Architect/Design
Kölling Architects

Location
Frankfurt, Germany

Opening
2020

Solution
Soft Cells acoustics panels with Node integration ceiling solution.
Kvadrat Acoustics Soft Cells Broadline panels covered with the textile Kuria

Photography
Moritz Bernoully

The extension at the Frankfurt offices of Eastdil Secured, a leading real estate investment bank, features a Soft Cells/ Node solution by Kvadrat Acoustics in the ceiling. The architects specified this after discovering that Soft Cells acoustic panels and Node integrate seamlessly and could meet the project’s exacting technical, acoustic and design requirements. Initially, they had considered plasterboard.

The Soft Cells/Node solution enhances the space’s aesthetic quality while ensuring a healthy, productive acoustic environment. It comprises 36 freely suspended Soft Cells Broadline acoustic panels covered with the textile Kuria that help to define the working areas, as well as narrower acoustic ceiling panels, which demarcate the walkways and ceiling areas. 

By specifying Node, the architects were able to ensure a seamless look for the entire ceiling and integrate identically designed lighting, safety lighting, sprinklers and smoke detector elements within a black multifunctional rail. They could also conceal the low-hanging ventilation pipes and support the over all acoustic performance. 

The 250 sqm extension is on the gallery floor of a historic building opposite the renaissance façade of the Alte Oper. It incorporates an open landscape with 16 workstations, a café bar and a lounge area. Straight-lined contemporary furniture and oak elements lend the space a sensual flair while delicate tints serve to differentiate the work areas.