Hear the Difference: Before and After Acoustic Panels in a Brisbane Hall
The Chinese Fraternity Association of Queensland runs an aged care service in Brisbane with a large multipurpose hall used for meals, group activities, meetings and community events. The room was too loud to hold a conversation in.
We supplied and installed thirty-seven Autex Quietspace acoustic panels across the ceiling, at 2700 mm x 1200 mm and 50 mm thick. The before and after clap tests are below.
This is a walk through of that project, followed by what we would tell anyone researching acoustic panels for halls and open spaces: why these rooms echo, where panels need to go, and what to look for in a panel built for a space this size.
The project: Chinese Fraternity Association of Queensland
The hall had the profile you would expect. Large floor area, high ceiling, hard surfaces on nearly every plane, and very little in the way of soft furnishing.
During activities the room filled with reflected sound. That is a problem in any hall, and a serious one in aged care, where many residents already work harder than most to follow speech. Raised voices produce more reflected sound, which pushes voices higher again. The room gets louder and less intelligible at the same time.
| Project detail | Specification |
|---|---|
| Client | Chinese Fraternity Association of Queensland, Brisbane |
| Space | Multipurpose hall, aged care service |
| Product | Autex Quietspace Panel |
| Quantity | 37 panels |
| Panel size | 2700 mm x 1200 mm, 50 mm thick |
| Application | Ceiling, direct fixed |
| Scope | Supplied and installed by Acoustic Sound Products |
Why the ceiling
The ceiling was the largest uninterrupted surface in the room, so we could achieve meaningful absorption in a single plane without a wall fit-out.
It also kept the walls clear. In aged care, wall space carries handrails, signage, artwork and equipment, and anything at head height needs careful thought. A ceiling installation stays out of reach of daily contact entirely.
Why the 2700 mm panel
Most acoustic panels on the Australian market come in one size, 2400 mm x 1200 mm. We stock Quietspace Panel in 2700 mm x 1200 mm as well, and on a ceiling this size the extra 300 mm removed an entire row of joins across the run.
Fewer seams, less cutting, less offcut waste, faster install, and a cleaner finished field overhead. On large-span ceilings that size difference is often what separates a continuous surface from a patchwork.
The clap test, before and after
A single sharp clap is the fastest read on a room. In a treated space it stops almost immediately. In an untreated hall it rings on, sometimes with a metallic flutter as it bounces between parallel walls.
Before treatment
The clap rings out and keeps travelling, tailing off slowly across the room.
After treatment
Recorded in the same position with the same equipment. The clap now stops almost as soon as it starts, and the ring is gone. That difference is what the room's users experience as being able to hear each other across a table without raising their voices.
Why halls and open spaces echo
Sound behaves in a hall the way light behaves in a room lined with mirrors. Every hard surface throws it back.
Soft materials absorb sound energy and convert it to heat. Hard materials such as concrete, plasterboard, glass, tile and polished timber reflect almost all of it. In a large room with a high ceiling, that reflected sound keeps travelling long after the original sound stopped.
The result is reverberation. The longer it lasts, the more each syllable overlaps the tail of the one before it, until speech stops being intelligible and the room simply feels exhausting. Turning up the PA usually makes it worse, because the extra energy has nowhere to go either.
Where acoustic panels go in a large space
In a hall, total absorption matters more than precise placement. Small critical listening rooms need panels at specific reflection points. Halls do not work that way, because the room is large enough and the uses varied enough that the goal is simply enough absorption overall.
Three placement decisions still matter.
The ceiling is usually the highest-value surface. It is typically the largest unbroken plane, rarely competing with doors, windows or fixtures, and out of reach of wear. Panels can be direct fixed or suspended as rafts where services or height make direct fixing impractical.
Upper walls do the next most work. Sound bouncing between parallel walls creates the flutter you hear in a clap test. Panels on the upper portion of opposing walls interrupt that path while staying above the zone where they get knocked or marked.
Absorption near the sound source helps intelligibility. Where a hall has a stage or fixed speaking position, treating the surfaces around it stops the strongest early reflections from muddying speech before it reaches the room.
What to look for in a panel for a large space
Three specifications separate a panel that will fix a hall from one that will decorate it.
Absorption rating
Noise Reduction Coefficient runs from 0 to 1 and describes how much sound energy a material absorbs. For halls, look for NRC 0.85 or higher. Autex Quietspace Panel is rated NRC 0.85 to 1.00 depending on thickness and mounting, and is engineered to absorb a minimum of 85% of the sound energy reaching it. Decorative panels sold without a published NRC figure usually have a reason for the omission.
Fire rating
Any panel covering a large area becomes part of the building's lining, which brings it under the National Construction Code's fire hazard requirements. Aged care carries some of the strictest of any building class.
Quietspace Panel is tested to AS 5637.1 and AS ISO 9705-2003 and achieves Group 1, the highest classification, with a smoke growth rate index below 100 m²/s². That is what allows it across large ceiling areas in aged care, healthcare and education buildings.
Material and thickness
Quietspace Panel is made from 100% polyester fibre including recycled content, with a hard compressed face and cushioned backing that broadens the frequency range it absorbs. It is manufactured in Australia, in 25 mm, 50 mm, 75 mm and 100 mm thicknesses.
Thicker panels absorb lower frequencies more effectively. The 50 mm used at the Brisbane hall covers the range where speech intelligibility lives, which is the priority in a room built for conversation.
What acoustic panels will not do
Absorption and soundproofing are different jobs, and confusing them is the most expensive mistake in this category.
Panels absorb sound inside a room. They shorten reverberation, reduce echo and improve clarity for the people in that space. They do not block sound moving between rooms, which is a matter of mass, isolation and sealing, and therefore structural work.
If the hall is unbearable to be in, panels are the answer. If the hall can be heard from the office next door, that is a different project.
Frequently asked questions
How many acoustic panels does a hall need?
It depends on the room's volume, its surface materials and how it is used. The Brisbane hall took thirty-seven 2700 mm x 1200 mm panels across the ceiling, but a carpeted room of the same footprint would need considerably less. The reliable answer comes from assessing the actual space rather than copying a panel count from a similar one.
Should panels go on the walls or the ceiling?
The ceiling first in most halls. It is usually the largest uninterrupted surface, free of fixtures, and out of reach of daily contact. Upper walls are the usual second stage where more absorption is needed or where flutter echo between parallel walls persists.
Will acoustic panels stop noise coming from outside?
No. Panels absorb sound within a room, they do not block sound passing through the building fabric. Reducing transmission from outside or an adjoining space requires mass and sealing rather than surface treatment.
Are acoustic panels safe for aged care and other commercial buildings?
They must meet the National Construction Code's fire hazard requirements for wall and ceiling linings. Quietspace Panel achieves Group 1, the highest classification, which is why it can be used across large ceiling areas in aged care and healthcare. Confirm the fire rating of any panel before specifying it commercially.
How long does an installation take?
Most halls are completed in days rather than weeks, depending on size, ceiling height, access and whether the room needs to stay in use. The work is surface fixing rather than construction, so disruption is generally limited to the room being treated.
Talk to us about your space
The Brisbane hall went from a room people avoided holding conversations in to one that works for meals, meetings and activities. The variables that decided it were absorption rating, ceiling coverage and correct fire classification.
Quietspace Panel is stocked in both 2400 mm and 2700 mm lengths, rated NRC 0.85 to 1.00 and Group 1 fire rated. We supply all across Australia and install in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Gold Coast.
View Quietspace Acoustic Panels specifications and sizes
For more on treating large venues, see our guide to acoustic solutions for halls and churches.
