For projects in Abu Dhabi
Auditorium acoustics and soundproofing in Abu Dhabi
A large hard volume where speech falls apart long before anyone calls the room echoey. The target is intelligibility at the back row, which is a reverberation and early reflection problem, not a loudspeaker problem. Hotel ballrooms, mosques and conference centres are tall hard volumes where a long tail defeats the speech system before anyone hears a word.
- Reverberation time
- Set against use. Speech and music want different numbers, and a dual use hall needs a decision.
- Early reflections
- Shaped surfaces that send energy to the rear seats rather than absorbing everything.
- Rear wall
- The single worst surface in most halls, and the first one to treat.
- Quote
- From a plan and a section, within 48 hours
01 / Start here
What this material is and where it earns its place in Abu Dhabi
A large hard volume where speech falls apart long before anyone calls the room echoey. The target is intelligibility at the back row, which is a reverberation and early reflection problem, not a loudspeaker problem.
Hotel ballrooms, mosques and conference centres are tall hard volumes where a long tail defeats the speech system before anyone hears a word.
Work reaching us from Abu Dhabi is mostly hotels, cultural and institutional buildings, villas, offices, clinics, schools, studios.
- Short sea leg from India Western Indian ports to the UAE is a short run. That is the practical reason a factory in India can hold an Abu Dhabi programme date, and it is why we quote sea rather than air for most orders.
- Concrete and glass, sealed all year Blockwork and full glazing with the building closed up against the heat gives a hard, live interior and a lot of mechanical noise with nowhere to go.
- Submittals and samples Most work here goes through a consultant. Send us the specification and we will tell you where our material sits against it and where it does not, in writing.
- Reverberation time Set against use. Speech and music want different numbers, and a dual use hall needs a decision.
Full specification
Thickness, density, NRC by frequency, fire class, standard sizes and build-up detail for auditorium acoustics are on the main product page. This page covers what that means for a project in Abu Dhabi.
02 / The build-up
The build-up, layer by layer
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Layer 1
Wooden slat acoustic panels
Timber slats on an acoustic backing. In Abu Dhabi, district cooling and large AHU plant run continuously. Duct attenuation, plant room lining and riser treatment do the work.
Slats on felt backing. The standard. Absorption comes from the backing behind the gaps, so the slat gap ratio is an acoustic decision, not only a visual one.
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Layer 2
PET felt acoustic panels
A rigid non-woven panel pressed from 100% polyester fibre, a large part of it recycled. In Abu Dhabi, hotel ballrooms, mosques and conference centres are tall hard volumes where a long tail defeats the speech system before anyone hears a word.
On a 25 to 50 mm air gap. The same panel on battens. The air gap moves absorption down in frequency at no extra material cost, and is the cheapest improvement available.
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Layer 3
Ceiling baffles and clouds
PET felt suspended from the soffit, vertically as baffles or horizontally as clouds. In Abu Dhabi, international school campuses are new, highly glazed and built to a tight programme. Sports halls, atria and lecture spaces are the rooms that need treating.
Horizontal clouds. Flat rafts over the occupied zone, which also reflect early speech energy back down where it helps.
We would rather argue about the build-up at design stage than on site. See how we support architects.
03 / Local conditions
What the buildings in Abu Dhabi do to the specification
- Short sea leg from India
Western Indian ports to the UAE is a short run. That is the practical reason a factory in India can hold an Abu Dhabi programme date, and it is why we quote sea rather than air for most orders.
- Concrete and glass, sealed all year
Blockwork and full glazing with the building closed up against the heat gives a hard, live interior and a lot of mechanical noise with nowhere to go.
- Submittals and samples
Most work here goes through a consultant. Send us the specification and we will tell you where our material sits against it and where it does not, in writing.
- MEP noise is the quiet problem
Heavy cooling loads mean large plant close to occupied space. Ducts, risers and plant rooms cause more complaints than anything in the room itself.
- Assembly and performance rooms
Hotel ballrooms, mosques and conference centres are tall hard volumes where a long tail defeats the speech system before anyone hears a word.
- School and campus buildings
International school campuses are new, highly glazed and built to a tight programme. Sports halls, atria and lecture spaces are the rooms that need treating.
04 / Room by room
Room by room, on a typical Abu Dhabi job
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Reverberation time
Set against use. Speech and music want different numbers, and a dual use hall needs a decision. Western Indian ports to the UAE is a short run. That is the practical reason a factory in India can hold an Abu Dhabi programme date, and it is why we quote sea rather than air for most orders.
