TreNoMat takes the next step in acoustic space division

Since TreNoMat installed the first Dutch partition wall in a sports hall in Zoetermeer in 1969, the company from Nieuwkoop has gained extensive experience with sports facilities. In recent years, Paul van Stijn, director of TreNoMat, has seen acoustics in sports halls become increasingly important. “We were a party that offered a solution to a space problem by introducing a partition. Over the years, we have expanded that concept, because today it involves much more than simply dividing spaces. You have to ensure that the product you provide also performs well in the environment for which it is intended.”

Absorption and insulation

Installing a flexible partition wall has a major impact on both sound absorption and sound insulation. Van Stijn explains that the NOC*NSF standard focuses primarily on absorption. “It concerns what happens to sound when it reaches the wall. For good absorption, you need to let the sound into the wall and break it up with an absorbent material. We can achieve this by perforating the walls.”

But insulation provided by the wall is at least as important, says Van Stijn. “In the standards and construction of sports halls, this is still somewhat neglected. Requirements should also be imposed on the extent to which sound passes through to the other side of the partition wall.” The sound-absorbing and sound-insulating capabilities of a partition wall also adversely affect each other. “The harder a wall is made, and therefore the less perforated it is, the more sound is sent back into the space. This is detrimental to the reverberation time. If you open up the wall with perforations, you let sound into the wall, which creates a risk of transmission to the other side. The aim is to bring these two worlds together as much as possible.”

Complete solution

TreNoMat has always taken these two factors into account by paying close attention to the surrounding closure details during the design process. “We place great importance on the detailing around the walls. That is why we pay close attention to the connections to the stands and to sealing off residual spaces above partition walls.” With the innovative TripleComfort partition wall, TreNoMat has succeeded in integrating sound insulation and absorption into a complete solution. The challenge with this wall lay in perforating it on both sides, says Van Stijn. “That essentially opens up the wall. How do you then ensure the insulation? We found a solution by adding a new intermediate layer that runs across the entire width and length.”

This intermediate layer makes it possible to perforate the wall across its entire surface on both sides, creating a one-hundred-percent absorption surface. This can be particularly beneficial in situations where there is no sound absorption yet, such as during renovations. “With the TripleComfort wall, we do not have to compromise on insulation values,” says Van Stijn.

Van Stijn emphasizes that a wall does not always need to be perforated on both sides. In old sports halls or new sports halls with adjacent catering facilities, however, this is often necessary. “Glass, in particular, for visibility from a restaurant or cafeteria, is an unfavorable material for room acoustics. In such a sports hall, the effect of the TripleComfort partition wall is immediately noticeable in the form of pleasant acoustics. We can also calculate the result if we know which other materials are being used. We can then use the absorption values to predict what the acoustics will be like.”

New standard

The new TripleComfort partition walls have already been installed in three renovation projects and three new-build sports halls. By applying this innovation, TreNoMat is setting a new standard, as it is ahead of current requirements. Van Stijn therefore thinks it may be time to expand the sound standards for sports halls. “I think you should take a critical look at sound insulation, meaning what a wall keeps out. A minimum threshold could also be established for this. If it were not important, you might as well hang a curtain, which does a lot in terms of absorption but provides no insulation. We have previously advocated such a standard. We are now hearing more and more indications that there is a genuine demand for it.”