Open Shop Studio

Moveable Acoustical Walls Made Easy

By Ted Weidman

Acoustical Surface’s S.T.O.P.-25 quilted fiberglass curtain panels installed in creative way to transform an acting studio into acting studios.

The Open Shop Studio in New York is an architecture and design firm that is on the cutting edge of building planning in the twentieth-century.  Mark Kroeckel called when he was in the design phase of planning a new acting studio that had a set amount of space that was to have multiple uses.  Mark explained to me that he needed some kind of acoustical wall system that would allow the space to easily transform from one large space, all the way down to multiple smaller spaces.  These spaces would be used for acting practices and needed some kind of sound barrier from room to room.

I explained that the S.T.O.P.-25 panels had an STC (Sound Transmission Coefficient) of 26 and would also absorb sound on either side of the panel.  In layman’s terms, the panels stop as much sound as a standard 2×4 constructed wall with sheetrock on either side. We originally thought that free standing acoustical screens that have casters to allow the panels to be easily relocated.  Due to limited space, this option was not going to work.  We began to look at other options.

I explained to mark that we have overhead tracks that can be assembled into a system that allows the panels to be stacked one in front of the other and easily moved and stored.  Mark then, using his creativity in design, constructed a track system, and a system of panels that connect via vertical Velcro seams that can transform the room from one large room to many smaller rooms, or any combination there of.  

The acting studio is currently under construction, but most of the panles are in place and the designers are happy with the way the process is going.  Mark will be documenting how he feels the panels work and affect the space once the studio opens in the next few months.

More to come…

Ted Weidman

Acoustical Surfaces Inc.