Rockfon ceilings shine throughout £20m Didsbury High School

A new four-storey building that will eventually fulfil the educational needs of 1,350 pupils features Rockfon ceilings from four ranges, which were specified to suit particular needs throughout the school.

Didsbury High School’s cutting edge facilities include a sports hall and fitness suite, a three-court multi-use games area, teaching spaces, a performance hall, learning centre and special educational needs resources. 

David Woolley, of school owner’s Laurus Trust, commented: “The brief had significant environmental, educational and financial challenges. Architects Pozzoni have faced each of these head on with great creativity. They have developed a fabulous design which meets the needs of all stakeholders.”

The perfect solution for each space

Rockfon Blanka® dB41 is installed on two floors to offer a high level of sound absorption (Class A) and room to room sound insulation.

It has a smooth, deep matt, super white surface finish with enhanced durability, making it more resistant to dirt and everyday wear and tear.

The school is built on a prominent and constrained ‘gateway’ site alongside a busy main route into Manchester. The elegant solution to the challenges presented by the compromised plot was to create a highly efficient ‘super-block’ that includes a number of external terraces for recreation and sporting activities.

Rockfon Color-all in black, or any colour you desire

Smooth Blanka Color-all® is available in 34 exclusive, standard colours, and can be ordered to match any colour. It offers excellent sound absorption – αw up to 1.00 (Class A) and reaction To Fire: A1, EN 13501-1 and Class A2-s1,d0. 800 square metres – and has been fitted, with a matt black surface finish, throughout the drama rooms on two storeys.

‘The Hive’ is an internal space that provides access to the main school hall and visual links to other key areas within the school.

It also acts as a light-well and a circulation space. The social core of the Hive is the dining hall, which has internal windows that act as a wayfinding tools to other areas.

Lee Parker, Design Manager of project main contractor, BAM, commented: “We collaborated with Rockfon to create the ceiling specifications proposal and then liaised with the acousticians Ramboll and Graham Flynn of installers, Sound Interiors, to ensure the varied demands of each space were successfully met.”

Simon Taylor, Ramboll Acoustics Associate, said: “The Rockfon team and their ceiling systems helped us achieve success in creating a school which meets the acoustic requirements of BB93 for the Education and Skills Funding Agency.”

Resilient, safe, contemporary elegance

Throughout classrooms, corridors and stairs, 3075 square metres of easy to install and lightweight Rockfon® Tropic™ helps create bright, contemporary spaces, offering high light reflectance, with an easy clean surface which will keep its rigidity and shape, even in high levels of humidity.

Graham Flynn, of ceiling installers Sound Interiors, expressed his enjoyment of the project.

“This was a great job with no issues and we are pleased to be working with Rockfon on two further major projects right now,” he said.

In the school’s kitchen areas, toilets and changing rooms 850 square metres of non-hygroscopic Rockfon® Hygienic™ has been installed.

Embodying Class A sound absorption and highest fire safety (Class A1), Hygienic will withstand pressure washing and offers up to 100% humidity resistance.

Relishing the challenge

Chris Taylor, Rockfon Specification Manager, commented: “We relish projects like Didsbury High School where particular demands require a variety of solutions which our wide range of specialist ceiling systems, matched with the perfect grid, enable us to provide. Thanks also goes to Minster for the supply of all of our products.”

Rockfon is part of the ROCKWOOL Group. The company’s team represent many years of experience and knowledge in supplying the perfect solutions for the diverse demands of modern multi-use buildings where aesthetics, fire safety and superior sound control are key.

Email [email protected] or visit www.rockfon.co.uk to see how we can help ensure your next project realises its ambitions.