UNDERGROUND ACOUSTICAL CEILING TILES
SQUARELINE METAL CEILING TILES IN UNDERGROUND FREEDOM CENTER
The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati has nearly 200,000 visitors per year, including many boisterous school groups; so controlling acoustics in the center’s public spaces is a tall order. pinta acoustic, inc. provided the solution.
“In keeping with the spirit of the Underground Railroad and the slaves’ journey, many of the materials in the project are natural — a copper roof, undulating exterior walls reflecting the Ohio River, floors of rough-hewn stone and wood,” says Don Inman, facility director of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. “The ceiling needed to support that spirit. All of the permanent interior surfaces are hard and therefore not acoustically ideal. The only surface we could manipulate to achieve our acoustic goals was the ceiling. Not only did our ceiling choice need to be in harmony with the other natural type of materials, but it had to surpass the performance of a traditional suspended ceiling product due to the noise level in our facility.”
| BOORA Architects, the Portland, Ore.-based design architects of the project, mocked up several ceiling tile options and considered appearance, cost and acoustical performance. The winning product was pinta acoustic’s SQUARELINEstandard™ Metal Ceiling Tiles in chrome with a charcoal backer. The Freedom Center’s exposition hall features 15,600 square feet of the tiles. |
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“The
design intent was to have a ceiling that was light
in appearance and had a crispness of detail to
complement the stone and wood flooring,” says Chris
Linn, project designer, BOORA Architects. “The
installation was smooth, and the acoustical
performance has met our expectations.”
“The tiles coordinate smartly with our lighting
systems and fixtures and add pizzazz to our exhibit
spaces,” says Inman. “The tiles are interesting
enough to enliven the expo hall and classy enough to
not overpower the other architectural elements.”
SQUARELINEstandard Metal Ceiling Tiles are available in white or chrome expanded metal with a light gray or charcoal acoustical backer. Matching trim tiles also are available. pinta acoustic also offers SQUARELINEmedium™ Metal Ceiling Tiles in a mid-size chrome mesh pattern and SQUARELINEultra™ Metal Ceiling Tiles in a large chrome mesh pattern.
The contemporary tiles drop easily into pinta or standard 15/16” ceiling grids. SQUARELINEstandard Metal Ceiling Tiles with ¼” acoustical backer have a noise reduction coefficients (NRC) of 0.55. The acoustical backer, made from Class 1 fire-rated willtec® FM, is pre-bonded to expanded metal tiles to simplify handling and installation.
The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center opened in August 2004. The five-story Freedom Center is comprised of three structures that sit on the North bank of the Ohio River. Its location and architectural elements were selected to help frame the facility as a beacon for an imagined fugitive 150 years ago.
SQUARELINE Metal Ceiling Tiles are Class 1 fire-rated, fit into pinta or conventional grid systems and are easy to install.
To speak with a Memtech Acoustical consultant about SQUARELINEstandard Metal Ceiling Tiles adn and willtec® foam, contact Memtech Acoustical LLC
