Modern building The Word supports the creative spirit. Thanks to its good acoustics.

The National Centre for Written Word, The Word, is an iconic building in the very heart of South Shields. The building is designed as a modern rotunda with spaces intended to inspire visitors with creative ideas and ignite their desire for knowledge.


The Word acts as an entry point to South Shields for cultural, social, and commercial knowledge. The industrial past of this area plays a very important role, literally woven into the building and helping to bring the entire concept to life.

Cultural Oasis

Visitors to the center enter the building through a triangular atrium, which serves as the focal point of the building. This very busy place serves a variety of purposes, including:

• a library
• a tourist information center,
• as well as monitors offering access to social media and the current schedule of events and activities.

This area with very busy foot traffic was a real challenge in terms of acoustics. To create a true oasis where visitors would feel genuinely comfortable, Steve Dickson, director of the architectural firm Faulkner Browns Architects, proposed using the ROCKFON® Mono® Acoustic system over an area of 1,100 m², which suppresses unwanted noise. "We primarily wanted a monolithic ceiling that would be rated Class A for acoustics - thus ROCKFON Mono Acoustic was perfect," adds Dickson.

Seamless Finish

The ROCKFON Mono Acoustic system is installed around the entire perimeter of the galleries, which feature various hard surfaces that reflect sound. The seamless monolithic surface created, which absorbs noise, brought the atrium spaces to life in a completely unique way. John Osborne, project manager from Bowmer & Kirkland, was enthusiastic about how this ceiling system complements the design of the atrium. "Aesthetically, this ceiling system fits perfectly here and wonderfully complements the entire space, especially in how it effortlessly mirrors the shape of the central atrium,” adds Osborne.

In just the first week, this unique building, now part of South Shields, welcomed an impressive 23,000 visitors.

More at www.rockfon.cz