The largest construction project in the city of Rauma in Finland, the Karin Campus – a city centre for sports, leisure, and schooling – was inaugurated citizens in 2024. The 30 400-square-metre extensive campus includes a swimming hall, primary school, music academy, sports hall, youth space, adult education centre, and art and theatre schools.
An acoustics expert from the engineering and consulting company A-Insinöörit was involved from the early stages of the design process to ensure the spaces met the required acoustic regulations and limits, and the acoustic ceiling solutions Rockfon CleanSpace and Rockfon Mono Acoustic were installed to improve the common area and swimming pool facility acoustics.
The Challenges of Leisure Centre Design
All parts of the building complex are interconnected, with a common central area serving all users. The project’s chief designer, Jussi Palva, architect at Verstas Architects, describes the central area as a communal living room for the residents of Rauma, designed to be as comfortable and unifying as possible. “The Karin Campus is a multifaceted building in terms of its functions. Combining a swimming pool, sports hall, upper school, community college, and youth facilities under one roof offers many synergies – but also makes the implementation a highly challenging project for all parties involved”, he says.
The campus design began with user involvement and adapting the building to its context, nearby a district classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
“Designing started with user workshops, involving many people of different ages and representatives from various user groups. Simultaneously, we considered the location and construction style. Near the campus is Old Rauma, characterised by wooden buildings constructed close to the street. We wanted to maintain this typical feature of Rauma. Additionally, the space is interestingly situated at the edge of a block area, and we aimed to create a clear boundary for the block area, from which a greener section would begin”, adds Jussi Palva.
Optimising the Leisure Centre's Acoustics
For such a large facility with diverse spaces, a variety of acoustic solutions was needed.
“Regarding acoustics, we immediately started defining conditions such as reverberation, HVAC noise levels, and the amount of traffic noise and its insulation”, says Jussi Rauhala, Design Director of Acoustic Design at A-Insinöörit.
Rockfon CleanSpace Pro acoustic ceiling tiles were installed across the swimming pool area and changing rooms. The easy-to-clean, moisture-resistant tiles were installed in the corrosion-resistant T-grid system, which withstands the demanding conditions of high humidity levels. Rockfon CleanSpace Pro were also selected for the bathroom facilities and the home economics classroom ceiling. The monolithic Rockfon Mono Acoustic was installed in the general areas of the school and college buildings, creating a seamless look while providing Class A acoustic control.
“The most important aspect of swimming pool design is the comfort of the pool area. Acoustics play a significant role here, as we need to minimise reverberation. Stone wool is one of the best materials for this due to its excellent sound absorption properties”, says Jussi Rauhala.
Installing Acoustic Solutions Across the Leisure Centre
Inlook, a company specialising in interior construction, was responsible for installing Rockfon CleanSpace Pro and Rockfon Mono Acoustic. Inlook’s project manager, Miika Hänninen, noted that they were already familiar with installing Rockfon products from previous projects, and the installation proceeded as expected.
“We were pleased to have the Karin Campus project in Rauma. It was a large and challenging site – exactly the kind we like to undertake. Such projects are interesting because of their complexity”.
The building’s extensive technical services created challenges for the installation, particularly due to the number of service and inspection hatches in the ceiling. The outermost acoustic ceiling layer had to meet high standards as the aim was to achieve a smooth surface on the ceiling. According to Hänninen, these challenges were successfully managed. “Collaboration with Rockfon went well as always”, he concludes.
