13 Swimming Pool Ceiling Ideas

Aethos Monterosa

Champoluc, Italy

Interplaying with the material palette on site, the seamless surface of the ceiling solution Rockfon Mono Acoustic subtly delivers outstanding acoustic comfort across the 25-metre swimming pool at Aethos Monterosa, a 1 MICHELIN Key boutique hotel with engulfing views of the surrounding Italian Alps.

Leicester City FC Training Ground

Loughborough, England 

The hydrotherapy pool area at the Leicester City FC team’s training ground has both optimal sound control and a seamless, smooth aesthetic with Rockfon Mono Acoustic. “The system enabled us to elegantly transition into plasterboard perimeter upstand abutments,” explains ceiling installer Craig Wheatley.

Hotel Riverton Spa

Gothenburg, Sweden

The Hotel Riverton, Gothenburg's largest privately-owned hotel, was renovated in a 225 MSEK project. Rockfon Color-all acoustic ceiling tiles in the Linen shade, installed in a colour-matched suspended ceiling grid, add both acoustic control and visual appeal to the swim spa.

Sport Centre Hellberg

Eppelborn, Belgium

At this sports centre, the Rockfon Color-all ceiling tile shades Sandalwood, Chalk, Stucco, and Fresh are arranged dynamically above to create a playful swimming pool ceiling design. "The colours stand for water, energy and closeness to nature and subconsciously encourage guests to move", explains architect Eva Tekle. "The free arrangement creates a feeling of lightness and activity. In contrast, the light beige Stucco colour at the edge has a calming and balancing effect. It begins where the pool ends and also helps with orientation – for example, when swimming backstroke and one needs to recognise how far the pool still extends. The visual frame therefore not only serves as an aesthetic border but also provides spatial orientation and safety".

See also: 11 Ideas for Playful ​Checkered Ceiling Design

Jonfosse Swimming Pool

Liège, Belgium

Rockfon white ceiling tiles are installed into ceiling grids at the Jonfosse Swimming Pool to prevent reverberation and contribute to light reflection. The project was part of a plan by the Walloon government to build or renovate 50 swimming pools over the span of five years to expand the local sports infrastructure.

Aqua Lublin

Lublin, Poland

The noise at this olympic-size swimming pool with 10 lanes, a moveable floor, and stands for 2000 spectators is controlled with Rockfon Sonar white acoustic ceiling tiles for Class A sound absorption.

Le Cap

Sartrouville, France

To diffuse the reverberation of materials like glass, curved shapes and Rockfon acoustic white tiles, installed into Enhanced Corrosion Resistant ceiling grids, were used to debilitate ambient sound. “We created triangular-shaped islands – like origami, because they grab sounds in the angles and help stop echoes,” explains project architect Jean Michel Ruols about the swimming pool ceiling design vision.

Aqua Lublin

Lublin, Poland

At a water playground area at Aqua Lublin, Rockfon Sonar white acoustic ceiling tiles introduce noise absorption, ensuring children's activities and their accompanying noise levels remain controlled.

Résidence de Plozévet Swimming Pool

Plozévet, France

After an 18-month construction process, the 4-star bungalow residence Résidence de Plozévet by Arts et Vie opened with optimised acoustics that rely on stone wool acoustic ceiling tiles suspended from a grid system. “The visitors gave really good feedback. Even when there are children, there is no resonance,” said the building owner Vincent Berthy.

Puddle Ducks Swim School

Northwich, England

Once the Rockfon CleanSpace Pro ceiling tiles were installed at this children's facility in Barons Quay, the noise level reading was dramatically reduced and is now well within the target adopted as a maximum permissible level of reverberation for the teaching pool.

Lidingö Swimming Hall

Lidingö, Sweden

At one of Lidingö City's swimming pools, Rockfon Color-all acoustic ceiling tiles in Azure, a soft blue, are layered atop Rockfon Koral white ceiling tiles. They are installed into ceiling grids with Enhanced Corrosion Resistance (ECR) for maximised durability.

CentrePoint Sport and Leisure Centre

Sydney, Australia

Rockfon Humitec acoustic baffles are installed for this swimming pool ceiling. These ISO Class 2 acoustic ceiling baffles feature a galvanised steel frame that is engineered for humid, corrosive Class D environments.

Wolverhampton Swimming Fitness Centre

Wolverhampton, England UK

At this leisure swimming pool, instead of relying on the ceiling for noise control, the walls are completed with Rockfon acoustic wall panels.

