Acoustical Reflectors: In many rooms, it is useful to have ceilings that absorb noise in certain areas while reflecting or reinforcing sound in other areas. In a conference room, for example, the ceiling over a conference table should be reflective to help a speaker's voice project across the table, while the perimeter of a room should be absorptive to reduce potentially distracting noise. In addition, reflective ceilings are often required in auditoria where it is necessary to project sound from a stage to the back of an audience.

Public address speakers, fire alarm enunciators, and other acoustical systems can be located above the acoustically transparent perforated ceiling for increased security and reduced clutter.

Sound reflects off smooth flat surfaces in the same way that light strikes a mirror; the angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence. In concert halls, convex shapes are often desired to help scatter sound and prevent acoustical hot spots; curved and faceted metal ceiling panels can be employed for this purpose.

When a concave ceiling is required, the designer must consider whether it will focus the sound in undesirable ways; if so, perforated ceiling panels can be used to reduce acoustical reflections.

Photo: Ceilings Plus In the Linder Theater at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, unperforated metal ceiling panels were used help reflect sound to the back of the hall. The panels' curves helped to scatter the sound for a more uniform quality throughout the room. Kupiec Koustsomitis Architects was the designer.

THE NEXT NEW THING

The past decade has been a time of rapid evolution in ceiling designs. This trend appears to be continuing unabated into the foreseeable future. Evidence of this is a recently introduced extensible ceiling system that ships in a nested configuration but slides open in the field to match the width of a room or corridor.

Architects continue to explore more complex geometries for ceilings. Polygonal panels can be combined into exciting tessellation patterns. Scientists are experimenting with ways to eke greater performance from acoustical materials. Product designers continue their search for more aesthetic opportunities. And the criteria for sustainable construction will undoubtedly become more stringent. Clearly, there is no ceiling on the innovations yet to come.

Author Bio:
Michael Chusid, RA, FCSI is an architectural consultant to Ceilings Plus. His firm, Chusid Associates, specializes in developing and marketing innovative building products.