Autex Charlie & George

Since opening in September 2013, staff quickly noticed that the concrete floors and large glass windows were creating echoes and reverberated noise, impacting the experience that they wanted to provide their customers.

Above the background noise of coffee machines, moving chairs and people talking, staff noticed a lack in productivity and increased fatigue due to strain caused by yelling over the noise.

To solve this issue “Charlie & George” turned to interior designers’ ctrl SPACE Ltd for their solution. Complementing the modern and sophisticated interior aesthetic in addition to finding a solution to the acoustic issues was an important requirement for “Charlie & George”.

To redefine the café’s environment Ctrl SPACE ltd, specified the use of Autex’s Quietspace® Panel to increase sound absorption throughout the café.

Quietspace® Panel is engineered for superior sound absorption and balanced acoustic design. At “Charlie & George”, multiple 25mm White Quietspace® Panel was suspended 200mm from the ceiling.

For the owners, the aesthetics of modern design were important; Created with a clean, finished white surface; Quietspace® Panel worked around the existing design and complimented the interior of the café. The openness and abundance of light in the café meant that they needed a product that is long lasting. Highly durable; Quietspace® Panel is manufactured with thermally bonded polyester fibers and as a result is resistant to fading which is important in an open and light space like Charlie & George.

Lightweight and easy to handle; Quietspace® Panel was cut on site and installed in only 4 hours, which was an advantage for Charlie & George as it did not disrupt usual patronage.

With the environment in mind Quietspace® Panel is made from a minimum of 60% post-consumer recycled polyester fibre, which ensures a comparatively low embodied energy. Manufactured out of 100% polyester fibre; Quietspace® Panel is non-toxic, non-irritant and non-allergenic and 100% recyclable. This was important for “Charlie & George” because having an environment that is clean and safe is crucial for their family based customer demographic.

Quietspace® Panel has outstanding acoustic performance and is made to reduce and control echoes in building interiors, such as “Charlie & George”. The NRC rating for the 25mm Panel used is 0.85 meaning that 85% of reverberation is absorbed by the Panel. Once the Quietspace® Panel was installed the owners noticed a difference right away, as the café felt considerably warmer and more comfortable, and provided an improved “homely” feeling. No longer were the initial problems of fatigue, productivity of staff, and communication with customers a problem.

Thanks to the addition of Autex Quietspace® Panel “Charlie & George” have achieved a family environment without compromising the modern design of the café.

CHAD Group Australia is a trusted supplier of Autex.  For more information about Autex from CHAD Group Australia, visit www.chadgroup.com.au/product/autex/  today.

This article was originally published here – http://www.autex.com.au/case-studies/charlie-and-george/