Strap like a sky full of stars

While brightness and freshness are in vogue, this does not apply to the new study room of the Ekonomikum campus at Uppsala University; it features dark surfaces and carefully placed light sources that bring calm and stimulate concentration and focus.

If you want to create a space that allows students to concentrate and study in a room that is no larger than 300 square meters, you must pay attention to every single detail. In the new study room of the Ekonomikum campus, great emphasis was placed on achieving the right amount of lighting to create a calm space that eliminates distracting elements. Jonas Kjellander from Sweco Architects explains the vision behind the design of this room: "We created various areas with different types of furniture. In the center, we placed 14 specially designed chairs around a gas fireplace, which we call the 'campfire,' and then we have built-in seating along the walls. We worked a lot with light – we arrived at an intensity of lighting of 500 lux in the work area, 300 lux in the surrounding areas, and a maximum of 100 lux generally."

Studying under the stars

Before entering the study room, you take off your shoes. Then, you are welcomed by a starry sky encompassing the entire space, made possible only by Rockfon's acoustic ceiling solution. Jonas Kjellander explains: "We needed a dark suspended ceiling that fades into the background, creating a feeling of infinity. With Rockfon Color-all^® ceiling tiles in dark gray, we have everything that is important to us – an acoustic ceiling solution that absorbs sound with an invisible matte suspension grid that emits no reflections. We threaded very thin glass fiber cables through the acoustic ceiling tiles, creating the effect of sitting under a starry sky.

The world outside

Deep knowledge is equally important for scientific advancements and for facilitating social life. In front of the study room, there is a bright room with space for discussions and video conferences. Here too, the suspended ceiling system comes from Rockfon, specifically the Rockfon Blanka^® ceiling with M-edge. Peter Fritzon, sales manager at Rockfon, describes the benefits of the product: “It is very important for us to be able to meet the architect's requirements for various design ideas. 'White on white' creates light and airiness, but you should also have the option to create designs in different colors. The Rockfon Color-All series thus gives free rein to various interesting and innovative solutions.”

Why use Rockfon acoustic solutions?

The main advantages of these products are given by the unique properties of stone wool, from which they are made:

• noise protection (high sound absorption and sound insulation),
• fire spread protection (fire class A1),
• a fast and easy way to create beautiful and comfortable spaces (high reflection and diffusion of natural light),
• easy installation (lightweight),
• easy cleaning and moisture resistance (hydrophobic, suitable up to 100% RH),
• your contribution to a sustainable future (100% recyclability).

More at www.rockfon.cz