The role of the ceiling in swimming pool environments

There are numerous sound sources that contribute to the soundscapes of swimming pools: lifeguard guidance and whistles, instructor directions, laughter, conversations, splashing, loudspeaker announcements, and ambient music.

These all contribute to the joy associated with swimming pool activities. Strictly regulating them for noise reduction purposes can spoil the fun involved.

Hard, moisture-resistant materials like concrete and ceramic tiles are essential in pool construction, but they also reflect sound. As waves bounce between surfaces, reverberation builds and overall noise levels rise.

Over water, this effect can intensify further, as sound appears louder when travelling across the surface.^[1]

As such, swimming pool ceiling design becomes critical. As the largest uninterrupted surface, the ceiling plays a massive role in absorbing sound and limiting its spread.

Other key reasons why acoustic performance is paramount in swimming pool facilities:

• Safety: When lifeguards or instructors can't be heard or understood due to poor speech clarity and intelligibility, accidents can happen. Safety precautions in swimming pool facilities cannot be compromised considering that drowning is the second-leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children aged one to 14.^[2]

• Staff health: According to one study, 20-25 percent of physical education teachers could be subjected to a weekly noise exposure higher than 80 decibels. When lifeguards and instructors are exposed to high noise levels so frequently, their well-being and comfort are at risk, and the likelihood of noise-induced hearing loss increases.^[3]

• More noise: Paradoxically, noise can generate even more noise in a vicious cycle. The phenomenon wherein speakers involuntarily increase their vocal efforts so that they can be heard is referred to as the Lombard Effect.

• Visitor count: Visitors might choose to go elsewhere when the swimming pool facility is too boisterous and uncomfortable for their taste. This is typically the case in swimming pool facilities that are shared between adults, teenagers, and children.

Selecting swimming pool ceiling solutions

The acoustic solutions used at swimming pool facilities should be able to resist any potential issues that might arise at one point during their lifecycles. 

Humidity, for one, is notorious for the damage that it causes to materials. While moisture cannot be completely omitted in pool facilities, the damage it causes can be minimised with strategic material selection.

Here are crucial factors to consider when selecting swimming pool acoustic solutions:

• Hygiene: The acoustic solutions selected for swimming pool facilities shouldn’t provide sustenance to any harmful micro-organisms like Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

• Sagging: Humidity can weaken the structure of certain ceiling materials and cause them to sag. And in extreme cases, they might even fall out of the grid. The ceilings must remain unaffected by contact with water or high humidity and temperature.

• Corrosion: This reaction occurs when materials react with moisture. For metals, the reddish-brown aesthetic result is referred to as rust. Corrosion can be minimised by installing suspended ceilings that have enhanced corrosion resistant (ECR) grids. Mounting solutions should likewise be resistant.

• Mould: Mould originates from fungus that reproduces through spores, which float through the air to find fertile ground to grow in damp, organic surfaces. Installed materials should not have any nutritional value that sustains them.

• Impact resistance: Acoustic solutions in areas that host sports activities and ball play need to be able to withstand tougher-than-average wear and tear.

• Chemical resistance: The acoustic solutions should be resistant to chlorine as well as harsh disinfecting cleaning products that have ammonia and hydrogen peroxide.

• Light reflection: Depending on the desired mood of the swimming pool and views towards the outdoors, it might be an advantage to select an acoustic solution that increases light diffusion by reflecting natural light.

In Europe, the standard EN 13964:2014 ensures that suspended ceilings comply with many of the above factors. 

For the best long-term performance, it’s highly recommended that a warm roof construction is specified in conjunction with acoustic solutions. Condensation risk analysis is additionally essential. 

Rockfon acoustic ceiling solutions for swimming pools

Because Rockfon stone wool ceiling products are not organic, they do not promote the growth of mould or bacteria, keeping people safe and healthy at swimming pool facilities. Through their inherent composition, there is no need to have additives such as fungicides or antimicrobials to achieve these mould-resistant properties.

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Sources:

1. “Refraction of Sound Waves.” n.d. www.acs.psu.edu. https://www.acs.psu.edu/drussell/Demos/refract/refract.html.

2. “Drowning Prevention & Facts.” 2018. Redcross.org. 2018. https://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/types-of-emergencies/water-safety/drowning-prevention-and-facts.html.

3. Maffei, Luigi, Gino Iannace, Massimiliano Masullo, and Pietro Nataletti. 2009. “Noise Exposure in School Gymnasia and Swimming Pools.” Noise Control Engineering Journal 57 (6): 603–12. https://doi.org/10.3397/1.3155385.