Leeds Trinity and All Saints College refurbishment
The Challenge
Trinity and All Saints is an accredited college of the University of Leeds, offering undergraduate and postgraduate degrees and diplomas.
During the refurbishment, Skipton-based Bowman Riley Building Surveyors needed to ensure that the lecture auditorium at Leeds Trinity and All Saints was adequately soundproofed and protected from reverberation.
Due to the nature of auditoriums, controlling reverberation is different to other settings, as the objective is usually to reinforce sound from a single location rather than suppressing noise from many sources.
As the college auditorium is also used for business and board meetings, conferences, exhibitions and training courses, it was important to increase sound performance whilst retaining its aesthetic appearance.
Debbie Lewis, of Bowman Riley Building Surveyors, explains: “We were working to a tight timescale and therefore needed a company who could turn the job around within two to three weeks.”
The Solution
To identify the quickest and most appropriate solution, Bowman Riley Building Surveyors consulted CMS Acoustic Solutions. Through the manufacture of its
own materials as well as exclusive supplier partnerships, CMS Acoustics is able to deliver cost effective and high performing acoustic materials within
tight timescales.
As the project required an aesthetically pleasing soundproofing solution, CMS Acoustics specified its SuperPhon acoustic wall panels to cover the back wall of the lecture hall. Comprising a composite construction and fabric finish, SuperPhon panels reduce noise by impeding the transmission of sound through the wall and absorbing noise at the surface.
SuperPhon is a fully bespoke product which meant that the panels could be manufactured on request to fully meet the requirements at Trinity and All Saints. As such, panels were made of cambourne mainline plus fabric weave material.
Part of the specification was to provide a neat, non visible solution. By connecting the panels with Velcro strips, attached to the timber battens on the wall, CMS Acoustics was able to meet this requirement.
Results
CMS Acoustics was recommended by Bowman Riley Building Surveyors due to its ability to turn the project around in a couple of weeks. CMS Acoustics went above and beyond these requirements.
Debbie Lewis elaborates: “CMS Acoustic Solutions was extremely efficient, supplying the SuperPhon panels within a couple of days, and overseeing the smooth installation of the product.”
The 25mm SuperPhon acoustic wall panel achieves a noise coefficient of up to 1.03, depending on sound frequency. The standard 3000 x 1200 x 25mm panels were customised by CMS Acoustics in order to fit around the window openings in the auditorium.
CMS Acoustics maintained the lecture auditorium’s aesthetic appearance and complemented the existing design concept by providing its mahonia coloured SuperPhon panels. This meant that the finished surface was in keeping with the auditorium’s blue décor.
Product Case Study
