A school designed for the way kids actually learn today
Replacing a 1970s building with a space designed around modern education, and the acoustics that make it work.
Acoustic ceiling tiles in a brick pattern absorb sound in a busy entrance area with hard floors, metal lockers and constant foot traffic.
A primary school with a fresh start
The original Hämeenkylä School in Vantaa, Finland was built in the 1970s. By 2016, moisture damage and indoor air problems had made it beyond repair. The municipality demolished it and built a new school for nearly 800 pupils from grades 1 to 9, opening in autumn 2020.
This was a great chance to rethink what a school should be. The outcome was clear: teamwork, flexible spaces and comfortable acoustics had to be at the heart of the new building.
Modern Education Has a Noise Problem
Today's classrooms look nothing like they did a generation ago. Students collaborate, move between spaces and present their work to each other. Teachers need their voice to carry across open areas, not just to the front row.
That puts real pressure on acoustics. Open spaces, where sound can travel freely, are commonly designed to be functional. A dining hall doubles as an auditorium. A group room needs to support both collaboration and concentration.
When you get the acoustics wrong it becomes harder for students to focus and harder for teachers to be heard.
Light grey Rockfon Color-all acoustic tiles reduce noise in a high-traffic stairway with raw concrete walls and hard floors.
The Rockfon Color-all dark grey tiles in a 15mm narrow profile grid offers acoustic comfort for both group work and independent study.
A different solution for every space
The school has an industrial character. Raw concrete is left visible in stairwells and hallways, warmed up by reddish tones and wooden elements. Rather than using white ceilings everywhere, the acoustic solutions were chosen to connect with the raw concrete.
In the classrooms, Rockfon Color-all tiles in Gravel, a warm grey, matches with the exposed concrete. Slightly unconventional choice for a school, but a design choice that paid off.
In larger group rooms where low-frequency sound needed more control, Rockfon Koral 40mm tiles were installed. The extra thickness handles the bass-heavy noise generated by group activity and louder voices in bigger spaces.
The dining room doubles as an auditorium for events and gatherings. With high ceilings and hard surfaces, it's one of the most demanding spaces in the building acoustically. Rockfon Industrial Black panels behind the wooden staging of the ceiling keep the sound comfortable for the different uses.
In the modern study rooms, white acoustic ceiling tiles are integrated into a Chicago Metallic Ultraline 3500 15mm grid, a narrow profile grid that keeps the ceiling clean while allowing easy access to services above.
Brick pattern acoustic tiles with integrated track lighting in a recessed grid above the locker area.
Hämeenkylä School in Vantaa, built for nearly 800 pupils and opened in autumn 2020.
Supporting modern learning
Nearly 800 pupils now study in a building shaped around how they actually learn. Spaces with acoustics that support both group work and focused study.
Also designing a school where different spaces need very different acoustic solutions? Get in touch, and together we'll find the right approach for every room.
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