Room acoustics in the dining room at Regens Wagner Absberg
Project Data
- Project
- Room acoustic optimization of a dining hall and an office
- Client
- Regens Wagner Absberg – Absberger Workshops
- Location
- Absberg, Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district
- Areas
- Dining hall and office
- Challenge
- High noise level during shared lunch situations
- Solution
- Custom-designed KUNIGUNDE Canva acoustic pictures with unique motifs
Room acoustics in the Absberger Workshops
In a heavily used dining room, many conversations, movement noises and different acoustic needs converge. At Regens Wagner Absberg, therefore, function, design and quality of stay were considered together.
The Absberger Workshops belong to Regens Wagner Absberg and the Regens-Wagner Foundation Zell. They offer people with intellectual, mental or multiple disabilities, as well as people with Prader-Willi Syndrome, opportunities for work, vocational training and social participation.
Around 160 workplaces are available in various work areas. These include metal processing, assembly, packaging, electrical assembly, laundry, landscape maintenance, agriculture, household management and creative activities.
Regens Wagner Absberg supports people with disabilities not only at the main location Absberg, but also maintains other facilities and services in Weißenburg, Gunzenhausen, Treuchtlingen, Geiselsberg and Langlau.
The market town of Absberg is located in the Middle Franconian district of Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen, is a member of the Gunzenhausen administrative community and is situated in the Franconian Lake District region.
High noise levels during lunch
Dining rooms, canteens, and cafeterias are among the most acoustically challenging communal spaces. Many people communicate simultaneously, while dishes, chairs, and movements generate additional noise.
In the Absberger Workshops, the high noise level was particularly noticeable during the shared lunch situation. As soon as many people were in the dining hall at the same time, conversations, movement noises, the scraping of chairs, and noises from dishes and cutlery overlapped.
The acoustic burden was particularly noticeable during larger gatherings. Sound-reflecting surfaces can cause noises to be reflected back into the room multiple times. Conversations and everyday noises mix, the volume increases, and the room appears increasingly restless.
For people sensitive to noise or many simultaneous acoustic stimuli, such an environment can be particularly stressful.
Why good room acoustics are important in social institutions
Good room acoustics are more than a matter of comfort. They can help to make rooms quieter, more pleasant and more usable for different needs.
Workshop manager Anton Schneider attaches great importance to good acoustics, as many clients of Regens Wagner Absberg are particularly sensitive to noise.
A constantly restless background noise can cause stress and impair well-being. In dining rooms, common areas and communal spaces, it is therefore particularly important to limit disruptive sound reflections and to plan for sufficient sound-absorbing surfaces.
- Reduce perceived loudness
- Dampen general room noises
- Lessen acoustic sensory overload
- Make conversations more pleasant
- Support well-being in the room
- Promote barrier-free use
Often, people generally search for sound insulation for canteens, cafeterias, or workshops in this context. Professionally, however, within the room, it is primarily about room acoustics: the goal is to influence the spread of sound, disruptive reflections, and the reverberation effect in the room.
Considering Ceiling and Walls Together
In the dining hall, acoustically effective ceiling surfaces meet additional absorbers on the walls. This precise combination is sensible for many room acoustic tasks.
An acoustic ceiling can create an important basic effect. However, it does not automatically cover all reflection paths in the room. Depending on room height, geometry, furnishings, use, and occupancy, wall surfaces can also significantly contribute to the perceived noise level.
In practice, it is repeatedly shown that an acoustic ceiling or a single measure is already in place, but a room is still perceived as loud, reverberant, or strenuous when highly occupied. Additional wall absorbers can then specifically include further reflective surfaces and functionally complement the existing solution.
Frankustika supplemented the acoustic room concept at Regens Wagner Absberg with individually designed KUNIGUNDE Canva acoustic pictures. This not only utilized empty wall spaces decoratively but also activated them as additional sound-absorbing areas.
Depending on the room, acoustic ceilings, ceiling baffles, baffles, wall absorbers, acoustic pictures or other measures can be combined. The decisive factor is not a single product type, but the interaction of the acoustically effective surfaces in the entire room.
KUNIGUNDE Canva: Acoustic pictures with custom motifs
The new absorbers should not only be acoustically effective. They should also bring color into the room and visibly fit the dining room.
For this purpose, the individually customizable acoustic pictures KUNIGUNDE Canva from Frankustika were used.
The pictures simultaneously bring color into the room.
Regens Wagner was able to select and provide their own image preferences. The motifs are based on the use of the room and include themes from food, vegetables, and nutrition, among others.
This resulted not in arbitrary wall decoration, but in an image design with a direct reference to the dining room, the shared lunch situation, and the atmosphere of the facility.
Convenient implementation of your own image ideas
For individually printed acoustic pictures, the selected motifs do not necessarily have to be available as fully prepared print data.
Regens Wagner provided the desired images. Frankustika then handled the image editing and prepared the files to match the intended acoustic image formats.
Image requests could be selected to match the use, atmosphere, and design of the dining room.
Image crop, format, resolution, color effect and positioning of important motif elements were coordinated.
The motifs were prepared in such a way that they would also be clear and high-quality on the large-format acoustic pictures.
The responsible parties were thus able to concentrate on selecting their preferred motifs, without having to worry about the technical preparation of print data themselves.
For Regens Wagner, a solution was created that combines additional sound absorption, individual design, and straightforward implementation.
