Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Ceiling Panels Absorb and Block Noise

  • 01/01/16
Ceiling Panels Absorb and Block Noise

Rendering of a small “collaboration hub” at the Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences.

The Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences in Lancaster, PA, is relocating to a new campus by converting a former office building into the school’s administrative building and a former manufacturing facility into a 200,000-square-foot state-of-the-art learning environment. One of the key interior design considerations in both buildings is the reduction of noise intruding into one space from an adjacent space.

According to Deborah Knast and Jill Sirota of Stantec Architects & Engineering, Philadelphia, PA, the college is dedicated to improving the acoustic environment of the new facilities. “The college is currently housed in a number of older buildings at another location,” states Knast, “and many of the spaces are not acoustically acceptable. As a result, the college is extremely sensitive to acoustics and does not want to replicate any of the existing conditions.”

To meet the acoustic as well as aesthetic goals of the new buildings, the design team selected Ultima High CAC ceiling panels from Armstrong. The panels feature new Total Acoustics™ performance, which is the ability to provide both sound absorbing and sound blocking in the same panel.

To deliver that performance, the panels have a Noise Reduction Coefficient (NRC) of 0.60, meaning they absorb 60 percent of the sound that strikes them, and a very high Ceiling Attenuation Class (CAC) of 40, meaning they perform extremely well as a barrier to intruding noise.

“The high CAC was one of the main reasons we chose these ceiling panels,” states Sirota. “On this project, the ability to block noise from adjacent spaces was key.”

The learning facility also houses a large open collaboration area surrounded by smaller enclosed spaces where students can work together. To improve the acoustic environment of both, the Total Acoustics ceiling panels will be installed around the perimeter of the open collaboration space as well as in the adjacent closed spaces.

www.armstong.com

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Vanderbilt to Partner with ABM for Campus Preservation and Modernization

    Vanderbilt University recently announced that it has selected ABM Performance Solutions for a preservation and modernization project at its New York City campus, according to a news release. ABM will deliver its end-to-end ABM Performance Solutions (APS) model to manage critical operations during renovation and maintenance.

  • NWEA Report Recommends K–12 Natural Disaster Recovery Strategies

    The Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA), a K–12 assessment and research organization, recently announced the release of a new playbook for schools and communities recovering from extreme weather events, according to a news release.

  • Stanford Completes Construction on Graduate School of Education Facility

    Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., recently announced the end of construction on a new home for its Graduate School of Education, according to a news release. The university partnered with McCarthy Building Companies on the 160,000-square-foot project, which involved two major renovations and one new construction effort.

  • Spaces4Learning Trends & Predictions for Educational Facilities in 2026: Part II

    As education leaders look toward 2026, the design of K–12 and higher education facilities is being reshaped by powerful, converging forces. Survey respondents point to the rapid growth of Career and Technical Education, deeper alignment with workforce and industry needs, and the accelerating influence of AI and emerging technologies.