Show-stopping acoustics that speak for themselves
- Customer: AON
- Designer: IBI Group
- Rep Group: Milyu Collective
- Supplier: Ayrsonics
- Dealer: Vertical Interiors
The North Sky Reception Project was the vision of designers from the internationally recognized IBI Group. The task was to install dozens of custom-built, Ruby Red 24mm ezoBord baffles or “fins” that would weave organically through the reception area into the heart of the elegant offices. The challenge: have the fins appear to move through the glass of the interior walls. The result would be spectacular, offering a sense of organic flow and continuity to visitors and staff alike.
Determined to bring the designer’s vision to life, McIntyre Group collaborated closely with the Ayrsonics customization team to develop an innovative mounting system that allowed the fins to appear to emerge seamlessly from the ceiling. The spacing of the fins had to be precise to create the effect of light cascading between them. A misplaced fin or misjudged angle would break the illusion of organic movement that the designer envisioned. At the same time, the installation had to consider any unpredictable actions of the fins, which would impact the weave’s intricate geometry. Finally, installers had to ensure that neither the structural rigidity of the fins nor the sound absorption value of the ezoBord core was diminished in any way.
The McIntyre Group’s solution was an intricate balance of creativity, technology, and craftsmanship. Laying an intricate pattern laid across the floor of the AON environment, the team used a series of lasers to check and cross-check the positioning of every fin before it was finally secured. In the end, the results speak for themselves: a breathtaking installation that captures the undulations of the Northern Sky with a space that itself seems to float above the prairie below.
