Large public buildings commonly suffer from acoustic issues such as expansive spaces, an abundance of hard surfaces, intense sound reflections and excessively long reverberation times; relying solely on retrofitting is costly and technically challenging. Silence Tech acoustic nonwoven utilising a wet-forming process that combines organic and inorganic fibres, is lightweight, flexible, environmentally friendly, flame-retardant and easy to conceal during installation. It can be used in conjunction with perforated panels, metal suspended ceilings, decorative wall panels and cavity structures to optimise spatial acoustic performance at source. Below, we outline the core acoustic challenges and the material’s application value in typical scenarios.
Key challenges: Poor clarity of public address announcements, noise from passenger traffic, and severe reverberation in high-ceilinged spaces. Large transport hubs feature high ceilings and walls and floors clad with hard materials such as stone, metal and glass, causing sound waves to bounce back and forth and resulting in reverberation times that significantly exceed acceptable limits. The noise from passengers conversing, luggage being dragged and equipment operating combines to create persistent background noise. Public address announcements are ‘drowned out’ by the reverberation, making it difficult for passengers to hear announcements clearly, which poses a safety risk.
Silence Tech acoustic nonwoven is typically installed behind perforated metal suspended ceilings, within curtain wall cavities and behind sound-absorbing wall panels, without compromising the appearance of the building’s façade or the interior décor. The material absorbs mid- to high-frequency reflected sound, effectively reducing the reverberation time of the space:
✅ Reduces the cumulative effect of crowd noise and minimizes the sensation of constant noise;
✅ Reduces interference from sound reflections, improves speech intelligibility in public address systems, and ensures effective communication of information;
✅ Controls reverberation in large spaces and prevents localized noise from spreading throughout the entire hall;
✅ Class A2 fire resistance and low VOC content meet the stringent fire safety and environmental regulations for transportation buildings; its lightweight design does not significantly increase ceiling loads.
Design Concept: Reserve cavities within the perforated ceiling and wall structures of transportation hubs, lined with Silence Tech acoustic nonwoven, to achieve an “exposed decorative surface with built-in acoustic structure,” balancing architectural aesthetics with acoustic performance.
2. Hospital waiting area
Key challenge: A cacophony of voices and constant noise, resulting in a poor patient experience. The waiting area sees a constant flow of people, with the sounds of conversation, pager alerts and medical equipment reverberating and overlapping. Prolonged exposure to such a noisy environment can exacerbate patients’ anxiety; sound leakage between adjacent consultation rooms compromises the confidentiality of consultations. Many hospitals find it difficult to install heavy sound-absorbing modules due to budget constraints and architectural limitations.
Silence Tech acoustic nonwoven can be combined with perforated gypsum board, micro-perforated metal panels, and decorative soft panels for concealed installation within ceiling structures, partition walls, and background walls in waiting areas:
✅ Absorbs reflected sound from conversations, reduces the perception of noise, and creates a relatively soothing waiting environment;
✅ Reduces sound transmission between areas, minimizing noise interference between different waiting areas;
✅ Certified by SGS and HJ 2546-2016 environmental standards; emits no dust or harmful substances, meeting healthcare facility standards;
✅ Slim profile compatible with standard hospital suspended ceiling structures, eliminating the need to increase the structural layer thickness.
Design Considerations: There is no need for large areas of exposed acoustic cladding. By lining the cavities within suspended ceilings and partition walls with Silence Tech acoustic nonwoven, acoustic optimization can be achieved at low cost, making this solution suitable for hospital renovation, expansion, and new construction projects.
3. School classrooms and lecture theatres
Key issues: Excessively long reverberation time, poor speech intelligibility and low comfort levels for teachers and students during lessons. Classrooms and lecture theatres are primarily used for listening to speech; an excessively long reverberation time causes speech to overlap, making it difficult for students in the back rows to hear the lecture clearly. During meetings and performances in lecture theatres, echoes and flutter echoes are likely to occur. Traditional sound-absorbing materials are prone to shedding dust and pose safety hazards, whilst the university has extremely high environmental and fire safety requirements.
