Adding acoustic comfort without covering the ceiling

The EUREF-Campus in Düsseldorf uses its concrete ceilings to heat and cool the building. So how to add acoustic comfort?

Rockfon Eclipse panels float below the exposed concrete slab, leaving it free to heat and cool the room.

A campus built to hit climate targets early

The EUREF-Campus in Düsseldorf is a working test-bed for the energy and mobility transition, bringing together businesses, researchers and institutions focused on a climate-neutral future. It covers more than 80,000m² of offices and event spaces, and it was designed to meet Germany's 2045 CO₂ targets ahead of the deadline.

The offices needed to be calm and comfortable to work in, with space for conversations and focused work side by side.

But the campus's energy system created an unusual problem for the ceilings.

The ceiling is doing another job

The building heats and cools itself through its concrete ceilings. Water runs through the exposed slabs to warm or cool the rooms below, which is far more efficient than conventional systems.

But it comes with a hard rule: the concrete has to stay exposed. Cover it with a normal wall-to-wall acoustic ceiling and the heating and cooling stops working.

That's a problem, because bare concrete and hard surfaces are exactly what makes a room echo.

Acoustic consultant Dezibel-Werk assessed the offices and meeting rooms and set the goal: bring the reverberation down and make the spaces genuinely comfortable to work in, without covering the slabs.

Project info

Project name

EUREF-Campus Düsseldorf

Location

Düsseldorf, Germany

Installation

Dezibel-Werk GmbH

Photography

Jannik Hammes

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Products used

Rockfon® Eclipse

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Rockfon® Lamella

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Six workstations face each other beneath the Eclipse panels, with Rockfon Lamella wall panels absorbing sound alongside the floor-to-ceiling glass and hard floor.

The white Eclipse panels reflect light across the office, keeping it bright as well as quiet.

A large meeting room where Rockfon Eclipse and Lamella together bring the reverberation down.

Sound control on the walls and floating panels overhead

The answer was to treat the walls and hang panels below the ceiling, leaving the concrete exposed.

Around 50m² of Rockfon Lamella acoustic wall panels were installed through the offices. The panels combine oak-veneered slats with a 40mm stone wool core, absorbing sound while adding the warmth of wood. A clip-based fixing made them straightforward to install and align.

On the ceiling, 62 Rockfon Eclipse floating panels were suspended across the offices. Because they float suspended from the ceiling, rather than covering the concrete slabs, the concrete stays exposed and the heating and cooling keeps working. Their ultra-matte white surface reflects 87% of light, spreading daylight and artificial light through the offices and keeping the interior bright as well as quiet.

Another office with the same approach: Eclipse floating below the exposed slab, Lamella on the walls.

A closer look at the bright white Eclipse panel and the clip fixings that suspend it from the concrete ceiling.

A ceiling solution that keeps the energy system working

The campus gets calm, bright, comfortable offices without compromising the energy system at the heart of the building. Both products are made from recyclable and recycled stone wool, which fits the campus's own environmental goals.

Also fitting out a building with exposed or core-activated concrete ceilings that can't be covered? Get in touch, and we'll help you find the acoustic solution that works around it.