Room acoustics in assisted living at WIBS Wendelstein
Project Data
Project:
Room acoustics in the WIBS Assisted Living facility in Wendelstein
Location:
Wendelstein, Roth district / Nuremberg Metropolitan Region
Use:
Assisted living, hallways, common rooms, and shared areas
Service:
Acoustic consulting, planning, and implementation
Implementation:
Around 60 individual acoustic pictures with custom motifs provided by photographers
Goal:
Reduce reverberation, improve speech intelligibility, and create a quieter atmosphere for residents, staff, and visitors
How can acoustics be improved in a nursing home, care home, or assisted living facility?
If hallways, common rooms, or shared areas feel echoey and loud, specially designed acoustic pictures and absorber surfaces help reduce reverberation and make conversations more intelligible.
That's exactly what the WIBS in Wendelstein aimed for: Frankustika improved the room acoustics in the assisted living facility with around 60 individual acoustic pictures.
Even though the WIBS in Wendelstein is specifically an assisted living facility, the project demonstrates very well what is also important in senior homes, nursing homes, and social institutions: rooms must not only be functional. They must also have a pleasant acoustic effect.
Because precisely where elderly people live, staff work daily, and encounters take place, good room acoustics are not a detail. They influence how intelligible conversations are, how quiet a room is perceived, and how comfortable people feel in everyday life.
WIBS Wendelstein: Assisted Living with Community and Encounters
The WIBS in Wendelstein stands for assisted living with independence, security, support, and community. In such a facility, it's not just about the individual apartments, but also about the areas in between: hallways, common rooms, seating areas, and rooms where people gather.
Precisely these areas are used intensively in everyday life. People meet, talk, stop, sit together, or participate in shared activities. This creates life in the house.
However, where life arises, sound also arises.
Footsteps, conversations, doors, walkers, chairs, hard floors, and long hallway axes can lead to sounds being reflected more strongly. Then hallways and common rooms quickly seem louder, more echoey, and more restless than they should.
Reducing Reverberation in Hallways and Common Rooms
In the WIBS assisted living facility, acoustics in hallways and rooms were a known issue. The areas did not feel as acoustically pleasant as one would wish for a house where community and communication play an important role.
Stefan Zeltner from the WIBS management described in conversation that the acoustics in the hallways and rooms had not been optimal in the past. The goal was therefore to noticeably improve the acoustics in the building.
This was not just about less noise. It was about better intelligibility, more tranquility, and a more pleasant environment for residents, staff, and visitors.
Precisely this is crucial for room acoustics in senior homes, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities: a room should not become silent. It should sound more pleasant.
Seniors and Room Acoustics: Why Good Intelligibility is So Important
In facilities for older people, room acoustics are particularly important. With increasing age, many people's hearing declines. Conversations become more difficult, especially when multiple sounds occur simultaneously.
An echoey hallway, background voices, footsteps, doors, or dishes can lead to speech being less well understood. People have to concentrate more. Conversations become more strenuous. Community can thereby unconsciously become more difficult.
Good room acoustics help reduce this burden. When reverberation decreases, voices come through more clearly. Conversations feel more pleasant. Common areas feel quieter.
Especially in assisted living, senior homes, nursing homes, or social institutions, this is an important point. Because room acoustics not only influence the sound of a room, but also participation, orientation, well-being, and communication.
The Solution: Around 60 Individual Acoustic Pictures by Frankustika
Frankustika implemented around 60 acoustic pictures at the WIBS in Wendelstein. They were mainly installed in hallways and common rooms – precisely where sound is generated in everyday life and where an improvement is particularly noticeable.
The acoustic pictures absorb sound and help reduce reverberation. At the same time, they blend visually into the rooms and do not look like technical foreign objects.
This is particularly important in a facility for older people. Acoustic solutions should not appear cold, technical, or impersonal. They should match the house, provide orientation, and support a pleasant atmosphere.
Custom Motifs instead of Standard Pictures
A special part of the project was the design of the acoustic pictures. WIBS was able to incorporate its own motifs, which were provided by photographers. These motifs were checked by Frankustika and then implemented as acoustically effective pictures.
