For projects in Manila
Auditorium acoustics and soundproofing in Manila
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, gymnasiums and function halls carry amplified speech and music in hard volumes.
- 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 / The material
What this material is and where it earns its place in Manila
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, gymnasiums and function halls carry amplified speech and music in hard volumes.
Work reaching us from Manila is mostly service and call centre floors, offices, condominium towers, hotels, hospitals, schools.
- Hundreds of simultaneous conversations A call floor is not an echo problem. Absorption alone will not deliver privacy or intelligibility, so ceiling, screens and layout have to work together.
- Concrete towers, hard interiors The structure blocks well. The problem is tile and glass making the room ring, and impact passing down through slabs.
- Typhoon season and humidity PET felt does not absorb moisture, rot or feed mould, which matters where mineral products sag within a season.
- 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 Manila.
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 Manila, split units and VRF running at full load year round, with condensers close to occupied rooms.
On a cavity. Mounted on battens with an air gap, which is where the low mid performance comes from.
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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 Manila, church buildings, gymnasiums and function halls carry amplified speech and music in hard volumes.
Over a porous backing. Panel over mineral or PET backing where the room needs genuine low mid control.
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Layer 3
Acoustic carpet and rugs
A tile carpet with a dense polyester face on a felt backing. In Manila, classrooms are hard and naturally ventilated with very large class sizes and open corridors.
Zoned. Carpet in the circulation and meeting zones, hard floor elsewhere, so the treatment sits where the noise is made.
If you are specifying for a Manila project, we can give you a section, a BOQ and the honest limits of each layer. See how we support architects.
03 / On the ground
The Manila conditions that change the answer
- Hundreds of simultaneous conversations
A call floor is not an echo problem. Absorption alone will not deliver privacy or intelligibility, so ceiling, screens and layout have to work together.
- Concrete towers, hard interiors
The structure blocks well. The problem is tile and glass making the room ring, and impact passing down through slabs.
- Typhoon season and humidity
PET felt does not absorb moisture, rot or feed mould, which matters where mineral products sag within a season.
- Traffic outside, all day
Street noise reaches rooms through glazing rather than walls, so the facade is where the first money should go.
- Assembly and performance rooms
Church buildings, gymnasiums and function halls carry amplified speech and music in hard volumes.
- School and campus buildings
Classrooms are hard and naturally ventilated with very large class sizes and open corridors.
04 / Room by room
Where the money goes on a Manila project
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Reverberation time
Set against use. Speech and music want different numbers, and a dual use hall needs a decision. A call floor is not an echo problem. Absorption alone will not deliver privacy or intelligibility, so ceiling, screens and layout have to work together.
- Wooden slat acoustic panels, MDF, FR MDF, HDF or HDHMR
- PET felt acoustic panels, 9, 12, 18 and 24 mm standard, tolerance plus or minus 5 percent
- 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. The structure blocks well. The problem is tile and glass making the room ring, and impact passing down through slabs.
- Wooden slat acoustic panels, 13-3, 14-2, 28-4 and 59-5
- PET felt acoustic panels, 4 to 24 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. PET felt does not absorb moisture, rot or feed mould, which matters where mineral products sag within a season.
- 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
- 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 / Climate
Durability in Manila, before acoustics is discussed
Manila is warm and humid through most of the year, with a long wet season, and that narrows the material list before acoustics is discussed.
Humidity is the deciding factor. PET felt does not absorb moisture, shed fibre or feed mould, which is why it outlasts fabric-wrapped mineral wool in this climate. Wood wool and timber need a ventilated cavity behind them.
The failure we design against here is mould, sagging fabric finishes and swelling in timber.
On a Manila job with a consultant involved, our part is material that matches the submitted data. See working with acoustic consultants.
06 / Before you buy
Where this kind of project usually fails
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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
This is the one that comes back as a second fit-out rather than a snag.
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Treating it as a generic Manila job
A call floor is not an echo problem. Absorption alone will not deliver privacy or intelligibility, so ceiling, screens and layout have to work together.
05 / Getting it there
What the route into Manila actually looks like
| Ships from | Palwal, Haryana, India |
|---|---|
| Arrives at | Manila, then a short road run to site |
| Dispatch | 4 to 7 working days |
| Freight | Sea via Manila |
| 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 Manila, then a short road run to site. Air freight for samples and urgent quantities.
Questions from Manila projects
What makes auditorium acoustics and soundproofing different in Manila?
Church buildings, gymnasiums and function halls carry amplified speech and music in hard volumes. A call floor is not an echo problem. Absorption alone will not deliver privacy or intelligibility, so ceiling, screens and layout have to work together.
Where should the budget go first on a Manila 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 Manila?
No. We manufacture in India and supply into Manila. 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 Manila site?
ships from: Palwal, Haryana, India, arrives at: Manila, 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
Send what you have. We will give you a layer by layer build-up, a bill of quantities and a date material lands, and we will flag anything in the brief that will not achieve what you want.