For projects in Spain
Auditorium acoustics and soundproofing in Spain
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. Churches, civic auditoriums and hotel function rooms are stone and plaster volumes with very long decay times.
- 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
The product, described honestly, for a Spain brief
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.
Churches, civic auditoriums and hotel function rooms are stone and plaster volumes with very long decay times.
Work reaching us from Spain is mostly hotels and resorts, restaurants, apartments, offices, schools, clinics, studios.
- Tile and terrazzo everywhere Hard floors and rendered walls are the standard build. They reflect almost everything, so absorption on the ceiling usually does more than anything you add at eye level.
- Season deadlines are real deadlines Coastal and resort work has to be finished before the season opens. We give honest dispatch and transit windows rather than optimistic ones, so the fit-out is not waiting on a container.
- Late hours, homes above Bars and restaurants run late underneath apartments. The complaint is almost always low frequency and footfall, which means mass and isolation, not foam.
- 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 Spain.
02 / The build-up
What goes where, from the structure in
-
Layer 1
Wood wool acoustic panels
Wood fibre bound into a rigid board with an open texture. In Spain, split and multi-split systems dominate, with condensers in patios and light wells that act as reverberant shafts.
On a cavity. Mounted on battens with an air gap, which is where the low mid performance comes from.
-
Layer 2
PET felt acoustic panels
A rigid non-woven panel pressed from 100% polyester fibre, a large part of it recycled. In Spain, churches, civic auditoriums and hotel function rooms are stone and plaster volumes with very long decay times.
Over a porous backing. Panel over mineral or PET backing where the room needs genuine low mid control.
-
Layer 3
Acoustic carpet and rugs
A tile carpet with a dense polyester face on a felt backing. In Spain, school buildings are concrete and tile with high ceilings and hard floors, and dining halls are the loudest rooms in the building.
Zoned. Carpet in the circulation and meeting zones, hard floor elsewhere, so the treatment sits where the noise is made.
For a Spain practice, the useful thing is a detail you can put in a drawing set, not a brochure. See how we support architects.
03 / In this market
What the buildings in Spain do to the specification
- Tile and terrazzo everywhere
Hard floors and rendered walls are the standard build. They reflect almost everything, so absorption on the ceiling usually does more than anything you add at eye level.
- Season deadlines are real deadlines
Coastal and resort work has to be finished before the season opens. We give honest dispatch and transit windows rather than optimistic ones, so the fit-out is not waiting on a container.
- Late hours, homes above
Bars and restaurants run late underneath apartments. The complaint is almost always low frequency and footfall, which means mass and isolation, not foam.
- Sealed, air-conditioned rooms
Once a room is closed up against the heat it stops leaking sound outward and starts building it up inside. Absorption has to be balanced, not maximised.
- Assembly and performance rooms
Churches, civic auditoriums and hotel function rooms are stone and plaster volumes with very long decay times.
- School and campus buildings
School buildings are concrete and tile with high ceilings and hard floors, and dining halls are the loudest rooms in the building.
04 / Room by room
What each space in a Spain project needs
-
Reverberation time
Set against use. Speech and music want different numbers, and a dual use hall needs a decision. Hard floors and rendered walls are the standard build. They reflect almost everything, so absorption on the ceiling usually does more than anything you add at eye level.
- PET felt acoustic panels, 100% PET non-woven, no added binder
- Ceiling baffles and clouds, 9 to 24 mm
- Acoustic carpet and rugs, High density polyester
-
Early reflections
Shaped surfaces that send energy to the rear seats rather than absorbing everything. Coastal and resort work has to be finished before the season opens. We give honest dispatch and transit windows rather than optimistic ones, so the fit-out is not waiting on a container.
- 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
- Acoustic carpet and rugs, Felt
-
Rear wall
The single worst surface in most halls, and the first one to treat. Bars and restaurants run late underneath apartments. The complaint is almost always low frequency and footfall, which means mass and isolation, not foam.
- 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
- Acoustic carpet and rugs, 64 sq ft per pack
Designers get colour, pattern and CNC options with the absorption figure attached to each. See how we work with interior designers.
04 / Climate and durability
What the Spain climate rules in and rules out
Spain 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.
Where a consultant is already engaged on a Spain project, we supply to their specification and send the test reports rather than describing them. More on working with acoustic consultants.
06 / Straight talk
The six errors that cost the most
-
Absorbing the whole room and losing the back rows
It sounds like a small detail until the room is finished and the complaint arrives.
-
Adding speakers to fix a reverberation problem
It sounds like a small detail until the room is finished and the complaint arrives.
-
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.
-
Treating it as a generic Spain job
Hard floors and rendered walls are the standard build. They reflect almost everything, so absorption on the ceiling usually does more than anything you add at eye level.
05 / Supply
What the route into Spain actually looks like
| Ships from | Palwal, Haryana, India |
|---|---|
| Arrives at | Valencia, Barcelona or Algeciras, then road to site |
| Dispatch | 4 to 7 working days |
| Freight | Sea via Valencia |
| 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 Valencia, Barcelona or Algeciras, then road to site. Air freight for samples and urgent quantities.
Questions from Spain projects
What makes auditorium acoustics and soundproofing different in Spain?
Churches, civic auditoriums and hotel function rooms are stone and plaster volumes with very long decay times. Hard floors and rendered walls are the standard build. They reflect almost everything, so absorption on the ceiling usually does more than anything you add at eye level.
Where should the budget go first on a Spain 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 Spain?
No. We manufacture in India and supply into Spain. 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 Spain site?
ships from: Palwal, Haryana, India, arrives at: Valencia, Barcelona or Algeciras, 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
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.