Improving acoustic clarity in a specialist healthcare environment
Providing a 49dB acoustic barrier, the Variflex enables activities and gatherings to take place either side of the wall without disturbing one another.
Christchurch Family Hub (previously called The Family Hub at Somerford) is one of six centrally located Hubs providing early help services and support for families living in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.
Back in 2003, Style was asked to install a folding wall with a pass door to enable the centre to divide its main activity and family room into two separate rooms, as and when needed.
22 years on and BCP Council, which operates the Hub, contacted Style once again to remove the old wall and replace it with a new, modern moveable wall with slicker operation and improved acoustics.
Working directly with BCP Council, Style installed a Dorma Huppe Variflex moveable wall in a beech laminate finish.
Providing a 49dB acoustic barrier, the Variflex enables activities and gatherings to take place either side of the wall without disturbing one another.
The wall is also very smooth and lightweight to manoeuvre, which means the room can be opened up, or divided into two, many times each day.
Additionally, thanks to the integrated pass door, the wall can remain in place for extended periods when the centre wish to have two rooms available to them.
“The original wall lasted over two decades because we have been providing Christchurch Family Hub with routine servicing and maintenance over the years to ensure its continued smooth operation and enhancing its lifespan,”
said Michael Porter, Style’s group managing director.
“The fact that it served them well for such a long time is testimony to the quality of the technicians in our after care support team.
“However, the centre felt that now was a good time to upgrade to a modern moveable wall and the Dorma Huppe Variflex brings with it the latest operational features, improved acoustics and it’s also a far more sustainable option too.
“In addition, the Variflex is ideal for busy activity centres because the panels are manufactured separately to the frame, which means that the panel linings are easy to change if one is damaged or scuffed, saving a considerable amount of money compared to replacing the entire wall.”
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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