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WhisperWall®

Acoustic Walls On Steroids

An acoustic solution that doubles as an integral part of the interior design.

In the ten years since Materialised purchases the Australasian WhisperWall® license, the awareness of the acoustics in interior design has (thankfully) increased enormously! The WhisperWall® system of attaching and decorating acoustic absorbers is often said to have caused a truce in the war between Acousticians and Designers. You can read more about that here.

Overview
WhisperWall® is an upholstered panelling system that is built directly into the wall or ceiling and constructed on-site.
Customisation
The panels can be customised to the given space or used to add acoustic elements that blend into the existing surroundings. They are available in a vast range of colours and patterns and our custom art and design options allow for a huge range of possibilities.
Materials & Technical Specs
The materials consist of a PVC track profile encasing a sheet of core acoustic foam. The sheet of core material is porous so as to absorb sound vibration and thus reduce unwanted noise.

TRACK PROFILE*
30mm square panel end cap.

POLYESTER ACOUSTIC FILL*
Thickness: 25mm
Weight: 2300gsm
NRC: 0.85
Constructed from 100% polyester fibres and thermally bonded to form the structure of the panel.

*50mm profile with 48mm acoustic fill is also available (NRC 0.9)

FIRE TESTING
NCC Specification C1.10-4 Fire Hazard Properties.
ISO 9705 Fire Test – full scale room test for surface products.
Group Number: Group 1.
Smoke Growth Rate: Less than 100.
NCC Classification: Group 1.

FABRIC
Various acoustically transparent fabrics are available, allowing for better absorption and increased noise reduction. We recommend their use after confirming acoustic transparency and stretchability through rigorous testing and years of experience.
Manufacturing Details
The polyester acoustic fill is manufactured under ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 Quality and Environmental Management Systems, without chemical binders and using minimum 60% already recycled polyester fibre (from PET plastic)

Panels are manufactured based on instructions from your technical team who has tested the space and determined the most suitable locations for noise control. This may include determining a certain amount of metreage needed to reduce noise levels to desired specifications, or to meet legal requirements.

Each panel is wrapped tight with the chosen acoustic fabric and tucked into the appropriate groove in the track profile. 100mm of bleed is used for tucking the fabric and for proper alignment of artwork.
Installation
Installation is done in-situ and is completely customised to fit the space.
Our team can adapt to constructional irregularities and build around objects, switches and other intrusions which may be problematic. Certain spaces might require scaffolding or rigging to be set up. Particularities in installation are relative to each space and should be discussed in detail to guarantee safety and efficiency.

Since the system is built directly into the architecture, installations have to follow the restrictions of printers and fabric dimension, not panel size. Large images can be split into numerous sections across the ceiling, allowing for unlimited size options so long as the content and construction is engineered accordingly (and the image tolerates pattern matching)
Challenges To Consider
There are important factors that must be considered for a smooth ceiling installation such as:

1) Wall material (e.g. Gyprock, brick, timber etc.)
2) Wall penetrations (e.g. powerpoints, smoke alarms, light switches etc.)
3) Site accessibility
4) Ceiling height (is a forklift or scaffolding needed?)
5) Working hours for installation (day/night?)

It is crucial that these details are communicated early on in the process in order to minimise complications during engineering and installation.
Whisper Wall

Whilst the name WhisperWall® suggests an acoustically quiet space, your clients will be yelling in praise of the outcome! Give us a shout, and we can show you the system.

Materialised WhisperWall® Case Studies

Boutique Event Cinemas, acoustics, WhisperWalls

Boutique Event Cinemas, Sydney

The Brief. Acoustic art has never looked so good as with the launch of the Boutique Event Cinemas experience in Sydney’s George Street. “Event Cinemas wanted to build a unique cinema offering to its cinema patrons. They engaged “Edge Content and Technology” (Edge CT) to assist them in building these “boutique” cinemas. Edge CT collaborated with Speciality … continue reading

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