Auckland International Airport aim to become a world leading hub for international travellers; this task is well underway with the recent completion of stage 1 of the baggage claim area.
The client brief was clear: create a strikingly visual ceiling to welcome travellers, while providing the acoustic comfort needed in such a busy space. Lastly, it had to be durable and easy to clean, resisting the strict maintenance programs normally found in airport terminals. Initially, a traditional fabric wrapped soft fibre acoustic baffle was considered, but concerns with durability and difficulty with cleaning meant it was soon passed as unsuitable for the application. Jasmax’s experience and knowledge of overseas airport projects was crucial to advise the client in exploring a metal solution. Comfortech® was then approached to turn the design brief into a tangible solution through their partnership with Armstrong World Industries and their extensive reputation as a leading provider of acoustic metal solutions.
Comfortech® and Armstrong quickly assembled a specific design team to oversee the concept stages of the project and provided Jasmax with a range of potential solutions that fitted the design brief. Ultimately two custom designed and manufactured perforated metal baffles (one 275mm deep, the other 400mm deep) were selected to screen the ceiling of the baggage claim area. The perforated baffles were designed to work with the Armstrong UNIGRID suspension system, a proprietary suspension system used across numerous metal solutions that is easy and cost effective to install. Comfortech® partner seismic engineering firm KCL Engineering was brought into the project at an early stage, and worked alongside BECA to develop an integrated seismic design solution that encompassed all bracing requirements of the mechanical services and the baffles. More conventional seismic designs were then provided for all of the staff and office areas of the project, giving peace of mind of a fully code compliant installation to the client and ultimately the building occupants.
This also allowed the option to add a client specific partitioning layout at a later date while still offer sound privacy through the excellent sound attenuation Ultima provides.
A great level of cooperation between Hawkins Construction and Comfortech® ensured that the installation process ran smoothly and safely, ultimately delivering the project on time to the client.
