Cutting pool reverberation from 5 to under 2 seconds.
How humidity resistant ceiling baffles turned a pool area from uncomfortable to pleasant.
The main pool at CentrePoint, where suspended Rockfon Humitec Baffles cut the echo that once filled the hall.
A pool too loud to enjoy
CentrePoint Sport and Leisure Centre in Blayney, New South Wales, had a noise problem. Its busy indoor pool was loud enough to make visits uncomfortable, with sound bouncing off the water, tiles and hard surfaces and building into constant echo.
Before the work, the reverberation time was nearly 5 seconds. That means a sound keeps ringing around the hall for a full five seconds before it fades, which turns splashing, shouting and general pool noise into an overwhelming wall of sound.
A hard place to fix
Swimming pools are one of the toughest spaces to treat. On top of all the hard, sound-reflecting surfaces, the air is humid and corrosive, so most acoustic materials won't survive.
Anything installed above a pool has to absorb sound and hold up in those conditions for years.
Blayney Shire Council brought in architects Studio GA to design a roof renovation that could solve the acoustics while keeping the natural light from the existing skylights.
Project info
Project name
CentrePoint Sport and Leisure Centre
Location
Sydney, Australia
Architecture
Installation
Photography
Brenton Cox
Download images
Products used
Rockfon Humitec® Baffle
ViewDaylight from the skylights spreads softly across the pool, with the baffles keeping the hall both bright and quiet.
An acoustic solution built for wet spaces
After analysing the acoustics, Rockfon recommended Humitec Baffles, suspended panels made for humid, corrosive environments. Their stone wool core absorbs sound, resists moisture and corrosion, and doesn't support mould or bacteria, which matters for hygiene around a pool.
Simulations showed the baffles would cut reverberation from nearly 5 seconds to under 2, and that's what they delivered. The pool hall went from overwhelming to calm.
The baffles also let daylight from the skylights spread softly through the hall, keeping the space bright and cutting the need for artificial light.
At the children's pool, the shouts and splashes that used to ring around the hall now fade quickly, making it a calmer place for families, other visitors, and instructors.
A quieter and brighter swimming pool
Ever since the baffle installation, the pool is quieter, brighter and far more comfortable to be in. It's a straightforward fix that any noisy pool or wet leisure space could learn from.
Also dealing with echo in a pool or other humid space where standard acoustic products won't last? Get in touch, and we'll help you find one that will.
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