Leeds City College, the third largest further education college in the UK, has opened a new city-centre campus to offer modern-day vocational study programmes. The campus is a £14 million new build extension and refurbishment of a Grade II listed building into a state-of-the-art specialist vocational centre with training kitchens, a commercial training restaurant, hair and beauty teaching facilities and commercial salons as well as a refectory, library and student services. Being a refurbishment project, the build had a number of challenges. The ceiling contractor, turned to ROCKFON to provide the acoustic and environmental solutions to help optimise the layout of the new building. Here they explain why:
“We approached ROCKFON because their products are ideal for a refurbishment project like this one. They have performed well, enhancing the interior design by creating open and light spaces and delivering the acoustic qualities required in the different areas of the campus.”
The main office and teaching areas required a combination of basic room-to-room sound insulations as well as good sound absorption to provide privacy and comfort inside the rooms, and prevent outside noise travelling through adjoining walls and disturbing students learning and concentrating. Approximately 2,000m² of Rockfon Alaska ceiling tiles from SIG Interiors Leeds were fitted in these spaces to provide the highest Class A sound absorption. The smooth white painted fleece of the Alaska tiles creates an attractive ceiling making it an ideal choice for the building’s contemporary design. The tiles have optimum light reflection of 86% producing a light airy feel to the classrooms and office areas.
2,000m² of Rockfon Artic were installed in the stores, washrooms and circulation areas. Both Rockfon Artic and Rockfon Alaska ceiling tiles are made of stone wool and offer excellent performance in regards to humidity resistance and fire safety. The tiles provide up to 100% relative humidity which is why they were chosen for the washroom areas because they will not absorb moisture and sag.
Andy Couch, Business Development Manager for the Main Contractor, GB Building Solutions, is really pleased with the finished result.
“ROCKFON products are fully compliant with the stringent environmental protection requirements the project demanded. This has helped us to achieve the BREEAM ‘Very Good’ environmental standard.”
Rockfon Artic tiles offer the necessary sound control in the circulation areas. They are a cost effective way of offering a clean, white ceiling with good functionality including superior fire resistance; an essential requirement for corridors where students and staff need to exit the building quickly and safely. A Rockfon Artic ceiling is easy to install using either a semi-concealed or visible grid options.
The hair and beauty teaching facilities benefit from the acoustic comfort provided by Rockfon Eclipse ceiling islands. These open plan areas are susceptible to background noise from equipment which can be a distraction for lecturers and students and affect the learning process. The ceiling islands are made of a 40mm thick stone wool panel, which is a natural sound absorber and enables rooms to reach the optimum level of acoustic comfort. The islands are elegant floating panels hung from discreet suspension wires that can be positioned with ease between building structures making them a versatile product for refurbishment projects. The visible side of the panel has a smooth white surface. The rear is covered with a white acoustic fleece providing excellent light and heat reflection. The panels allow air to circulate whilst absorbing sound from both sides of the panel, which is perfect for thermal mass buildings.
