A 1970s school rebuilt as a blueprint for sustainable education
How a complete rebuild of a Prague high school made acoustic comfort part of a carbon-positive certification.
The COPaG canteen, where Rockfon Eclipse circular islands absorb sound from a busy lunchtime crowd, while the white surface reflects natural light across the space.
A carbon-positive school as pilot
COPaG High School in Prague was originally built in the 1970s and extended in the 1990s. By 2019, it had three serious problems: an outdated layout that no longer suited modern teaching, significant energy inefficiency, and asbestos contamination throughout the building.
Prague City Council had it rebuilt from the ground up with a single ambition: create a carbon-positive school that could serve as a pilot model for sustainable education across the Czech Republic.
The project was delivered through a research-led collaboration between ECOTEN, Subterra and the Czech Technical University, following the SBToolCZ certification framework, one of the most comprehensive sustainable building standards in Central Europe.
Getting there required rethinking every system in the building, including the acoustics.
Carbon-positive is only half the story
The renovation introduced solar panels with 300kWh of battery storage, geothermal wells, heat pumps, CO2 sensors, LED lighting and greywater reuse. Ventilation is managed by a smart system linked directly to classroom timetables. The school now generates more energy than it consumes.
But SBToolCZ Gold certification doesn't just measure energy performance. Indoor environment quality, including acoustic comfort, is part of the scorecard.
In a school where students and teachers spend most of their day together in enclosed spaces, poor acoustics directly affects concentration, communication and long-term wellbeing. The acoustic model for the project was developed by EKOLA Group, with a brief to exceed Czech regulatory requirements across every space in the building, not just meet them.
That meant specifying acoustic solutions across six very different spaces, each with its own requirements.
Project info
Project name
COPaG High School
Location
Prague, Czech Republic
Architecture
Installation
Photography
Pavel Růžička
Download images
Rockfon Sonar and Sonar Bass ceiling tiles reducing reverberation in the classroom, supporting speech clarity for both teachers and students.
Rockfon Sonar tiles in a flexible learning space.
COPaG High School in Prague, rebuilt from the ground up to carbon-positive standard.
Rockfon Sonar tiles in the corridor, with ventilation, speakers, and sprinklers all integrated into the ceiling surface.
Six spaces, six acoustic challenges
In the classrooms, Rockfon Sonar and Rockfon Sonar Bass ceiling tiles were installed alongside Rockfon VertiQ wall panels. Sonar Bass provides additional absorption of low-frequency sound, the kind generated by voices, movement and equipment in an enclosed room, while the wall panels extend acoustic coverage beyond the ceiling plane.
In the corridors, Rockfon Sonar tiles control reverberation in high-traffic circulation spaces where noise from passing students would otherwise carry into adjacent classrooms.
In the gym, Rockfon Samson ceiling tiles were installed to meet the impact resistance requirements of a sports environment while maintaining acoustic performance during high-intensity activity.
In the canteen, Rockfon Eclipse circular islands were suspended in an irregular, layered layout rather than the regular grid originally planned.
"A regular grid was originally planned, but the forest effect looks even better than the original," said Jiří Tencar, Ph.D., project designer at ECOTEN.
The irregular arrangement not only improved acoustic coverage across the space but created a more visually dynamic ceiling that suited the canteen's character.
Together, the Rockfon solutions across all spaces contributed to COPaG achieving SBToolCZ Gold certification, with the acoustic performance of the building formally assessed as part of that result.
A Rockfon Eclipse circular island up close, showing the suspension system and the surface texture of the acoustic panel.
Rockfon Samson ceiling tiles in the gym, providing acoustic performance and the impact resistance a sports environment requires.
Rockfon Sonar tiles in a recessed grid above the computer lab.
A pilot that proved the point
COPaG High School is now carbon-positive, SBToolCZ Gold certified, and delivering acoustic comfortable across every space students and teachers use daily. It is exactly the proof of concept Prague City Council set out to build.
Also designing a school where acoustic performance needs to contribute to a sustainability certification? Get in touch, and together we'll find the right solution for every space.
Related case studies
EUREF-Campus Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
2026
Have a question?
Whether you’re planning a project or need more information, our team is here to help.
Prefer to speak to someone locally?
Contact our local Rockfon team for region-specific support.