The Eichendorff secondary school in Gottmadingen was built according to a modern passive house concept. Architecture and acoustics were cleverly combined with the requirements of the building.
Complex interplay
The people involved in the construction succeeded in achieving good acoustics in the new school with thermally effective masses. The guidelines “Acoustics in living spaces for upbringing and education” from the Fraunhofer Institute and the recommendations according to DIN 18041 play a major role in this. In addition, with concrete core activation, a large proportion of the ceiling surface must be openly connected to the room air.
A closed suspended ceiling as an acoustic measure was therefore not possible in many places. The planned night ventilation can only bring about the desired effect if sufficient open building masses are available as thermal storage. The mechanical ventilation for the installation of the ventilation ducts required a ceiling case, which takes up around a third of the floor space in the classrooms. In addition, the floor was predominantly robust industrial parquet, which hardly contributes to sound absorption. As a result, only a small area was available for the sound-absorbing measures, due to the floor only on the ceiling and on the walls.
Square and round shapes loosen up
Even with such modern and sophisticated construction concepts, excellent acoustics can be achieved with drywall construction: The underside of the ceiling boxes in the entire school building, in which the ventilation technology is installed, was designed as a perforated plasterboard ceiling. Underneath, in the classrooms, Rockfon Eclipse® ceiling sails of different heights were installed as square elements. Round ceiling sails were installed in the open learning zones and in the central hall, which the school also uses as a canteen. The panels and doors of the cupboard walls on the partition walls to the corridor are perforated for sound absorption. The volume of the cupboard walls and the ceiling box ensures the necessary absorption of low frequencies, which the ceiling panels are less able to fulfill on principle.
Volker Weiß, consulting engineer at Stahl+Weiß PartGmbB, Freiburg, explains further details: "In the science classrooms, in which installations on the ceiling are required, part of the ceiling surface was covered directly with Rockfon Blanka® Activity with a thickness of 40 millimeters covered. The installation for opening up the student workstations takes place below the activated area. Average reverberation times of 0.5 to 0.6 seconds are achieved, depending on the room type.”
Simulations in the 3D model
Volker Weiß goes on to explain: “For the complex room network of the auditorium and the hall with the central open staircase over all floors, the room acoustics were examined and optimized using simulations in a 3-dimensional model. In addition to the absorption surfaces already described, absorbent surfaces were installed in the area of the walls and on the opaque cladding of the facade. The average reverberation time is around 1.1 seconds. The very good absorption values of the products used make it possible to meet the high requirements for room acoustics and to activate part of the ceiling surface as a thermal buffer. The concept thus takes into account the requirements for room acoustics as well as the requirements for thermal comfort in the school and thus ensures optimal conditions for good teaching and learning in the new rooms.”
Eichendorff-Realschule Gottmadingen
Rielasinger Str. 28
Gottmadingen
Germany
