The Benefits of Good Acoustics in Healthcare Environments
Style’s team in Scotland made a rare discovery when doing some recent work on a large old building.
In 3 of the rooms of this historic venue, there were fully automatic moveable walls which dated back approximately 90 years.
When activated, these walls lower downwards into the floor, disappearing into a room on the level below and entering a stud wall where they are hidden from view.
Angela McGowan, sales director at Style Scotland was on site to view the moveable walls in action and said, “It was quite an exciting find to see how old technology worked in dividing room space.
“It certainly shows how vertically-rising moveable walls have progressed over the years as the approach used with these older walls is very similar to the technology used in lifts.
“We are now accustomed to the highly slick Skyfold walls that are discreetly housed in a ceiling cavity and concertina into place at the push of a button, providing an acoustic barrier up to 59dB and having safety features that will immediately stop the wall moving if any object or person is detected to be in its path.
“Compared to the Skyfold, which only takes up a small amount of ceiling space when not in use, these old moveable walls take up the full height of the room below, however it was ingenious to think that the building had been designed so that there was a stud wall directly below to house it.
“Our team certainly enjoyed discovering them and were pleased to have been given the opportunity to see them in full operation, which is very impressive after all these years.”
For more information about our full range of moveable walls as well as our UK-wide service and repair team, please contact your nearest regional Style office.
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.
Fill in the form below and we’ll get back to you within one working day.
Fill in the form below and we’ll get back to you within one working day.
Fill in the form below and we'll get back to you as quickly as we can.