Silence Tech acoustic nonwoven is installed in the classroom ceiling, on the side walls of the lecture theatre, and within the perforated structure on the rear wall.：
✅ Effectively controls reverberation time, optimizes the Speech Transmission Index (STI), and enhances speech intelligibility during lectures and presentations;
✅ Reduces sound reflections off walls, prevents repeated echoes in the front rows, and improves sound quality for listeners in the back rows;
✅ The flexible material can be installed to accommodate curved walls and irregularly shaped lecture halls, adapting to a wide range of architectural designs;
✅ Safe, flame-retardant, and free of fiber shedding, meeting indoor environmental standards for school campuses.
Design Considerations: In acoustic solutions, use Silence Tech acoustic nonwoven as a sound-absorbing backing for perforated decorative panels to replace traditional glass wool, thereby eliminating dust hazards and facilitating approval by school authorities.
Key challenges: The lobby is spacious and suffers from significant reverberation, whilst conversations in meeting rooms interfere with one another, detracting from the calibre of the business space. The office building’s lobby has a high ceiling, and the stone and glass curtain walls create strong reflective surfaces, leading to noticeable reverberation upon entry; open-plan discussion areas and small to medium-sized meeting rooms lack sound-absorbing features, resulting in mutual interference when multiple people are speaking, which is detrimental to business communication. High-end office buildings favour a clean, modern décor style and are reluctant to use large areas of conspicuous soft panelling.
Silence Tech acoustic nonwoven is installed in the perforated ceiling of the lobby, the wall panels of the meeting rooms and the cavities of the partition walls：
✅ Reduces echoes in the lobby and eliminates the “buzzing” noise that occurs upon entering;
✅ Controls reflected sound in conference rooms, reduces crosstalk, and ensures the privacy of business conversations;
✅ Slim, discreet installation maintains the minimalist and sophisticated visual aesthetic of the office space;
✅ Low-VOC, eco-friendly properties that meet green office, LEED, and healthy building certification requirements.
Design Concept: Ideal for Grade A office buildings that prioritize minimalist facades and wish to avoid large areas of exposed acoustic materials, achieving a “minimalist exterior with discreet acoustics.”
Key challenge: The accumulation of reflected sound in open spaces, combined with ambient noise, reduces customers’ willingness to linger. Shopping centres and exhibition halls are typically large, continuous open spaces, where hard floors and curtain walls continuously reflect sound. The mixture of sound systems from multiple shops and the chatter of visitors creates a constant background noise, which can easily cause irritation among customers and shorten the time they spend browsing or shopping.
Silence Tech acoustic nonwoven is used in atrium ceilings, perforated panels in colonnades, and the internal structures of exhibition stand backdrops：
✅ Absorbs reflected sound in the space, reduces noise superposition effects, and mitigates a noisy atmosphere;
✅ Prevents crosstalk between music and voices from different stores, improving the overall acoustic environment;
✅ The material is lightweight and thin, reducing the load on the atrium ceiling; it can adapt to the exhibition hall’s varied modular design schemes;
✅ Moisture-resistant and durable, making it suitable for commercial spaces with high foot traffic and significant fluctuations in temperature and humidity.
Design Considerations: For acoustic optimization in atriums, priority should be given to sound-absorbing structures built into the ceiling. Silence Tech acoustic nonwoven does not reduce usable commercial ceiling height, making it the preferred solution for acoustic optimization in commercial complexes.
Key challenge: High levels of background noise, which disrupts communication at service counters and undermines the sense of order on site. Government service centres feature a high concentration of service counters, where large numbers of members of the public seek advice and converse simultaneously, causing sounds to bounce off one another and build up. Conversations between staff and members of the public are easily drowned out by surrounding noise, necessitating repeated explanations and thereby reducing efficiency; the noisy environment also tends to provoke disputes.
Silence Tech acoustic nonwoven is installed in the hall ceiling, in the sound-absorbing structures above the windows, and as lining within the partition walls：
✅ Absorbs and diffuses reflected speech sounds, reducing the overall ambient noise level;
✅ Minimizes sound interference between adjacent service counters, improving speech intelligibility at the counters;
✅ Creates an orderly and quiet government service environment, enhancing the image of government service spaces;
✅ The material is stable and durable, making it suitable for public service venues with high foot traffic and prolonged continuous use throughout the year.
Design Considerations: For new or renovated government service halls, acoustic structures can be uniformly incorporated into the ceiling system and lined with Silence Tech acoustic nonwoven to significantly improve the hall’s acoustic environment at a relatively low cost.
