Stepping Stones Care Villa Maria in Tilburg
Church building with new function
Villa Maria is located in the former Mary-Church. The church building with rectory has been completely renovated. Now it houses 32 apartments. In addition, there are numerous communal areas with various seating areas. The large open (and meters high) nave of the church forms the heart of the villa.
As is customary in churches, one experiences 'church acoustics'. Very nice during music concerts, but during other activities one often experiences too much reverberation.
To temper the church acoustics a bit and bring it to a comfortable 'living level', Stepping Stones called in the experts from Incatro. The main requirement was that the acoustic measures would not negatively affect the aesthetics of the room.
Would you rather discuss your options together? Please call one of our experts on +31 85 48 63 380 or request a quote.
From church acoustics to residential acoustics
As usual in churches, one experiences a 'church acoustics'. Very nice during music concerts, but during other activities one often experiences too much reverberation.
After having previously improved the acoustics at Stepping Stones Villa Casimir in Roermond, Incatro was called in to temper the church acoustics slightly and bring it to a comfortable 'living level'.
The requirement was that the acoustic measures would not negatively affect the aesthetics of the space.
Too few sound-absorbing materials
Stepping Stones has requested acoustic advice for 2 specific spaces: the nave of the church building and a large office space.
The large hall in the nave of the church building is used as a general living and recreation area. The walls and floors are finished with hard materials. Spread over the room are cozy seating areas with upholstered furniture. There are no curtains on the windows. This creates a lot of reflective sound and reverberation.
The large office space has an exceptional height of 8 meters and a beautiful mosaic on the wall. The room contains several desks, a conference table and a copier. Many different functions in 1 space.
Too much reverb and sound reflections
In the main hall, an average reverberation time was measured that is almost 3.5 times higher than the standard that applies for a normal “standard” living space. It is understandable that residents and employees are inconvenienced by too much reverberation and annoying sound reflections. People are less able to understand each other, become overstimulated and may experience complaints such as headaches if they stay too long in the nave of the building.
In the office space, an average reverberation time was measured that was almost 2.5 times higher than the standard for a normal office space. Complaints about intelligibility and annoying noises can also be explained here.
Would you like to know how you can improve the acoustics in your room(s)? Then make an appointment for an acoustic measurement.
Tailor-made acoustic advice
We use Sabine's formula to calculate the amount of (desired) surface area of sound absorption. Due to the height of the space in the main hall and the very long reverberation time, the new sound absorption area would be 519.37 m2. This was not feasible and desirable in this situation. That is why we looked at how we could still achieve a significant improvement by placing acoustic walls in strategic places. Our advice was to add 220 m2 of extra sound-absorbing surface to halve the reverberation times. This halving will make a big difference in the perception of residents and employees.
For the office space, we advised to add 22 m2 of extra sound-absorbing surface to halve the reverberation times there too.
Acoustic solutions from Incatro
The applied acoustic solutions had to match the appearance of the interior and the building had to be left intact. That was an express condition of Stepping Stones.
- ARTwall, our acoustic wall solution without seams
We have applied our ARTwall in several places in the main hall and in the office. The dimensions of this complete acoustic wall can be (almost) unlimited. In addition, with these ARTwalls, recesses for doors and windows can be effortlessly taken into account and for the passage of wall sockets, lighting and other items on the wall. This makes them ideal as a solution for a large room where a large absorption surface on the wall is required.
- ARTpanel, our acoustic panel
Various ARTpanels have also been used in both the main hall and the office space. All with a fabric in the same color as the walls, so that they blend in completely with the room. - ARTscreen, our acoustic screen
We have installed 2 mobile ART screens in the office. These screens serve to separate workplaces and can be moved as desired. They are covered with a fabric of your choice that fits within the look of the office - INCAfelt, our acoustic system of borderless polyester wool panels
A number of INCAfelt plates have been placed under the arches of the main hall. These borderless lightweight polyester wool panels are an ideal solution on the ceiling, where you do not want or are not allowed to drill into the ceiling.
Would you like to know which acoustic solution is the best in your situation? Then we would be happy to provide you with a tailor-made advice.
Well-considered choice for Incatro
Willeke van der Vorst, opening manager at Korian: “After requesting various quotes, Incatro was chosen because of the price-quality ratio and the aesthetically pleasing solutions. By using the panels as suggested, the actual building has been left completely intact. The panels completely disappear against the walls. Incatro also came to look and measure on location in advance, in order to issue tailor-made quote. In addition, the satisfaction guarantee offered was a big stick.”
The sound of comfort
“We are very satisfied with the result.” says Willeke van der Vorst. “It is and remains a church with a very high domed ceiling. The reverberation is still slightly present as indicated in advance by Incatro. However, the reverberation is so less that you can now have a pleasant conversation in the church and turn on a radio without this being disturbing. In short: the enjoyment of living has increased, and the space has now really become a place to stay.”