Fantastic Acoustic Solution At Thackley Primary School, Bradford

Thackley Primary School in Bradford is a busy, happy and active environment for learning, working hard to secure the highest educational standards for their pupils. At the centre of everything they do are their core aims of high standards, Skills for life and creating happy memories. However, both the staff and children were experiencing acoustic problems in the fantastic hall at the heart of their school. The large, open plan room provided a multi-use space used for assemblies, performances, PE lessons and dining but the amount of hard, reflective surfaces meant that excessive reverberation an echo made for a particularly unpleasant acoustic environment.

Head of the School, Annette Patterson decided that something needed to be done and made contact with Sound Reduction Systems Ltd (SRS) who have a great deal of experience in treating noise problems within schools. Annette was able to send across details of the hall, including dimensions and photographs from which the technical department were able to model the space using software in order to provide an accurate specifications and quote. SRS then sent a member of staff to visit the school to take detailed measurements and discuss the various options available for an acoustic solution.

SRS Director, Alex Docherty commented: “As soon as I was shown into the hall, it was clear that the acoustic environment was not ideal – the long reverberation time made it difficult to hold a simple conversation between a few people comfortably, let alone when the hall was full with children. It was clear that a treatment using one of our Class A rated Sonata products was required to solve the issue.”

The estimated mid-frequency reverberation time was coming out at (Tmf) of 3.57s, which is far too high for a room of this nature. SRS calculated that 75sqm of their decorative Sonata panel absorbers would be required to solve the problem, bringing the reverberation time down to (Tmf) of 1.13s, and provided the school with a layout design detailing where the panels would be installed within the hall. The school chose a combination of Suspended Sonata Vario panels and bonded Sonata Aurio panels and SRS were able to despatch their installation team within 2 weeks to fit the absorbers.

Following the installation, Annette said: “I just wanted to say a huge thank you for the Acoustic Panels we had fitted. The whole process was great - from making initial contact with you, site survey, and fitting. You were always so helpful and knowledgeable when I contacted you. The wonderful man who came to fit the panels was just lovely! Really professional, friendly and had a high standard and a high quality of fitting.  The impact of the panels has been simply fantastic! What a difference!!! Lunchtimes are now completely different, assemblies are better and PE lessons are calmer. I have been recommending your company to everyone and playing them my ‘before and after’ videos that I made! Thank you again.”

If you have a noise issue in your school hall, village hall, or in any large, open area, please get in touch to see how SRS can help with soundproofing sound absorption. You can fill in our simple 3 Step Estimator form by clicking here. The 3 Step Estimator works within your mobile device, so you can upload the pictures and information directly from site if required.  Alternatively, you can just email or whatsapp us with the room dimensions and a few pictures of the ceiling and walls in the room. www.soundreduction.co.uk

New Urban Oasis Created At The Natural History Museum

The previously underused 5-acre gardens around the Natural History Museum in London have been remarkably transformed in a scheme by architects Feilden Fowles. Working closely with landscape  architects J & L Gibbons, and a design team including Gitta Gschwendtner, engineers HRW and Max  Fordham, a new urban oasis has been created alongside a Nature Activity Centre supported by AWS  and Garden Kitchen café.

The project rejuvenates the grounds of this well-loved museum and creates  an immersive timeline of the evolution of the earth which is now fully accessible for the first time.  Geological eras are represented in banded strata of rock and the garden now features a full-size  bronze Diplodocus called Fern. The result is a tactile living laboratory called the Urban Nature Project.  

The Nature Activity Centre and Garden Kitchen blend in harmony with the green space and have  been designed in close association with the museum’s scientists with thought and care, using natural  materials with low embodied carbon. The frame is created from UK limestone under a Douglas fir roof  with cedar shingles. Douglas fir doors, windows and columns adorn the inside. Working with acoustic  consultants Max Fordham, Troldtekt wood wool acoustic panels have been utilised through the  ceilings to help combat reverberating sound and create a calm and welcoming atmosphere.  

Troldtekt’s wood wool acoustic panels are Cradle to Cradle Certified® at Gold level and manufactured  using wood from certified forests (PEFC/09-31-030 and FSC®C115450), positively contributing to a  building’s BREEAM, WELL or LEED points. Panels can also be manufactured with FUTURECEM®  which achieves an approx. 30 per cent lower carbon footprint than that of Troldtekt based on white  cement. Depending on the panel specified, reaction to fire is classed in accordance with EN 13501 as  B-s1,d0 or A2-s1,d0 respectively.  

