors that each care about it for their own reasons.
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