Colours and acoustics ceiling solutions enhance the forces of nature

Naturkraft, roughly translated, means the power of nature. This nature park invites visitors to learn about the power of nature. One of the main attractions includes three spheres where dramatic videos show a variety of natural phenomena – placing a huge emphasis on quality, including best in class acoustics. In fact, these attractions are so popular that they are the main attraction for Naturkraft.

Naturkraft opened its doors to the public on the 4th of June 2020. Thøgersen & Stouby, the leading design architects, wanted to ensure that visitors could visit year-round, so there are both indoor and outdoor attractions where people can learn about the forces of natures. Jens Erik Thøgersen, Partner at Thøgersen & Stouby, said “Nature is in focus all around, both inside and outside so that people can visit year-round. We have made a ringed wall sculpture, with differences between three and twelve meters in height. From here you can look out over the landscape and Ringkøbing Fjord. Build into the ring walls is the main building, where you are met by three experience spheres that guests can visit to become wiser about nature”.

Colours and acoustics play a crucial role in the experience

When you step into one of the three spheres, you are greeted by both sound and imagery. Short films are projected on the ceiling showcasing various natural phenomena. To create the quality experience that the architects and park wanted to offer guests, the three domes had to have high performing building materials. “The round shape makes the sound reverberate back from all directions. Therefore, we had to make sure that we both regulated the sound outside the sphere and that we had great sound absorption inside the sphere as well. At the same time, we also wanted to project a film onto the ceiling of the dome, which meant that we had to have the right colours inside the dome to create the right atmosphere. To achieve this, we chose to use acoustic ceiling tiles from Rockfon because it met all our requirements. After testing several of Rockfon Color-all® ceiling tiles, we chose two tones of grey, concrete and anthracite, which gave a nice dark contrast and at the same time perfectly showed what we wanted to project on the ceiling”. says Jens Erik Thøgersen.

Optimal sound absorption in round shapes

In addition to complying with the requirements for acoustics and projecting images, it was also important that the ceiling tiles could be adapted to the circular shape of the spheres. Bo Jørgensen, the Project Consultant at Rockfon, says: “The project has been an extraordinary one because this isn’t your everyday suspended ceiling project. The dome had to be covered all the way up on the inside of the sphere. You couldn’t leave it empty. The acoustic ceiling solution Rockfon Color-all® provides optimal sound absorption, and it is available in the exact colour you want. For this project, the ceiling tiles were made in special dimensions, which get smaller and smaller as they climb the interior of the sphere. Now we have a room where the walls and ceiling look great, and where there is also acoustic control, so the user gets a fantastic experience when they visit and watch a movie.