Improving acoustic clarity in a specialist healthcare environment
The Variflex panels also come separate to the frame, which has advantages if panels are damaged and need replacing or if the interior design changes which means just the panels, and not the whole wall, can be replaced. This has important cost advantages in the long-term.
Jefferson Sheard
Heritage London
To create the 3 large, adaptable meeting rooms, Style worked with contractor, Heritage London, and architect, Jefferson Sheard. Previously, the meeting rooms had been divided by stud walls, however to improve the hotel’s client offering and its ability to host meetings of varying capacities it was agreed to replace them with moveable walls.
Dorma Variflex was identified by Style as being the best solution, because it offers ease of manoeuvre, an endless choice of finishes, sound reductions of up to 60 Rw dB and a 30 minute fire rating.
The Variflex panels also come separate to the frame, which has advantages if panels are damaged and need replacing or if the interior design changes which means just the panels, and not the whole wall, can be replaced. This has important cost advantages in the long-term.
“We developed a flexible combination which means the Park Inn can now create three individual meeting rooms, or one small and one large room (by opening up two rooms into one), or open the entire area into one very large open space,”
said Mike Fine, Style’s director for the Midlands.
“The walls are finished in a very clean, pearl grey laminate, and when closed each has a pass door in wood veneer American oak. “By creating flexible meeting room space means hotels can maximise their revenue by running concurrent events, as well as attract larger conferences, which gives important competitive advantage against other local hospitality venues.
“The Park Inn now also has the additional benefit of opening the area up for social functions such as wedding receptions bringing additional income, beyond business meetings, at the weekends and in the evenings.”
Variflex provides a wide choice of elements and stacking/parking arrangements. Its high level of flexibility means it is ideal for all scenarios, even in the case of complicated room proportions where sloping ceilings or circular spaces have to be accommodated.
Talk to us about your acoustic goals — we’ll help you design a solution that sounds as good as it looks.
2026 © Style Group
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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