A building to live and learn in

A building made for collaboration

The DaCapo College is designed for informal encounters between students and teachers and the architecture is therefore characterised by openness and transparency with a dominant open glass façade and a spacious ground floor open to the public. The intent of the interior architect was to design a space that invited the users to meet, collaborate and interact and at the same time feel comfortable to be in. The materials that was chosen was therefore carefully selected with sustainability in mind as well as a good indoor climate.

Controlling sound is vital for learning

The interior architect, Peter Littman was crucially aware that it is not only the physical surroundings that makes a building great to work in. The sound level and getting the acoustics right is very important in an educational building where people are to live and learn.

“As an architect the well-being of the users is also my responsibility. Annoying reverberation in a classroom does not contribute to optimal concentration; it is disturbing for the ultimate learning and teaching process but not only that, also for the well-being of the student and teacher.”
Therefore, he worked closely with the architect and acoustic consultant to make sure the acoustics were right in each individual space of the building. This required different approaches and solutions to the different spaces of the building.

A great adhesive solution

One of the areas that needed a special solution was in the auditorium. This is a narrow room with high ceiling height and walls made from glass and concrete. Originally only Rockfon Contour® baffles was installed to regulate the acoustics but this proved not to be enough to avoid reverberation and high noise levels. Therefore, the architect opted for also using the walls to regulate the sound without compromising on the design of the space. The solution was Rockfon Blanka® Activity in a B-edge which is ideal for gluing. The B-edge allowed for the architects to glue the tiles in a tight pattern on the wall and achieve the acoustic values that he wanted.

“The combination of both technical and aesthetic flexibility with maximum performance in both areas makes the B-edge, the use of the glue and the way of the installation a unique product to use in these situations”, Peter Litman concludes.