Acoustic comfort without covering the ceiling

How Rockfon solved the acoustics in a Cradle to Cradle office where the open ceiling couldn't be touched.

Rockfon Eclipse islands suspended below the open concrete ceiling, absorbing sound while leaving the ceiling exposed for the building's heating and cooling system.

The world's first full C2C office

Park 20|20 in Amsterdam is the world's first full-service Cradle to Cradle office complex, designed by William McDonough + Partners. The philosophy behind it is simple: eliminate waste, use clean energy, value clean water. Every material and system in the building serves that goal.

Inside, the Dutch travel company FOX Vakanties occupies a colourful, fully open-plan office. Employees can see and hear each other across the whole space, by design. The indoor climate was a priority throughout: clean air, natural light, and good acoustics for fewer disturbances.

But one of the building's smartest sustainability features created an unusual acoustic problem.

A ceiling that can't be covered

The building uses Concrete Core Activation, an energy-saving system where the concrete ceiling itself heats and cools the space by radiating directly toward the floor. It's highly efficient, but it comes with a strict condition: the ceiling has to stay exposed.

Cover it with a conventional suspended ceiling and the whole system stops working.

That's a serious problem in an open-plan office. With bare concrete overhead, few walls to break up sound, and hard surfaces all around, the space risked sounding echo chamber.

Whatever acoustic solution was chosen couldn't interfere with the thermal system, the water management or the energy principles the building was built on.

So how do you absorb sound without touching the ceiling?

Project info

Project name

Park 20|20 Experience Center

Client

Delta Development Group

Location

Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Architecture

William McDonough + Partners

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Products used

Rockfon® Eclipse

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Rockfon Sonar®

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Eclipse islands hung on long suspension cables from the high ceiling, with Rockfon VertiQ wall panels visible around the flatscreen TVs.

Floating ceiling islands and wall panels

The answer was to bring acoustic absorption into the room without covering the concrete. Rockfon Eclipse acoustic islands were suspended below the ceiling, absorbing sound while leaving the concrete exposed to keep the Concrete Core Activation working.

Rockfon VertiQ wall panels added further absorption at wall level, controlling the sound that an open-plan layout lets travel freely.

In the shared common areas, Rockfon Sonar ceiling tiles support calm and clarity where people gather away from the open work zones.

Together, the solutions deliver acoustic comfort across the open office without compromising any of the building's sustainability systems.

"It's a great thing having Rockfon as a partner. We can bring them into the development and ask them about inputs to optimise the acoustic comfort" said Owen Zachariasse, sustainability officer at Delta Development Group.

“It's a great thing having Rockfon as a partner. We can bring them into the development and ask them about inputs to optimise the acoustic comfort.”

Owen Zachariasse

— Sustainability officer at Delta Development Group

Rockfon Sonar ceiling tiles supporting calm and clarity in a shared work and coffee area.

Park 20|20 in Amsterdam, the world's first full-service Cradle to Cradle office complex.

Glass walls, exposed ceiling and suspended Eclipse islands across the open-plan office, keeping the space acoustically comfortable for everyone working in it.

Comfort and sustainability, working together

Park 20|20 shows that demanding sustainability systems and everyday comfort don't have to be in conflict. The open office sounds as good as it performs, with the concrete ceiling free to do its job.

Also working on a building where the acoustic solution has to fit around exposed services or thermal systems? Get in touch, and we'll help you find an approach that works with the architecture.