058 COMMENT | ACOUSTIC LIGHTING
A combination of moss and lighting adorns
the foyer wall in the lobby of the Hyatt
Place in Frankfurt. This living green
element not only radiates freshness and
inspires the wellbeing of guests, it is also
90% sound-absorbent.For the Neuer Marstall in Berlin, acoustics
were featured centre stage as a design
feature of this mensa, or student café.
An acoustic sculpture ‘floating’ above the
seating area was specially developed to
improve the sound quality in the room
while softening the potential glare from
overhead lights.Sophisticated solutions were developed
for the Hardenbergstraße Mensa in Berlin,
where high ceilings in the sunlight-filled
room had the potential to induce echoes
that would amplify student chatter.
Acoustic panels were transformed into
art through the integration of decorative
patterns on the fabric, and pillar corners
were covered with leather where the hand
can touch, and above, with felt, for added
noise absorption. Silver-coloured pendant
globes introduce focused light for students
studying while they eat.