Improving acoustic clarity in a specialist healthcare environment
Style were appointed by Laing O‘Rourke after a vigorous pre-qualification process to achieve a safe and perfect delivery. And if expectation wasn’t high enough to deliver an outstanding acoustic performance between conference and public areas, there was also the added pressure that the Labour party conference was to commence immediately at the end of the program – televised to millions.
Stephenson Bell
Laing O’Rourke
With a 56db DnT,w on-site performance, and including a 49db DnT,w on site performance with double pass doors (DTZ), this project really sets the bar very high in the movable walls sector.
In the iconic Manchester Central convention complex, this was phase 3 of a project that offered an extension of floor space comprising 3 seminar rooms and a break out area adjacent to the main train hall. Using the Dorma Variflex 60dB Rw product, including special sound absorption boards, the three rooms and the break out area needed to be subdivided by acoustic moveable walls. It was also important that they could be stored out of sight to form one large usable space.
Style were appointed by Laing O‘Rourke after a vigorous pre-qualification process to achieve a safe and perfect delivery. And if expectation wasn’t high enough to deliver an outstanding acoustic performance between conference and public areas, there was also the added pressure that the Labour party conference was to commence immediately at the end of the program – televised to millions.
“We approached this project in the same way that we do all installations,” said Andy Gibson, Style’s Director for the North. “The key aim being to find the optimum solution and conduct a thorough and detailed assessment of the rooms so that the correct product could be fitted to the very highest standard.
“Acoustic performance was an extremely vital criteria on this occasion, making it important for our team at Style to work incredibly closely with Dorma, Architects Stephenson Bell and Laing O’Rourke to develop the specification – not only in the performance of our product but also the surrounding structures.
“We also had some real challenges along the way including roof deflection, service penetrations and floor levels. The main contractor adopting the sub contractors as team members was a major influence that made this project such a success.”
“Achieving exceptional acoustic performance is a combination of expertise, team work, products, planning and installation and has to be considered at the start, and maintained throughout, the project. The way these four elements combined perfectly is a huge testimony to the very high quality of our people and products.”
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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