Lighting & Interior Fittings Whatever floats your floor I
n 1960s America, a team of acoustic consultants working with a television broadcaster approached Mason Industries with a very specific problem. Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) wanted a new recording studio capable of quietly hosting a small herd of live elephants. The jack up floating floor system was invented to solve this problem. However, not everyone has to deal with elephants, so the floating floor design must be flexible enough to meet a range of requirements, explains Tom Van Dongen, project engineer at Mason UK.
When it comes to reducing the spread of noise in buildings, needs vary. Some places want to keep noise out, some want to keep noise in, and some want to do both. Consider a gym where machines are clanking and weightlifters are dropping weights on the floor, there is a risk of it carrying to other parts of the building as shockwaves which can travel through the structure of the building and manifest as sound elsewhere. In noisy areas it may be necessary to isolate at source to protect adjacent rooms and buildings.
In a similar way to how strategically clearing a strip of land in a woodland can slow the spread of forest fires, removing rigid connections in a building’s structure can reduce the propagation of sound and
vibration, by installing an additional floor above the building structure and supporting it on flexible, acoustically transparent mounts made of rubber or steel springs. This creates a floating floor, with no rigid connections between it and the building’s structure.
When a weight is dropped on the floor, the movement of the springs themselves mitigates the low frequency, high energy pulses created by the impact before it can disturb building occupants below.
A box-in-box design provides the highest level of isolation. The box-in-box design involves not only isolating the floor, but the walls and ceiling too. This creates a completely isolated space, preventing propagation of vibration in any direction.
Another consideration is ensuring the system works under lighter loads, or when rooms are empty. Isolators need compression to work, but load can vary according to how many occupants are present. It’s important that any solution works just as well with a single individual as well as a full room and has the durability to provide a good lifespan. Theoretically, springs offer the best acoustic isolation performance, reacting instantly to a wide range of frequencies, but they might be unnecessary in some situations. For example, where low frequency or impact vibrations are not the problem, rubber is an equally effective option. Rubber mounts are more cost-effective due to their simpler design and offer no significant difference in isolation at higher frequencies compared to similarly rated springs.
While certain elements will be designed differently depending on the application, the principle behind each floating floor is the same. An acoustic isolation specialist can recommend the best course of action for the application, whether it’s dropped weights in a gym or a herd of elephants in a recording studio.
East Lothian Learning Campus chooses Dorma Huppe Moveable Wall
E
ast Lothian’s newest secondary school, situated within the £47.2m Wallyford Learning Campus, prioritises space flexibility with the installation of a Dorma Huppe Variflex ComfortDrive moveable wall, allowing the main drama and assembly hall to be quickly and easily divided into two separate areas, whenever required.
Partitioning experts, Style, delivered adaptable space to this heavily used facility.
“This is a large space with a high ceiling,” said Angela McGowan, sales director for Style Scotland. “As a result, the panels are 4.6 metres tall which is why the fully automated operation is an advantage, as it would be more difficult to manoeuvre such large panels by hand.”
The secondary school incorporates modern teaching and social spaces
for 1,000+ pupils. There is also specialist provision for secondary age young people with severe and complex needs; a dedicated Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths (STEAM) centre; and a Tots and Teens area.
Maximising the use of the hall, the Variflex moveable wall glides into place at the push of a button, dividing the room into two and forming an impressive acoustic separation due to its 57dB acoustic rating. This means a noisy class on one side will not disturb more quiet teaching on the other.
“The moveable wall opens up the options as to how the hall is utilised,” said McGowan. “It also means savings on heating and lighting costs can be achieved by closing off half the hall whenever it is not required.”
The Variflex moveable wall has a chic, black laminate finish. Extending the wall’s lifespan, each panel can be replaced individually if it becomes damaged or scuffed. This is a great advantage in busy public places, such as school and colleges, particularly where children may be undertaking drama or sports classes.
www.style-partitions.co.uk 22 Winter 2025 issue 4178
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