Acoustic Solutions
Commercial spaces often present acoustic challenges with noise reverberating and echoing off hard surfaces, vast foyers or intimate spaces. Yet acoustic performance is sometimes an underrated element of building design. Acoustics shouldn’t just be considered in building types like concert halls and theatres, but also hotels, bars, restaurants, offices, clubs, and aged care facilities.
Sound that is not managed properly interferes with complex task performance, speech intelligibility, behaviour, and is a potential stress inducer. Numerous diners or staff in open-plan spaces; guests in the halls or adjacent rooms; noise from plumbing, HVAC and elevators; noise from function rooms and exterior noise from vehicles are all sounds that need to be minimised.
Acoustics is a huge, important topic that is addressed interestingly by Julian Treasure in his TED Talk ‘Why Architects Need To Use Their Ears.’
Materialised offers a variety of acoustic solutions for windows and walls to improve comfort without compromising the design integrity. There are also many sustainable attributes that can help contribute to your Green Star Interiors Rating.
A harmonious balance of acoustics and aesthetics.
To quantify our product as commercial acoustic solutions, each is tested and awarded an NRC (Noise Reduction Coefficient) rating. The NRC relates to the absorption effectiveness of the material, and is calculated by averaging how absorptive a material is at 4 different frequencies.
Hush acoustic fabric is tested at 250hz, 500hz, 1000hz and 2000hz. Our Whisper art is tested at 125hz, 250hz, 500hz, 1,000hz, 2,000hz and 4,000hz. Taking the average number, it is then applied to the NRC scale of 0 to 1. A perfectly sound absorptive material achieves a 1, whereas a 0 indicates no absorption.
“Hush Acoustic Sheers absorb significantly more sound energy than any other sheer fabric that I know of. These acoustic sheers are an ideal way to introduce desperately needed, unobtrusive and highly effective sound absorption”. David Spargo, owner of Praxis Acoustics.
You’ll hardly believe the huge difference a simple sheer fabric can make to the acoustic amenity of a room. Our range of Hush Acoustic sheer blinds are lightweight, translucent, acoustic textiles; a combination that was previously unavailable for commercial spaces.
These fabrics offer the look and feel of a soft drape whilst their technology offers functionality as both light reduction and acoustic control, delivering an outstanding NRC rating between 0.58 and 0.71.
An effective, affordable and adjustable acoustic art solution, perfect for any area where noise negatively affects the soundscape, while adding a visual dimension to the space.
WhisperPin® offers the same acoustic and aesthetic benefits as WhisperArt, with the added benefit of a slimmer profile, perfect for workspace pinboards.
Acoustic wall covering sold by the lineal metre – ideal for acoustic walls, screens, ceiling panels and pinboards.
The Brief. Woburn Apartments offers retirees boutique apartment living in Lower Hutt, New Zealand. Completed in 2018 the development has 86 apartments of one-, two- and three-bedrooms. Shared spaces include reception, two bars, a lounge, library, hairdresser, theatre, art and craft room, conservatory, snooker room, bowls area and dining room. Interior designers Honour Creative were … continue reading
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Material selections are pared back and often reduced to raw industrial finishes and surfaces to rationalise the volume of materials required in the project. EJE Architecture and EJE Interiors used five custom and semi-custom Materialised fabrics.
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The Brief. To be bold and brave! A move from central Lower Hutt to custom designed offices on the Petone Foreshore offered IT company Radium the opportunity to support: A wider cultural change. Improved team experience. A business development programme. The Office Fit-out Challenges Acoustically, creating a space that balanced the needs of the individual … continue reading
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The Brief. This grand heritage-listed building in Fortitude Valley accommodates 53 Catholic Healthcare residents. Materialised Products Our WeaveUp textile design tool was used here to great effect by the designers of this fabulous aged care facility! Hush acoustic Midnight fabric was selected for light reduction drapery. The Team & Credits Designer: Bickerton Masters Furniture: Crown … continue reading
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The Brief. Presbyterian Aged Care wanted to dress their new stylish lobby with beautiful sheers and requested that they have acoustic properties to reduce unwanted noise in this large open space. Materialised Products Our acoustic sheer Soundcheck Pumice. The Team & Credits Drapery Manufacturer & Installation: Reilly & Associates Designer: Gilmore Interior Design Materialised Team: … continue reading
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The Brief. Reilly & Associates needed to provide a double sided curtain for the private dining room of this pop-up restaurant in Surry Hills. Time was of the essence and it was all quoted, made and installed within a week! Materialised Products Cameron Buff was used for double-sided S Fold curtains on a 10 metre … continue reading
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The Brief. With a brief to refresh and reinvent Yachiyo Mosman, our team helped design acoustic art (which we refer to as WhisperArt®), for the walls to reduce restaurant noise and reflect an authentic Japanese dining experience. We worked directly with the restaurant owner who supplied us with the art images. We then worked out … continue reading
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The Brief. The brief was a complete redesign of the apartment bringing it from a dark space to a light, warm and engaging home. Design Code Interiors created an elegant yet modern home for this couple who love to entertain. The palette was developed with soft blues and neutral tones to reflect the Clients style … continue reading
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RSL Lifecare are proud to have recently opened Arthur Blackburn VC Gardens in Port Macquarie, NSW. Together with McNally Architects and Crown Furniture, the inspiring Residential Aged Care Facility has a fresh vision for its interiors with custom fabrics by Materialised.
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The Brief. A little while ago, Materialised had the pleasure of working with the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre who had contacted the office seeking a solution for unwanted noise levels in their generous gallery space. After a tailored consultation process and the successful installation of hundreds of square meters of WhisperCeiling®, a letter arrived that … continue reading
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