Ceiling sound-absorbing panel PLETTRO®

hangingfor wallfor partition wall

Plettro™ panel is inspired to the well-known musical accessory used by guitarists, but this geometric shape does not come exclusively from a design choice, and the reference to the musical world is only one of the suggestions. The idea of this new product actually comes from this particular shape analysis and its potential acoustic performances, in addition to its notable aesthetic features and suitability for the integration in various architectural contexts. Plettro™ shape is well known with the technical name of “Reuleaux Triangle”, and it consists of three curves based on the equilateral triangle, with all the perimetral points at the same distance from the triangle centre. It’s thus a geometry extremely interesting from the acoustic point of view, because the panel surface can give an acoustic regular response to the incident sound wave, as in the circular form happens. Up to now, the technical realization of sound-absorbing elements for suspended ceilings, based on complex shapes, has been reserved to marginal and expensive handcraft installations, because any serial production requires the development of articulated industrial processes. During the preliminary design phase, we considered the possibility to adopt the thermoforming production technique, the most diffused method in the worlds of furniture and interior design. At the same time, the need to develop an operative tool for acoustic correction suitable for professional audio music contexts, led us to evaluate alternative solutions to grant sound absorption performances on a wider range of sound frequencies.