Client: GulfQuest National Maritime Museum
Location: Mobile, AL, United States
Completion date: 2015
Project Team
Industry Resource
Anthony Antonelli
pinta acoustic, inc.
Industry Resource
Joerg Hutmacher
pinta acoustic, inc.
Industry Resource
Paul Frenkel
Ben M. Radcliff Contractor
Architect
Watermark Design Group
Artist
Mary Edna Fraser
Overview
GulfQuest National Maritime Museum, located on the Mobile River in Alabama, is the world’s only maritime museum dedicated to the heritage of the Gulf of Mexico. Featuring hands-on interactive experiences, GulfQuest opened in September 2015 and is estimated to draw more than 300,000 guests per year, including groups of boisterous schoolchildren. To maximize the visitor experience, the building team at this major educational attraction selected SONEX® Valueline and willtec® direct-apply panels from pinta acoustic.
Goals
Originally, the curved metal plates were specified to be perforated for sound to pass through. However, these were changed and solid-steel curved plates were installed. As constructed, the rotunda’s dome interior space highly intensified reverberated sound around all of the curved, radiating metal plates and about other hard, reflective surface finishes—such as painted gypsum, steel, concrete, exterior glass and terrazzo floor—presenting an acoustical problem. Prior to the museum's scheduled opening, the space was already experiencing acoustic issues while the interior finishes were nearing completion. The contractor was asked to make a recommendation for a product that would absorb sound and conform to the various irregularly curved, painted metal panels around the rotunda. pinta acoustic products were recommended.
Process
After visiting the museum, pinta project manager Anthony Antonelli suggested omni-directional SONEX Valueline Panels. These acoustical panels have softly sculpted surfaces and produce subtle, ever-changing shadow and sunlight effects about the rotunda’s radiating sides. pinta sent several sample panel sizes to help determine dimensions.
Ideal for GulfQuest’s grand lobby, pinta’s SONEX Valueline Panels have a high sound absorption rating or noise reduction coefficient (NRC) of 0.90. A custom color blue acoustic coating was developed for the panels’ finish that matched a selected color from the batik sail art created by artist Mary Edna Fraser to suspend within the dome. One hundred twenty-eight custom-size, 1½-inch (38 mm)-thick SONEX Valueline Panels were directly adhered to the steel plates.
Additional Information
pinta’s willtec® colortec, smooth-surface, charcoal color finish panels were direct-applied and adhered front to back in single-panel rows between box beams under the concrete ceiling in the Port of Victory Theater. The small 400-square foot (37-square meter) theater shows a WWII film in combination with sound, lighting, and fog effects. Sound within the space was attenuated using approximately 270 square feet (25 square meters) of 22- by 48-by 3-inch-thick acoustical panels (559 by 1219 by 76 mm) and pinta’s acouSTIC adhesive.