When there are a lot of people in a single space, be it an auditorium, restaurant, fitness or recreation centre, it places a high demand on acoustic sound dampening solutions, fire safety and the overall visual aesthetic. Within the building, each room type may face its own specific challenges.
Acoustics
When sound waves hit hard surfaces found in a room, like walls, floors and windows, the audible energy wave we call noise reflects back in the room, which causes the overall noise level in the room to rise.
Many large spaces face the challenge of managing acoustics to prevent noise from reverberating uncontrollably, be it auditorium halls and swimming pools with their hard surfaces, or busy restaurants with their exposed ceilings and noisy kitchens. For example, a recent survey showed that 90% of visitors said that background noise was the biggest problem they faced when eating out.
Designing humid environments
While acoustics are extremely important for swimming pools, resistance to humidity is also vital. It is important that in humid environments building materials remain stable, even in conditions with up to 100% relative humidity or at temperatures of up to 40°C.
This helps ensure that building materials look great now and in the future.
Fire safety
Fire safety plays an important role when large groups of people occupy any confined space. The choice of non-combustible materials in the event of fire is essential for the safety of building occupants and first responders.
