Improving acoustic clarity in a specialist healthcare environment
Hosting 662,000 delegates in 2016, with annual sales over £42m, etc.venues continues to grow. Its first venue in Manchester’s Piccadilly district is situated across the 8th floor with fantastic views over the city and an abundance of natural light. 15 rooms of various sizes include a self contained event wing along with other smaller rooms […]
Hosting 662,000 delegates in 2016, with annual sales over £42m, etc.venues continues to grow. Its first venue in Manchester’s Piccadilly district is situated across the 8th floor with fantastic views over the city and an abundance of natural light. 15 rooms of various sizes include a self contained event wing along with other smaller rooms and suites ideal for meeting and training events.
Working with Synergy architects and contractor,
Claremont
, Style was specified to create highly flexible meeting space to enable etc.venues to maximise its room hire revenue. This was not the first time Style had been chosen for etc.venues’ installations, having worked with Synergy Architects on previous projects in London.
Using a total of 9 DORMA Variflex moveable walls in one very large area, Style’s configuration enables etc.venues to create a wide range of different sized rooms for any requirement from small meeting hubs to one expansive open plan space for conferences.
“Its vital to etc.venues’ business that they can adapt their room space at a moment’s notice to client needs,” said Andy Gibson, Style’s director for the north. “Its also important that meetings can take place in privacy, and that the environment is stylish and appealing to visitors.
“The Variflex system is ideal because it offers phenomenal 55dB acoustic integrity and can be designed in a vast range of finishes. etc.venues chose a stunning wood effect pressure laminate with spectacular graphics of iconic Manchester landmarks.
“The added advantage of DORMA Variflex is that the panels are manufactured separately to the frame,” continued Andy, “which means they are easy to change if one is damaged or scuffed, or if the interior design of a room changes later on.”
Style is the UK’s exclusive partner to DORMA, and the Variflex system is highly sustainable offering an environmental product declaration (EPD) in accordance with ISO 14025 and EN 15804.
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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