True, it has become a cliché of modern construction and the architect's default spec. Suspended ceilings are also known as false ceilings and dropped or drop ceilings. The concept was created as a secondary ceiling plane, typically hung from the steel beams or a concrete or metal structural deck above. “Acoustical ceiling tiles have typically been smooth and white or off-white, with little in the way of a pattern,” says Hiro Isogai, a principal with WDG Interior Architecture in Washington, D.C. Estimates by Kuperus suggest that at least 90 percent of the applications have historically been white—“a missed opportunity for design,” he adds.

The metal grid suspension system has been integral to the systems. Companies such as Chicago Metallic Sash Co., which made zinc profiles for stained glass windows in the early 1900s that were popular among architects like Frank Lloyd Wright, began shifting to the manufacture of ceiling suspension grids in the 1930s, often using a 5/8-inch metal profile. Contractors in Florida adopted channel moldings—typically used for exterior siding in the 1950s—as trim to support acoustical ceilings inside houses, which would not easily nail into the masonry walls or ceilings.

New ceiling systems offer more methods for creating articulations in the grid ceiling surfaces. Many of these mimic traditional or alternative ceiling materials, such as this faux wood treatment. Image courtesy of Hunter Douglas Contract

The system was popularized by companies like Acousti Engineering Co. in Florida and by many companies elsewhere. An American patent was awarded in 1961 for the concept of “Accessible Suspended Ceiling Construction,” decades after the product had been in common use in Europe and the United States. Some suspension-type ceilings had inverted T-shaped members to support ceiling tiles. Since then, others have used a concealed grid system of Z-shaped bars with splines to connect interlocking panels. While the concealed grids allow access to the interstitial space above by means of a key panel, the drop-in ceiling tiles have been seen as more convenient, allowing faster access.

Yet the concealed grid held appeal among many architects because of its sleek, monolithic presentation, which worked well with mid-century modern interiors for offices and other nonresidential settings. Eventually, the trend toward larger tile sizes and more concealed suspension grids became an important objective for architects, according to Jeffrey L. Fullerton, a LEED-accredited director of architectural acoustics with Cambridge, Massachusetts-based consultant Acentech. Suspended ceilings were seen as an alternative to surface-applied products such as troweled plaster, creating larger expanses of uninterrupted surface area with minimal reveals or joints—an effect similar to drywall, says Fullerton.