Application:
Part of the Government's on going initiative
'Building Schools for The Future' (BSF), this brand new £15
million landmark building for the Durham area has been created to
provide a focal point for both pupils and the surrounding community,
housing state-of-the-art science and technology classrooms, nursery,
sports hall, 440 seat auditorium and public cyber café &
library.
Within
the scope of the new BSF initiative demanding regulations have been
enforced to ensure the end result is the most practical and effective
result. Building Bulletin '93, previously BB87, provides guidelines
required to meet specifications for acoustic conditions within school
environments – classrooms, music rooms, corridors, assembly
halls, language labs etc.. When spending £15 million of Government
money (and considering, of course, that education is all about communication)
it is important to provide facilities which not only deliver the
best technology and teaching aids, but also deliver an environment
in which communication is most effective.
Having
specified over 3500m² of Dune and Fine Fissured Armstrong ceiling
panels throughout the building for passive acoustic control, the
design team required an audio system that would provide active acoustic
control and also integrate with the core modern design of clean,
contemporary lines. Furthermore, the College's language laboratories
needed the highest levels of intelligibility. i-ceilings easily
met both these criteria, exactly matching the Armstrong ceiling
tiles for an 'invisible' loudspeaker solution, while the NXT technology
utilised ensured high quality voice reproduction. |
