Improving acoustic clarity in a specialist healthcare environment
With an impressive 55dB acoustic rating on each moveable wall, concurrent events can be hosted in privacy, without suffering from sound interference from the other side of the wall.
Located on the banks of the Edgbaston Reservoir in Birmingham, the Midlands Boat Station is a water sports training hub delivering a range of inshore boating activities for Sea Cadets, including dinghy sailing, paddle sports, powerboating, rowing and windsurfing.
It is also home to the local Birmingham Vernon Sea Cadets, which allows cadets to receive teaching on subjects including first aid, music, navigation, marine engineering, catering and leadership skills.
Working with architects, Astley Partnership Ltd, and contractor, Speller Metcalfe, Style was specified to install four Dorma Huppe Variflex moveable walls to enable the Station’s main activity and meeting rooms to be divided into smaller individual rooms, as and when required.
With an impressive 55dB acoustic rating on each moveable wall, concurrent events can be hosted in privacy, without suffering from sound interference from the other side of the wall.
The simple operation of these moveable walls also means they can be opened and closed quickly, changing the room configurations to allow for a variety of different activities and events each day.
The pearl grey finish was chosen to complement the simple, light atmosphere of the rooms and by installing four moveable walls gives the Midland Boat Station extensive flexibility in how they use their space.
“This combination of Variflex moveable walls means the Boat Station can create a multitude of room options,”
said Steve Williams, Style’s sales director for the Midlands.
“In both rooms, they can create one large and one small room, opt for three smaller rooms or open the entire floorspace up into a large open plan area.
“In an activity centre, such as this, the acoustic performance of the walls is also critical as they may be hosting a noisy activity at the same time as a quieter training session, and the 55dB rating of these very high quality moveable walls enables this.”
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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