Arthurlie Family Centre helping hit targets thanks to Knauf AMF

The new Arthurlie Family Centre has seen a mixture of of acoustic ceilings and ceiling rafts from Knauf AMF specified to create an aesthetically appealing and comfortable auditory environment.

This comes as East Renfrewshire Council makes substantial investment to meet the Scottish Government’s legislative requirements to expand their early years provision by 2020.

The family centre offers 120 morning and 120 afternoon places for children aged from 3 to 5, and spaces for community use. 

The entrance to Arthurlie Family Centre has a steep pitched roof designed to allow light to flood in, which gave the architect the chance to make a feature of the exposed timber structure; here, AMF Topiq Sonic ceiling rafts were fitted.

East Renfrewshire Council Senior Architect Marie Mullen explained the reasoning behind this.

“Lining the roof soffit with hard plasterboard would have produced unpleasant echos, so I specified square shaped AMF Topiq Sonic ceiling rafts to improve the acoustics,” she said.

“Either side of the entrance porch are two informal meeting areas where circular shaped AMF Topiq Sonic rafts are suspended on long wires to create an intimate feel and provide acoustic privacy.”

Marie explained further challenges in detail: “There’s a rest area where younger children can take a nap situated between two playrooms.

“To assist staff with the supervision of this space, I wanted to produce a feeling of enclosure by dropping the ceiling level. Circular AMF Topiq Sonic rafts overlap at varying heights giving the impression of clouds which help create a calming atmosphere.”

AMF Topiq Sonic are frameless, monolithic ceiling rafts which offer excellent sound absorption and humidity resistance.

Suspended by simple, discreet cable hangers, the rafts create a weightless, elegant structure.

Manufactured in a variety of shapes and custom colours, AMF Topiq Sonic rafts offer architects and designers even greater design choice, along with vastly superior performance.

The nursery’s seven playrooms required a robust ceiling tile that offers supreme sound absorption and high light reflectance; therefore, Thermatex Alpha was fitted, meeting the brief perfectly with its Class A sound absorbing surface.

The 88% light reflectance of Thermatex Alpha helps achieve the architect’s vision of light and open interior spaces, whilst the anti-bacterial properties and 100% humidity resistance of Thermatex Aquatec make it the ideal ceiling for the kitchen areas, offering magnificent sound absorption, with a wipe-clean surface.