Combining room design and acoustic function
Acoustic measures do not have to look like technical components. Especially in dining rooms, canteens, social institutions, workshops, schools, daycare centers or care facilities, they can be consciously integrated into the design of the room.
The KUNIGUNDE Canva acoustic pictures combine a sound-absorbing function with freely selectable motifs. They can be matched to the use, the color concept, the furnishings, or the desired atmosphere.
In the dining hall of the Absberger Workshops, the selected motifs take up the theme of food and nutrition. At the same time, they bring color to the walls and create friendly visual accents.
The colorful enhancement looks very appealing.
General room noises appear dampened
After the implementation, Regens Wagner observed a change in the general perception of noise.
The general noises appear dampened.
Anton Schneider, Workshop Manager of Absberger Workshops
The additional wall absorbers increase the sound-absorbing surface in the room. Incoming sound is not completely reflected back to other room surfaces, but partly absorbed.
As a result, the soundscape can appear less harsh and overall more muffled. Especially in a well-occupied dining hall, canteen, or cafeteria, this change can contribute to a more pleasant room atmosphere.
There was also an initial positive perception regarding the well-being of the clients:
The clients seem more relaxed.
What was primarily noticed were the dampened general noises, the appealing colorful design, and a more relaxed impression among the clients.
Room acoustics, accessibility and participation
People perceive sounds differently. For people with increased noise sensitivity, high sound levels, long reverberation times or many overlapping sound sources can become a significant burden.
A more acoustically pleasant environment can therefore be an important component of accessibility, well-being and social participation.
- Workshops for people with disabilities
- Support facilities and day structures
- Residential and care facilities
- Dining halls and common rooms
- Canteens, cafeterias and coffee shops
- Educational and therapeutic institutions
- Care and health facilities
Good room acoustics cannot solve all individual challenges. However, they can help reduce unnecessary acoustic stress and make rooms more pleasant and usable for different needs.
Room Acoustic Optimization of an Office
In addition to the dining room, an office was also equipped with a custom-designed acoustic picture.
Office spaces have different acoustic requirements than a dining hall. Conversations, phone calls, technical equipment, and reflections on smooth wall, floor, and ceiling surfaces can impair concentration and lead to a restless work atmosphere.
Acoustic pictures are suitable for offices, meeting rooms, and administrative areas because they make free wall surfaces acoustically usable and simultaneously contribute to the design of the workplace.
Here, too, a custom-selected motif was used and prepared to fit the desired format.
Constructive, uncomplicated, and custom-implemented
The collaboration between Regens Wagner Absberg and Frankustika was described by workshop manager Anton Schneider as constructive and uncomplicated.
The persons responsible were able to select and provide their own motifs. Frankustika handled the further image processing, data preparation, and implementation of the acoustic pictures.
From the coordination of the motifs to the finished elements, the focus was on a solution that functionally and aesthetically integrated into the existing rooms.
"The collaboration was very constructive and uncomplicated. The general noise in the dining room feels more subdued, the colorful enhancement by the acoustic pictures is very appealing, and the clients appear more relaxed. Good room acoustics play a significant role for us, as many of our clients are very sensitive to noise."
Anton Schneider
Workshop Manager
Regens Wagner Absberg – Absberg Workshops The customer testimonial was editorially summarized from individual interview responses.
About Regens Wagner
Regens Wagner is an association of eight independent church foundations under public law. The institutions support and promote children, young people, and adults with disabilities in various stages of life.
Services include early intervention, school education and training, housing, work and employment, day support, care, open assistance, and professional and therapeutic services.
The goal is to open up individual life prospects for people with disabilities and to support their self-determination and social inclusion.
Regens Wagner operates in 14 regional centers in Bavaria:
- Dillingen
- Glött
- Zell
- Hohenwart
- Lauterhofen
- Holnstein
- Michelfeld
- Lautrach
- Burgkunstadt
- Holzhausen
- Absberg
- Erlkam
- Munich
- Rottenbuch
In addition, Regens Wagner offers are available in Augsburg, and there is a collaboration with the non-profit Regens Wagner Foundation in Balatonmáriafürdő, Hungary.
Holistically considering room acoustics for dining rooms, canteens, and cafeterias
The project at Regens Wagner Absberg demonstrates how acoustically effective surfaces on ceilings and walls can be combined into a coherent overall concept.
Especially in dining rooms, canteens, and cafeterias, it is often not enough to consider only a single surface or measure. Ceilings, walls, room height, furniture, number of people, and usage all collectively influence how loud or pleasant a room is perceived.
The KUNIGUNDE Canva acoustic pictures combine several advantages:
- Additional sound absorption
- Acoustic use of free wall surfaces
- Individual motif selection
- Professional image and data processing
- Color enhancement of the room
- Integration into a holistic acoustic concept
The general room noises in the dining hall are perceived as more subdued after implementation. At the same time, the selected motifs take up the theme of food and nutrition and create a friendly design suitable for the room.
Depending on the initial situation, acoustic pictures, wall absorbers, acoustic ceilings, ceiling baffles, or other acoustic solutions can be combined. The key is planning that considers the entire room and its actual use.
Questions about room acoustics or your project?
Whether dining room, canteen, cafeteria, workshop, office, or social common room: We consider ceilings, walls, usage, and design as a total system and develop a solution that suits your space.