On April 2, 2025, Rockfon, an expert in solving acoustic problems, held an acoustic design training session entitled Words in Space at KINOGRAM. It was attended by dozens of professionals representing the architectural and interior design community. The special guest of the event was a prominent linguist, Professor Jerzy Bralczyk, thanks to whom the meeting, devoted primarily to the technical aspects of correcting the deficiencies of the sound layer of buildings, gained a broader, humanistic context. In this approach, the physiological phenomenon of hearing a word and the psychological dimension of its understanding integrally merge with the idea of conversation as a prelude to understanding and creating relationships.
Photo by B.Barczyk
Let's create together a world that sounds good to everyone - with this invitation the Rockfon brand, the organizer of the acoustic training entitled Word in Space, addressed architects.
The highly anticipated event was a response to the demand of representatives of the architectural community. Constructed from several thematic blocks, the training meeting gathered a large number of architects on that April day at the Norblin Factory, primarily creators of office interiors, but also theaters, philharmonics, museums or hotel spaces. The speeches were followed attentively by architects from the largest studios, wishing to deepen their knowledge of one of the key aspects determining the positive reception of any work of architecture, as well as to learn about the most modern, proven methods of solving problems with acoustics. The special guest of the meeting was the eminent linguist, Professor Jerzy Bralczyk. The fascinating conversation with the professor was brilliantly conducted by Olga Kisiel-Konopka, owner of the agency OKK! PR agency, a polonist by education, a connoisseur of beautiful, valuable words.
What sounds inside?
Today we will deepen our knowledge of our passions: space and sound. When properly designed, they have tremendous power. They improve well-being and facilitate dialogue that leads to mutual understanding," with these words a representative of the Rockfon brand, part of the respected Rockwool company in the construction industry, renowned for innovation, aesthetics and sustainable solutions, welcomed the training participants.
For experts associated with the brand, acoustic design of even the most demanding buildings and spaces in this regard is an everyday occurrence. Issues of sound in space have no secrets for them. Rockfon's top-quality products are made of raw materials with exceptional acoustic properties and unparalleled resistance to fire and moisture. Organized by Rockfon, the acoustic training for architects at the Norblin Factory consisted of three parts, between which the participants visited an exhibition directly related to the main topic during a break.
Photo: B.Barczyk
Word in space
The speech by Professor Bralczyk - an unquestionable authority, a tireless popularizer of knowledge about language, as well as an arbiter of the correctness of the spoken and written word - flowed in a rapid stream that carried and carried away the listeners who silently absorbed his words directly from the space. After this multifaceted introduction, sparkling with swagger and humor, which expanded the horizons, not only in terms of the content available to the ear (the heard word), but also to the inner, mental "hearing," the strictly training part began. It was filled with valuable speeches by Pascal van Dort, representing the organizer, global ambassador for acoustics for the Rockfon brand, an expert on the subject, a man with extraordinary charisma and a subtle sense of humor, and Professor Andrzej Klosak, an academic lecturer, respected architect and consultant, and at the same time an experienced practitioner who has been implementing optimal acoustic projects for years within the framework of the archAKUSTIK studio he founded.
Sound well-being
The engaging multimedia presentation with elements of acoustic experience, which Pascal van Dort enchanted the participants with, centered around ways to achieve the desired acoustic conditions in offices of different types and scales, as the title of the presentation announced: "The pursuit of acoustic comfort in office spaces." Design errors and methods of correcting them were presented and discussed in detail using specific examples, primarily from European offices, including those owned by Rockfon. Pascal van Dort has been relentlessly promoting the importance of acoustic design as a key element of space design. He is known as an advocate for a universal understanding of the role of sound - with particular emphasis on the dangers posed by excessive noise levels - and for the conscious design of interior acoustics as a "cure" for the nagging noise pollution we experience in the modern world. In his speech, he repeatedly stressed that the center of acoustic design should always remain the human being and his needs. The sounds we feed - or catapult - our ears with every day affect our psychophysical state significantly in the long run. That's why acoustic design deserves to be accorded the status of one of the most important, next to function and form, elements of shaping any type of interior.
