For projects in Athens
Auditorium acoustics and soundproofing in Athens
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. Church buildings, civic halls and open air venues are hard volumes with long decay.
- 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 / What it is
The material, and what it actually does on a Athens job
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.
Church buildings, civic halls and open air venues are hard volumes with long decay.
Work reaching us from Athens is mostly apartment blocks, hotels and short lets, restaurants and roof terraces, offices, clinics, schools.
- Concrete blocks, hard interiors The structure carries mass, so airborne transfer between flats is rarely the issue. Marble and tile making the room ring is.
- Impact through slabs Hard flooring over concrete passes footfall straight down. A resilient underlay before the finish is the fix, not a treatment below.
- Roof terraces and late trading Venues operate above and beside homes through a long season, so containment is what protects the operation.
- 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 Athens.
02 / The build-up
The build-up, layer by layer
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Layer 1
Wood wool acoustic panels
Wood fibre bound into a rigid board with an open texture. In Athens, split units with condensers on balconies and in light wells that act as reverberant shafts.
Direct fix. Mechanically fixed to the soffit or wall. Durable and simple.
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Layer 2
Wooden slat acoustic panels
Timber slats on an acoustic backing. In Athens, church buildings, civic halls and open air venues are hard volumes with long decay.
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 3
PET felt acoustic panels
A rigid non-woven panel pressed from 100% polyester fibre, a large part of it recycled. In Athens, school buildings are concrete and tile with high ceilings and courtyards that amplify break time noise.
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.
We would rather argue about the build-up at design stage than on site. See how we support architects.
03 / On the ground
What the buildings in Athens do to the specification
- Concrete blocks, hard interiors
The structure carries mass, so airborne transfer between flats is rarely the issue. Marble and tile making the room ring is.
- Impact through slabs
Hard flooring over concrete passes footfall straight down. A resilient underlay before the finish is the fix, not a treatment below.
- Roof terraces and late trading
Venues operate above and beside homes through a long season, so containment is what protects the operation.
- Piraeus is next to the city
Direct sea into the port beside Athens keeps landed cost and dates both predictable.
- Assembly and performance rooms
Church buildings, civic halls and open air venues are hard volumes with long decay.
- School and campus buildings
School buildings are concrete and tile with high ceilings and courtyards that amplify break time noise.
04 / Room by room
Where the money goes on a Athens project
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Reverberation time
Set against use. Speech and music want different numbers, and a dual use hall needs a decision. The structure carries mass, so airborne transfer between flats is rarely the issue. Marble and tile making the room ring is.
- Wood wool acoustic panels, 1200 x 600 mm
- Wooden slat acoustic panels, 13-3, 14-2, 28-4 and 59-5
- PET felt acoustic panels, 4 to 24 mm
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Early reflections
Shaped surfaces that send energy to the rear seats rather than absorbing everything. Hard flooring over concrete passes footfall straight down. A resilient underlay before the finish is the fix, not a treatment below.
- Wood wool acoustic panels, 20 mm
- Wooden slat acoustic panels, 2440 x 192 mm and 2440 x 128 mm
- PET felt acoustic panels, 1220 x 2440 mm standard, 4 x 8 ft
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Rear wall
The single worst surface in most halls, and the first one to treat. Venues operate above and beside homes through a long season, so containment is what protects the operation.
- Wood wool acoustic panels, 400 kg per cubic metre
- Wooden slat acoustic panels, 14, 16 and 18 mm
- PET felt acoustic panels, 2440 x 4270 mm, 2.44 x 4.27 m, 8 x 14 ft
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 / Climate
The Athens climate decides the material list
Athens is hot dry summers and mild wet winters, and that narrows the material list before acoustics is discussed.
The swing between a dry summer and a wet winter moves timber. PET felt is dimensionally stable across that swing; slat panels want a stable substrate and a ventilated fixing.
The failure we design against here is seasonal movement in timber and winter damp in unheated stock.
Consultants get the raw data, not a sales sheet. That is the whole of our side of the job, and it is set out under working with acoustic consultants.
06 / Before you buy
The six errors that cost the most
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Absorbing the whole room and losing the back rows
It sounds like a small detail until the room is finished and the complaint arrives.
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Adding speakers to fix a reverberation problem
It sounds like a small detail until the room is finished and the complaint arrives.
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Ignoring the rear wall because it is behind the audience
It sounds like a small detail until the room is finished and the complaint arrives.
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Treating it as a generic Athens job
The structure carries mass, so airborne transfer between flats is rarely the issue. Marble and tile making the room ring is.
05 / Getting it there
What the route into Athens actually looks like
| Ships from | Palwal, Haryana, India |
|---|---|
| Arrives at | Piraeus, then a short road run to site |
| Dispatch | 4 to 7 working days |
| Freight | Sea via Piraeus |
| 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, not after.
Sea freight into Piraeus, then a short road run to site. Air freight for samples and urgent quantities.
Questions from Athens projects
What makes auditorium acoustics and soundproofing different in Athens?
Church buildings, civic halls and open air venues are hard volumes with long decay. The structure carries mass, so airborne transfer between flats is rarely the issue. Marble and tile making the room ring is.
Where should the budget go first on a Athens 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 Athens?
No. We manufacture in India and supply into Athens. 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 Athens site?
ships from: Palwal, Haryana, India, arrives at: Piraeus, then a short road run 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, not after.
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
Tell us the room, we will tell you the build-up
One drawing gets you a proper answer. Build-up, quantities, a delivered date, and an honest note on anything we think is the wrong approach.