Malvern, Pa. (February 2018) – The vast majority of buildings in America are not acoustically optimized for their intended purpose. Whether for structural reasons, like open plenum spaces, slanted ceilings or low ceiling heights, or aesthetic ones, the traditional wall-to-wall panel-and-grid suspended ceiling isn’t always the right solution for a space.
Fortunately, commercial interior architects and designers have an increasing selection of acoustically-sound alternatives to suspended ceilings. From clouds and baffles to direct mount ceilings and wall panels in a variety of shapes and sizes, CertainTeed Ceilings Ecophon® products are giving designers the tools to create beautiful environments better suited for occupants and end-users around the country.
New Ecophon acoustic products from CertainTeed aren’t just available in more shapes and colors. The innovative panels, tiles and baffles also help address construction and space limitations with multiple installation methods. This includes options for both ceilings and walls depending on the space. Superior acoustic properties help achieve improved acoustics for most types of indoor spaces.
The result is a sustainable alternative to suspended ceilings and wall panels that add to the already impressive line of Ecophon products.
Direct Mount Panels and Tiles Provide a Variety of Installation Options
Credit: CertainTeed Ceilings
In an effort to provide the A&D community with direct mount panels and tiles, designers created Focus™ B and Focus™ SQ. The glue-up panels are similar to existing Focus F products and do not require a grid system. Other key benefits include:
- Easy Installation: Focus B and SQ products can be attached direct-to-deck with adhesive. The brand’s existing product, Focus F, can also be deck attached with concrete screws or indirectly attached to wood furring if necessary.
- Inherent Sustainability: Exclusive 3RD™ technology combines high-recycled glass content with a renewable plant-based binding agent, completely replacing traditional petroleum-based binding.
- Superior Acoustic Performance: Direct mount panels have the capability to achieve sound absorption similar to that of a full wall-to-wall suspended ceiling.
While Focus B and SQ share similar performance properties, the products differ in terms of visual appearance. Focus B creates the illusion of a seamless, monolithic appearance with beveled edges that create a narrow groove between each installed tile. Focus SQ tiles have square edges and are bonded to the surface with an 8-mm gap between adjacent panels.
In addition to Focus family of products, CertainTeed Ceilings offers Akusto™ One SQ, a frameless wall panel especially well-suited for acoustical remediation. Whether paired with ceiling panels or installed alone, it reduces echoes and improves speech clarity in a variety of spaces. Much like other CertainTeed products, designers can combine different formats and colors to create expressive patterns. Akusto One SQ also offers superior sustainability, easy cleanability and quick installation with two mounting options.
Akusto One SQ, Focus B and Focus SQ provide interior architects and designers with distinct and unique alternatives to traditional ceiling and wall panels.
New Colors and Sizes Enhance the Design Process
Beyond products, CertainTeed Ceilings has launched brand new colors and an additional standard cloud size that provide designers with distinct design opportunities when it comes to Focus B, SQ and the full range of Ecophon Focus and Solo™ products.
The newly expanded range of color options makes it easy to find the right color for each space without a custom color charge. In order to develop the new palette, product designers analyzed all custom colors ordered over the last five years, conducted a competitive analysis and paired their work with current color trends. They also met with architects and designers to discuss their most popular and needed options. The process resulted in the 16 colors chosen for the collection.
In addition to new colors, CertainTeed Ceilings recently introduced a 1200 x 1800 mm Ecophon Solo Rectangle cloud. Now considered a “standard shape,” the cloud joins a variety of other geometric options including squares, circles, ellipses, triangles, pentagons and more.
Whether an architect or designer is responding to structural limitations or seeking to make a unique aesthetic statement, CertainTeed Ceilings’ new Ecophon options make it easier to specify, purchase and install the right system for any space. Offering acoustical ceiling and wall solutions, CertainTeed Ceilings has long served the North American building industry and is a subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, the world’s leading producer of building products.
For more information on innovative alternatives to suspended ceilings, please visit CertainTeed.com/AcousticalDesign.
About CertainTeed
Through the responsible development of innovative and sustainable building products, CertainTeed, headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania, has helped shape the building products industry for more than 110 years. Founded in 1904 as General Roofing Manufacturing Company, the firm’s slogan “Quality Made Certain, Satisfaction Guaranteed,” quickly inspired the name CertainTeed. Today, CertainTeed® is a leading North American brand of exterior and interior building products, including roofing, siding, fence, decking, railing, trim, insulation, drywall and ceilings.
A subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, one of the world’s largest and oldest building products companies, CertainTeed and its affiliates have more than 5,700 employees and more than 60 manufacturing facilities throughout the United States and Canada. The group had total sales of approximately $3.4 billion in 2016. www.certainteed.com
