January 17, 2018 - Ceilings, Furniture & Walls
Prominently situated on the fourth floor of City Center Square in downtown Kansas City, Miss., Solar Spectrum's office supports the company's continued growth in distributing solar panel systems to customers across the U.S. When it came time to design the firm's office, living the brand while addressing the acoustic challenges presented by the space were equally important considerations.
The 38-year-old building is a cast-in-place concrete tower. Solar Spectrum adopted an open office design, so the hard wall offices and gypsum ceiling from the 90s were removed, taking the space back down to the concrete waffle slabs and polished gray concrete floors. The space is oriented around an open central hub that overlooks the adjacent four-story atrium.
As the space was opened up it also lost everything that absorbs sound, and carpet by itself was not going to manage the acoustics. The space also could not be made too quiet, as the firm wanted to preserve an energetic atmosphere. A solution was found in Rockfon stone wool ceiling products, selected for their acoustic performance, smooth appearance, modular sizes, and fit within the project's budget and timeline.
In total, 13,100 square feet of Rockfon Islands, plus 2,000 square feet of Rockfon Alaska acoustic stone wool ceiling panels were installed. The solution uses a combination of rectilinear island array layouts along the sides of the triangular floor plan and a more free-form layout of the islands elsewhere. The free-form island is arranged in a "sun pod," with a square island at the center encircled by additional islands, radiating out from the center, with a slight overlap on staggered, horizontal planes.
In addition to acoustic comfort, Rockfon stone wool ceiling panels and islands are low-emitting, deliver fire protection, and are resistant to water and humidity, as well as mold and bacteria. The panels and islands also reflect 86 percent of the light from the exterior windows into the office interior, minimizes the need for electric lighting. Further contributing to Solar Spectrum's environmental goals, Rockfon stone wool ceiling panels consist of up to 42 percent recycled content.
