One of our partner recently converted 5000 m2 of extension to the head office of a bank, in France. For this project, which involved fitting out several different workspaces and a restaurant, the company and the main contractor opted for solutions renowned for how they handle sound: the H7 partition, which combines acoustic performance and total modularity, and myO acoustic panels, which are very visually appearing and remarkably effective.

The bank branch project

In order to bring all 550 employees at the head office together onto a single site, the client recently extended its offices in Orvault. Two new buildings were constructed, covering a total area of 5000 m2. The two structures were designed to house an auditorium, individual workspaces, meeting rooms and a company restaurant. The company itself is in constant motion, and has numerous projects on the go. They wanted the internal spaces to be fully modulable and that priority be given to collaborative working platforms.

For the banking sector, famed for its discreet ambience, acoustic treatment was of course essential, in the interests of both confidential communication and the comfort of the employees, whether in the office or in the restaurant.

The standard H7 partition, chosen for its modularity and its acoustics

“The end client underlined the importance of having a flexible configuration, so initially the obvious solution for us was to work with modular partitions on this project”, the project director at Kardham explained. The new buildings, both of which are rectangular, are specifically designed to allow unlimited configurations of the internal spaces, to let the buildings evolve in step with the company. The collaborative working areas, composed of desks of ten to twelve individual workstations, are located in direct proximity to the windows. The technical areas, meeting rooms and passageways are located in the central section.

“Most of the partitions are fully glazed to provide a maximum of natural light for the whole building. The second challenge on this project was to ensure excellent acoustic performance in spite of all the glass surfaces”, he continued. The choice was therefore the H7 modular partition, whose high-quality glazing and cover-plate and assembly systems guarantee excellent results. “The partitions were fitted between slabs and we finished off the system by installing a false ceiling“, in the words of the bank’s property director. To preserve confidentiality during meetings, a custom-made window sticker shaped like water droplets was applied to the glazed partitions at eye level.

“The end result is great – our instructions were followed to the letter. Now that all the platforms are occupied, the acoustics are perfect“, he added. The (ambitious) objectives were achieved. “Overall, we obtained an acoustic reduction of 42dB“, stated the project’s director. “Then again, we chose a really high-performance partition.We are doubly satisfied, in light of the extremely tight budget we had for a bank’s head office.”

“PROJECT FOCUS: Company restaurant acoustic correction

In the restaurant, the same hushed ambience prevails: in this completely glazed space looking out over an enormous landscaped park, Lugn acoustic panels mark out small lounges where guests can eat in peace. “Here, with the sound bouncing off the windows, the room was at risk of descending into a complete cacophony.

More about the company restaurant acoustic correction by myOpenspace

Feedback from the distributor and installer

“Since most of the office was configured as an open-space environment in order to foster a startup-style working atmosphere, we had to propose partitions offering optimal acoustic performance in order to optimise confidentiality between one space and another. We thus opted for the standard H7 partition, chiefly in its glazed version. The hOyez partition has passed more acoustic tests than any other.

We therefore chose a double-glazed model with phonic reinforcement. Its 44.2 + 33.2 silence system guarantees very good results. We are very familiar with this H7 partition and recommend it often. It was immensely useful to us in this project, as we know its properties inside out. To make it easier to reconfigure areas, we opted for the standard joint-covering model rather than the transparent finish.