comes in Marine, Birch and Hoop Pine, has been
tested in schools, universities and libraries with
great results. DesignerPly can be powdercoated
for added durability and it can also be perforated
and lined with an acoustic backing board.KIDS WILL BE KIDS:
SO SPECIFY ACCORDINGLYChildren. Bless them, but they can be hard
work. Give them a pen and paper and they’ll
draw on the walls. Give them an abacus and
they’ll eat the beads. Give them a set of toy
construction tools and they’ll go to work on each
other - they like to destroy everything and to do
things their own way.
So, it’s fair to say that an ELC can be a war
zone at times and architects need to keep this in
mind when writing wall schedules. Plasterboard
still rules in ELC construction and for good
reason. It’s cheap and easy to install, it’s easy to
fix and replace, and it’s also highly versatile in
that you can clad it, paint it and use it in almost
any room in a building. But there are always
better versions of the best material.
Gyprock, James Hardie, Knauf and USG Boral
all stock boards that provide a high resistance
to damage by impact as well as range that can
provide water, fire and impact performance all
rolled into one. Another option is ‘Gtek Impact’
which is manufactured in Australia by Gtek and
available through the company direct or through
suppliers like Hume Architectural.
But if plasterboard is king then it rules only
with glass at its side. If you’re going to specifyfull-height plasterboard partitions, then
glass needs to be incorporated into the wall
purely for supervision reasons. The ability to
see through walls and into other spaces is a
big plus for centres where educators are, at
times, looking after children at a rate of one
to eleven.
Adding aluminium or MDF skirtings to walls
is also a good idea, particularly in corridors
between the kitchen and eating areas. Skirtings
will provide some relief for walls from out-of-
control food trolleys and provides a neat finish
at the floor and wall junction. Look for skirts by
Altro Architectural Building Products, Studco
and Criterion Industries.QUIET PLEASE: SILENCING
THE PERFECT STORMELCs are quite possibly the loudest places
on earth. They’re filled with children for one,
but they’re also commonly designed with a
maintenance-first mindset. Vinyl floors, glass
partitions and vinyl ceiling tiles are all easy
to clean and maintain but don’t offer much in
terms of sound absorption.
Where possible architects need to specify
acoustic treatments in ELC environments to
address the problem of sound reverberation.
One of those treatments now popular in ELCs
is acoustic pinboards which come in a variety
of sizes, thicknesses and colours. The boards
provide acoustic relief first, but they also serve
as a great place to pin documentation which
would otherwise be direct-stuck to plasterboard.‘Echo Panel’ by Woven Image is one popular
product as is ‘Quiet Space’ by Autex. Both
provide excellent acoustic performance and are
very simple to install. Woven Image and Autex
also manufacture fabric linings which can be
applied like wallpaper and are perfectly suited
to ELC environments, particularly in areas like
cot rooms and reading ateliers.WET AREAS: THINK OUTSIDE THE TILETiles are still the most common wall lining in
ELC wet areas, but they’re not the only choice.
Acrylic sheets and even high-performance
laminates are being used more and more as an
alternative to tiles as they are easy to clean (no
grout lines) and can be installed by a joiner or
carpenter which reduces wet trades onsite and
increases construction speeds.
‘Akril’ is a commonly specified product as
is ‘Plexiglas’ by Plastral. The only trade-off is
that you’re restricted by sheet sizes so if you’re
looking for a floor-to-ceiling solution in a long
room you may still be better off with tiles.
Plastral also supply a product called
‘DesignBoard’ which is a high-performance
partition board that can be used as a lining
material. Both Laminex and Polytec stock their
own version called ‘Compact Laminate’ which
are long-lasting, low-maintenance and decorative
boards that are impervious to moisture.
Another alternative could be running
your wet area floor vinyl or lino up the wall
which might be a bit retro but it does make
cleaning a cinch.LEFT The fabric pinboards at River Garden ELC provide acoustic
insulation as well as a place for educators and students to pin
documentation. In this instance SJB recruited a product called
Echo Panel which is supplied all over Australia by Woven Image.SUPPLIERS Cedar Sales architectureanddesign.com.au/suppliers/
cedar-sales Gunnersens architectureanddesign.com.au/suppliers/
gunnersen CSR Gyprock architectureanddesign.com.au/suppliers/
csr-gyprock James Hardie architectureanddesign.com.au/suppliers/
james-hardie-australia Knauf architectureanddesign.com.au/suppliers/
knauf USG Boral architectureanddesign.com.au/suppliers/usg-boral
Gtek architectureanddesign.com.au/suppliers/bgc-plasterboard Hume
Architectural humecommercial.com.au Altro Architectural Building
Products architectureanddesign.com.au/suppliers/altro-building-
systems Studco architectureanddesign.com.au/suppliers/studco-
building-systems Criterion Industries architectureanddesign.com.au/
suppliers/criterion-industries Woven Image architectureanddesign.
com.au/suppliers/woven-image Autex architectureanddesign.com.
au/suppliers/autex Akril architectureanddesign.com.au/suppliers/
akril Plastral architectureanddesign.com.au/suppliers/plastral-pty-ltd
Laminex architectureanddesign.com.au/suppliers/laminex Polytec
architectureanddesign.com.au/suppliers/polytecARChITECTuRE & dESIGn /PRACTICAL/ JuL-SEP 201978ADQ3_074_076_Internal Walls_V2.indd 78 29/7/19 3:10 pm