This resulted not in arbitrary standard pictures, but in individual acoustic pictures that matched the house and the facility.
Especially in hallways and common rooms, this is a great advantage. Pictures can enhance rooms, create orientation, and create a friendlier atmosphere. If they are also acoustically effective, they combine design and function.
Thus, the acoustic pictures at WIBS were not only used to improve room acoustics, but also as a conscious design element.
Not all Acoustic Pictures are Created Equal
Anyone looking for acoustic pictures for senior homes, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, or common rooms will find many different offerings. At first glance, many products look similar. However, for the effect in the room, it makes a big difference what material is used, how strong the absorber is, and whether the solution fits the actual room situation.
Especially in hallways, common rooms, and heavily used areas, simply hanging a thin decorative picture on the wall is often not enough. Long hallways, hard surfaces, many doors, movement in the building, and multiple simultaneous noise sources pose different requirements than a small living room.
Therefore, with acoustic pictures, it's not just about the motif. Material quality, material thickness, grammage, absorption area, and positioning in the room are crucial.
An inexpensive standard solution can be visually decorative but does not automatically bring the desired improvement in room acoustics. That's why Frankustika customizes acoustic pictures to the respective room, its use, and the acoustic goal.
At WIBS, the acoustic pictures were specifically used as an effective acoustic solution for hallways and common rooms – not as mere decoration.
Step-by-step to the Right Acoustic Solution
Room acoustics are physics, but also perception. Therefore, it is not enough to simply install any product. It is crucial how the room is used, where sound originates, what surfaces are present, and what effect is to be achieved.
Stefan Zeltner from WIBS management particularly emphasized in conversation that one must gradually approach a good result with room acoustics. The consultation by Frankustika was also described as very positive.
Precisely this is important in projects in senior homes, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and social institutions: the solution must not only be mathematically sound, but also function in everyday life.
Smooth Implementation Despite a Tight Schedule
In addition to consulting, implementation was also an important point. WIBS had a tight schedule. Nevertheless, scheduling, planning, and installation were carried out smoothly.
This is particularly important for facilities such as assisted living, nursing homes, or senior homes. Day-to-day operations should be disturbed as little as possible. Residents, staff, and visitors should still be able to move around the building easily.
Frankustika therefore ensured clear coordination and reliable on-site implementation.
The Result: Less Reverberation, Better Intelligibility, More Pleasant Rooms
After the installation of around 60 acoustic pictures, the room acoustics in the WIBS assisted living facility were noticeably improved.
The hallways and common rooms feel acoustically more pleasant. Reverberation is reduced. Conversations can be understood better. The quality of stay in the shared areas is enhanced.
Thus, the project clearly demonstrates what room acoustics in facilities for older people are all about: not silence, but a more pleasant sound environment.
Good room acoustics ensure that rooms feel quieter, more intelligible, and more soothing.
Room Acoustics for Senior Homes, Nursing Homes, and Assisted Living
The project at WIBS in Wendelstein shows how important room acoustics are in facilities for older people.
Whether it's a senior home, nursing home, assisted living facility, day care, common room, dining hall, hallway, or community room: wherever people gather, acoustics should be considered.
Poor acoustics can make rooms restless. Good acoustics can ensure that conversations are easier, common areas feel more pleasant, and people feel more comfortable.
Frankustika supports facilities in Wendelstein, Nuremberg, Schwabach, Roth, Feucht, Schwarzenbruck, Altdorf bei Nuremberg, Fürth, Erlangen, and throughout the Nuremberg region in reducing reverberation and making rooms acoustically more pleasant.
For senior homes, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and social institutions: room acoustics are not a luxury. They are an important part of the quality of stay, intelligibility, and well-being.
Frankustika at the Charity Auction "Kunst & Herz" in Wendelstein – together with WIBS Managing Director Stefan Zeltner, Wendelstein's First Mayor Werner Langhans, and Willibald Milde.