
Acoustic challenges
On top of tight project timeframes, a key challenge for Lewis and her team was the lobby’s unusual vaulted and curved ceiling shape which, while visually impressive, greatly limited viable cladding options. “The lobby ceiling mirrors the sweeping curves and arches that wrap around the building’s exterior. Both the client and our team were keen to retain that shape and stay true to the original building’s innovative design—but almost every side of the ceiling was a different angle or radius curve, so finding the right solution for that became the toughest challenge of the entire project”.
With the ceiling’s original cladding posing potential fire rating issues, as well as exacerbating the lobby’s noise levels, Lewis set about researching high-performing acoustic cladding products with the flexibility to tackle the awkward ceiling shape.