Regional Archives

When the new Archives départementales du Rhône (Regional Archives of Rhône) in Lyon was commissioned to be designed, the architects behind the project took a distinctively modern approach. The architects designed the foyers and public areas of the building to be as spacious as possible, whilst flooding them with natural light to brighten them up and create an airy environment. However, large open spaces such as these, always pose a big problem when it comes to acoustic comfort; and acoustic comfort was an absolute top priority in these areas, as visitors either required silence to read or study or optimal acoustics when the areas were to be used for lectures. It was important to find the right acoustic balance for the various purposes of the building’s interior, and due to the height of the ceilings the architects insisted on a non-demountable solution. That called for Designpanel. To add to this, the architects were sold on the idea of Designpanel when they discovered our exclusive Tangent perforation pattern, which not only would give their ceilings a design that no one else could match but would also provide the perfect acoustic balance for the project. Design-wise the 900 x 2400 mm panels with Tangent perforations also give the ceilings a special aesthetic due to the leading lines of the perforations. In addition to this, the architects’ use of leading lines throughout the perforated ceilings was also combined with the large glass facades of the building, in order to create an outside-in feeling, whereby the exterior is reflected in the interior lines.