For projects in Sweden
Auditorium acoustics and soundproofing in Sweden
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, culture houses and school halls are hard long-decay 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 / Start here
What this is, and what it changes in a Sweden room
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, culture houses and school halls are hard long-decay volumes.
Work reaching us from Sweden is mostly timber buildings and apartments, offices, schools, healthcare, hotels, studios.
- Classes are written and verified Projects arrive with a class and someone checks it afterwards. Send us the target and we will say where our material sits against it.
- Timber at scale Sweden builds tall in timber, and timber is light. Low frequency passes easily, so mass and decoupling do the work.
- Sealed through a long winter Ventilation runs constantly in closed buildings, so plant noise matters more than street noise.
- 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 Sweden.
02 / The build-up
How the layers stack, from the structure inwards
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Layer 1
Wooden slat acoustic panels
Timber slats on an acoustic backing. In Sweden, balanced mechanical ventilation with heat recovery running through long heating seasons, so duct noise is constant.
Slats on a cavity. Backing plus an air gap behind moves absorption lower, which matters in music rooms.
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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 Sweden, church buildings, culture houses and school halls are hard long-decay volumes.
Direct to wall. Panel bonded or mechanically fixed flat to the substrate. Simplest, and the weakest at low frequency.
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Layer 3
Ceiling baffles and clouds
PET felt suspended from the soffit, vertically as baffles or horizontally as clouds. In Sweden, classroom acoustics are regulated, and open plan learning areas make speech intelligibility the design target.
Mixed with services. Set out around ducts, trays and lighting rather than fighting them, coordinated from your reflected ceiling plan.
We would rather argue about the build-up at design stage than on site. See how we support architects.
03 / Local conditions
The Sweden conditions that change the answer
- Classes are written and verified
Projects arrive with a class and someone checks it afterwards. Send us the target and we will say where our material sits against it.
- Timber at scale
Sweden builds tall in timber, and timber is light. Low frequency passes easily, so mass and decoupling do the work.
- Sealed through a long winter
Ventilation runs constantly in closed buildings, so plant noise matters more than street noise.
- A long country
A site in the north has a real domestic leg. We quote it separately so the dates are honest.
- Assembly and performance rooms
Church buildings, culture houses and school halls are hard long-decay volumes.
- School and campus buildings
Classroom acoustics are regulated, and open plan learning areas make speech intelligibility the design target.
04 / Room by room
Where the money goes on a Sweden project
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Reverberation time
Set against use. Speech and music want different numbers, and a dual use hall needs a decision. Projects arrive with a class and someone checks it afterwards. Send us the target and we will say where our material sits against it.
- 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
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Early reflections
Shaped surfaces that send energy to the rear seats rather than absorbing everything. Sweden builds tall in timber, and timber is light. Low frequency passes easily, so mass and decoupling do the work.
- 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
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Rear wall
The single worst surface in most halls, and the first one to treat. Ventilation runs constantly in closed buildings, so plant noise matters more than street noise.
- 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
Interior designers tend to arrive with the look already decided. We will tell you which finish gets there without losing the acoustics. See how we work with interior designers.
04 / Climate and durability
Durability in Sweden, before acoustics is discussed
Sweden is cool and damp, with long heating seasons and cold external walls, and that narrows the material list before acoustics is discussed.
Cold wall build-ups and long heating seasons mean interstitial condensation is a real risk behind any lining. PET felt is unaffected by damp air and will not feed mould where a fabric-faced mineral product would.
The failure we design against here is condensation behind linings in older, poorly insulated stock.
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
What we watch go wrong on jobs like this
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Absorbing the whole room and losing the back rows
This is the one that comes back as a second fit-out rather than a snag.
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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
Small on the drawing, expensive on site, and almost always found after handover.
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Treating it as a generic Sweden job
Projects arrive with a class and someone checks it afterwards. Send us the target and we will say where our material sits against it.
05 / Route to site
What the route into Sweden actually looks like
| Ships from | Palwal, Haryana, India |
|---|---|
| Arrives at | Gothenburg, then road onward to site |
| Dispatch | 4 to 7 working days |
| Freight | Sea via Gothenburg |
| Support | Drawings, build-ups, BOQ and material that arrives complete |
Standard items dispatch in 4 to 7 working days. The sea leg from India is long, so plan the full door to door window into the programme. We give real dates, not optimistic ones.
Sea freight into Gothenburg, then road onward to site. Air freight for samples and urgent quantities.
Questions from Sweden projects
What makes auditorium acoustics and soundproofing different in Sweden?
Church buildings, culture houses and school halls are hard long-decay volumes. Projects arrive with a class and someone checks it afterwards. Send us the target and we will say where our material sits against it.
Where should the budget go first on a Sweden 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 Sweden?
No. We manufacture in India and supply into Sweden. 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 Sweden site?
ships from: Palwal, Haryana, India, arrives at: Gothenburg, then road onward to site, dispatch: 4 to 7 working days. Standard items dispatch in 4 to 7 working days. The sea leg from India is long, so plan the full door to door window into the programme. We give real dates, not optimistic ones.
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 the drawings, get a straight answer
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.