Available in a wide variety of different structures and colours, they combine optimal sound absorption  with an award-winning design. The Troldtekt range has a minimum expected life cycle of 60 years  coupled with excellent resistance to humidity and tested to meet ball impact standards. Panels can be  supplied as natural wood, unpainted based on FUTURECEM™ offering a reduced carbon footprint or  finished in almost any RAL or NCS colour.   

Samples, case studies and technical guidance are available from www.troldtekt.co.uk or see our  product listings on NBS (https://bit.ly/3vxoTfq) or Material Bank (www.materialbank.eu). 

Ultra-Fin UFH Assists Quest For Net Zero With Supporting Role In The Actors’ Church

A recently completed contract for an underfloor heating company has demonstrated how a Grade I listed landmark building can undergo a transformation, in terms of its energy efficiency, without any traces being left on the existing historic internal fabric: while also future-proofing it for a switch to a fully renewable heating source in the coming years. 

St. Paul’s Church in Covent Garden is not only known for its architecture - prominent from the famous Piazza - but also as the ‘Actors’ Church’, hosting memorials to film and stage stars from Charlie Chaplin to Sir Noel Coward.  Working with the Diocese of London and under the Church of England Net Zero Carbon programme the Church has achieved what might have seemed impossible less than a year ago. Established in 2024, Ultra-Fin UK Ltd. already has a strong presence in the heritage sector and was exhibiting at this year’s Listed Property Owner’s Club show at Olympia.

The team met Westminster Churches Net Zero Forum Officer, Alison Moulden, who made the introduction to the Parish priest, Revd. Simon Grigg, and Parish Administrator, Phil Hunt, who took a keen interest in the potential of the underfloor heating system which is designed for joisted floors.  

Director Tom Dixon-Smith explains the contractual relationship on the project, saying: “Our business model normally involves supply and training but the nature of this project inspired us to take on the role of manufacturer, supplier and installer, using our own team of engineers.  The Church is so important we weren’t prepared to let anyone else complete the project”. 

Tom went on to say “Phil Hunt did a fantastic job of steering the project application through all the Grade I listing and other compliance issues and we supported that by producing what became a 250-page document detailing not just the system but also the installation method.  For example, we had to calculate how many notches we would have to take out of the existing joists once the historic floorboards were lifted and also specify the insulation solution over which the system would run.”

All buildings lose heat through the ground floor and St. Paul’s Church is no exception. Tom explained “we specify insulation beneath our pipework to avoid downward heat losses. In this case the 50mm of fully non-combustible Rockwool insulation maximises the heat from our system whilst making the Church building more energy efficient through restricting building heat loss."

The support for the insulation is provided by a super tough, A1 fire rated breathable PhotonWrap barrier, which also enhances the heat delivery from the Ultra-Fin diffusers by being heat reflective. The membrane was lapped over the joists, held in place with staples and painted black along the top of where it sits on the joists to prevent a shiny glare from between the floorboards. The composite PEX Aluminium pipe and the Ultrafins were installed during a thirteen-day period in mid-August 2025, before the Company’s engineers completed the connections to the existing boiler and undertook the commissioning. The new underfloor heating extends across the whole of the nave from in front of the Altar to the main entrance, leaving the chancel/choir’s flagstone flooring in place. 

The joisted floors cover 2,900 sq.m in 10 bays and they are split into a dozen separate heating zones, prioritising the coldest space towards the Altar, while the pair of eight-port Ultra-Fin Cross manifolds retain spare connections to facilitate the replacement of the boiler with air source heat pumps in the future.  There are hard-wired sensors to ensure the flooring will not rise above 270 C degrees to safeguard the timber. Having overseen much of the work, the Parish Administrator for St. Paul’s,

Phil Hunt observed: “The nave of the Church was previously heated by five radiators which took a long time to heat up (even though we were running the boiler at 80o C). We will be carrying out monitoring, but anecdotally, the times we have turned on the heating it has warmed up far quicker, even though the boiler is running at just 45o C.  The Ultra-Fin system was also ideal for the project because it proved to cause far less harm to the fabric of the building than the alternatives being considered – not requiring the floor height to be built up or screeded, while it remains demountable and – valuably – it was also significantly cheaper than the other systems which would have required far more work.”        www.ultra-fin.co.uk