- Wood wool acoustic panels, 1200 x 600 mm
- Wooden slat acoustic panels, 13-3, 14-2, 28-4 and 59-5
- Ceiling baffles and clouds, Made to the drawing, standard and custom
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Early reflections
Shaped surfaces that send energy to the rear seats rather than absorbing everything. Blockwork and full glazing with the building closed up against the heat gives a hard, live interior and a lot of mechanical noise with nowhere to go.
- Wood wool acoustic panels, 20 mm
- Wooden slat acoustic panels, 2440 x 192 mm and 2440 x 128 mm
- Ceiling baffles and clouds, Both faces work, which is why suspended area outperforms the same area laid flat
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Rear wall
The single worst surface in most halls, and the first one to treat. Most work here goes through a consultant. Send us the specification and we will tell you where our material sits against it and where it does not, in writing.
- Wood wool acoustic panels, 400 kg per cubic metre
- Wooden slat acoustic panels, 14, 16 and 18 mm
- Ceiling baffles and clouds, ASTM C423
If the visual is fixed and the room still has to perform, that is a solvable problem and a conversation worth having early. See how we work with interior designers.
04 / Conditions
Why the climate in Abu Dhabi changes the material, not the target
Abu Dhabi is hot and dry for most of the year, with dust and high daytime surface temperatures, and that narrows the material list before acoustics is discussed.
Dust is the enemy of open-cell products. PET felt does not shed, does not hold dust in the way fabric-wrapped glass wool does, and wipes down. Timber needs a stable indoor RH or it moves.
The failure we design against here is dust ingress and thermal movement in long runs.
If a consultant has set the target, we will quote against their figures rather than ours, and stay out of the scope they own. More on working with acoustic consultants.
06 / Worth knowing
The six errors that cost the most
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Absorbing the whole room and losing the back rows
Small on the drawing, expensive on site, and almost always found after handover.
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Adding speakers to fix a reverberation problem
This is the one that comes back as a second fit-out rather than a snag.
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Ignoring the rear wall because it is behind the audience
Small on the drawing, expensive on site, and almost always found after handover.
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Treating it as a generic Abu Dhabi job
Western Indian ports to the UAE is a short run. That is the practical reason a factory in India can hold an Abu Dhabi programme date, and it is why we quote sea rather than air for most orders.
05 / Route to site
How material reaches a Abu Dhabi site
| Ships from | Palwal, Haryana, India |
|---|---|
| Arrives at | Khalifa Port or Jebel Ali, then road to site |
| Dispatch | 4 to 7 working days |
| Freight | Sea via Khalifa Port |
| Support | Drawings, build-ups, BOQ and material that arrives complete |
Standard items dispatch in 4 to 7 working days. Grooved panels and custom colours take longer, and we say so before you order.
Sea freight into Khalifa Port or Jebel Ali, then road to site. The short transit means sea works for most programmes. Air freight for samples and urgent quantities.
Questions from Abu Dhabi projects
What makes auditorium acoustics and soundproofing different in Abu Dhabi?
Hotel ballrooms, mosques and conference centres are tall hard volumes where a long tail defeats the speech system before anyone hears a word. Western Indian ports to the UAE is a short run. That is the practical reason a factory in India can hold an Abu Dhabi programme date, and it is why we quote sea rather than air for most orders.
Where should the budget go first on a Abu Dhabi project?
Reverberation time. Set against use. Speech and music want different numbers, and a dual use hall needs a decision. Early reflections. Shaped surfaces that send energy to the rear seats rather than absorbing everything.
Do you have an office or installation team in Abu Dhabi?
No. We manufacture in India and supply into Abu Dhabi. We give you drawings, build-ups, a BOQ and material that arrives complete, and we will tell you plainly when a job needs a local contractor we cannot be.
How does material get to a Abu Dhabi site?
ships from: Palwal, Haryana, India, arrives at: Khalifa Port or Jebel Ali, then road to site, dispatch: 4 to 7 working days. Standard items dispatch in 4 to 7 working days. Grooved panels and custom colours take longer, and we say so before you order.
What goes wrong most often on this kind of project?
Absorbing the whole room and losing the back rows. Adding speakers to fix a reverberation problem.
What do you need from us to quote?
A plan, a section through the critical partition or ceiling, and what the room is for. From that we can give a build-up and a BOQ rather than a price per square foot.
Next step
Send a plan and a section, get a real build-up
A plan and a section is enough. We will come back with a build-up, a BOQ and a delivered date, and we will say so if what you are asking for will not work.