Project Overview
This university library in Hamburg covers 5,600 ㎡, including open reading zones, quiet study booths, stack areas and group discussion rooms. Tall glass curtain walls, stone floors and hard plaster walls caused long reverberation. Footstep noise, page-turning sound and conversation noise spread across floors, disrupting readers in quiet zones. The design team needed acoustic materials with minimalist neutral texture, stable performance under long-term low humidity, and compliance with German public building fire and environmental standards.
Solution Configuration
Cement-bonded wood wool panels were adopted for the ceiling of open reading areas. Fine and uniform texture, NRC 0.80–0.90, controls diffuse reflection of mid-high frequency noise. Grooved perforated resonant panels were installed on the walls of group discussion rooms, equipped with mineral wool filling and rear air cavity to suppress low-frequency resonance. All panels were prefabricated in standard sizes. Surface is scratch-resistant and easy to clean. All products passed EN 13501 Class A fire test and low formaldehyde emission test.
Project Result
Reverberation time of open reading area controlled within 0.6–0.8s. Sound transmission between discussion rooms and quiet reading areas reduced by 40%. Reader complaints about ambient noise dropped significantly after handover. The natural matte wood wool finish matches the library’s minimalist architectural style.