Photo B.Barczyk
Acoustics and the letter of the law
The last of the speakers was Professor Andrzej Klosak, a respected acoustic consultant and founder of the archAKUSTIK studio. The professor introduced the audience more deeply into the topic of legal regulations related to acoustic requirements, dispelling doubts related to this so important issue. As he announced, unlike his predecessors, he presented the problem of acoustics from a "hard construction" perspective. In his presentation, richly illustrated with examples of his own implementations, entitled "Construction Law. Acoustical Standard," he also included, among other things, tips on how to "track down" the hidden causes of acoustical problems, and how to fix design errors or damages that generate these problems. During the speech, he even touched on such topics as arguments to use in negotiations with the investor, or methods of persuasion effective in confrontations with subcontractors. All this in the name of improving the acoustic conditions of the implemented investment.
Good acoustics is all about comfort. After all, no one will die because of a poorly designed one, at least not directly. The customer is often able to pay for the appearance, for example, but no longer for acoustic comfort. It is necessary to have a negative experience so that the conviction arises that it is worth investing in acoustics as well," Professor Klosak said. "In Poland, the situation of compliance with acoustic standards is very different from that in Europe. The fulfillment of acoustic requirements is still almost nonexistent in our construction market, or at best very bad," he declared openly.
The presentation of the issue from the point of view of a practitioner who knows the "reality of construction" like the back of his hand incredibly appealed to the audience, causing liveliness, and in the part devoted to questions - even a stir.
I think that with acoustic design it is similar to lighting design. If it is imperceptible, it means the design was good," the professor concluded. Bidding farewell to the attendees, he wished them success in designing spaces that not only look good, but also sound beautiful.
The art of acoustics
During the coffee breaks, the trainees viewed a mini exhibition arranged in the cinema hall and its immediate surroundings. Colorful charts were displayed on easels showing 12 different architectural projects, which had in common that they were designed with exemplary acoustic requirements. Each of the buildings also used the latest generation of materials - visible in the close-up photos - as well as advanced solutions to improve room acoustics. Among those shown at the exhibition were large offices, a state-of-the-art swimming pool, a hospital, a bank or an airport - enclosed spaces that house large numbers of people every day, making sound quality, and therefore acoustics, crucial in their case. Not only in terms of physical and psychological well-being, but also, last but not least, uninterrupted and effective communication dependent on the quality of sound reception in every nook and cranny of the interior.
Photo by B.Barczyk
More words in the space
The dynamics of the Word in Space training meeting made it possible to keep the attention of the numerous listeners in the room until the last seconds of its duration. This was not only due to the excellent acoustics of the KINOGRAM halls, but also to the well-thought-out design of the event and its content, which made the participants feel truly saturated with knowledge. From Professor Bralczyk's philosophically thoughtful - and at the same time surprisingly witty - erudite talk, through Pascal van Dort's performance, given with admirable panache and enriched by an attractive multimedia presentation, to Professor Klosak's polytechnic lecture, rich in numbers, data, formulas and graphs, which satisfied the most demanding engineers. Despite the passage of more than four hours spent in a state of intense concentration, the face of none of the participants betrayed signs of weariness. Ba, the number of questions from the audience, to which the last speaker tirelessly provided expert answers, meant that, imperceptibly, the time scheduled for the Word in Space training was exceeded. However, no one left the room "in English." This is perhaps the greatest compliment to the organizers. As well as proof of how much such initiatives are needed. Rockfon has all the conditions to continue the task of educating and raising the standards of acoustic design, the level of which in our country unfortunately still leaves much to be desired. Rockfon's mission is to create a world that sounds good to everyone. Let's hope that the Word in Space training meeting and subsequent similar ones will contribute to making acoustic solutions that promote health in the broadest sense one day become a widely available good.
It would be difficult to find a better summary of the training than the one shared by one of its participants, Janusz Gąsiorowski, M.Sc., an architect and certified musician, and therefore a man equally sensitive to the issues of sound and space: In my opinion, the uniqueness of this meeting is determined by the fact that during all three speeches, which also resounded in Professor Bralczyk's speech, attention was paid to an issue relatively rarely discussed in relation to acoustics and building physics, that is, not only physical comfort, but above all mental comfort. It is far too rarely discussed what a tremendous charge of tranquility an acoustically well-designed interior provides. It's not just about its insulation, but about the way we use this interior in the sense of speech intelligibility and adequate reverberation time. Even we architects don't always realize how tiring it is to be in poorly acoustically designed rooms.
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