01 September 2011

SWISS weaver Weisbrod-Zurrer has launched curtain materials that are not only excellent at absorbing sound but at the same time light and translucent, in addition to meeting the high demands of interior designers.

Textile designer Annette Douglas developed the collection in cooperation with the Swiss test institute Empa under the brand name ‘Annette Douglas Textiles Acoustics’­ and Weisbrod-Zurrer is producing and selling it exclusively under the collection name ‘Silent Space’.

“This is a combination that has been lacking until now in modern interior design. Since these fabrics are aimed in the first instance at the contract market, flame retardancy was a further important criterion, and for this reason the collection was created in Trevira CS,” says a spokesman for Weisbrod-Zurrer.

“The qualities of the new collection, Silent Space, are genuinely new and should fill a gap in the market,” he adds.

“Previously, it was believed the more sound it was necessary to absorb, the heavier and thicker the fabric had to be. Now there are curtains with a drape weight that can absorb up to five times more noise compared to their conventional equivalents, and yet let daylight into the space,” he says.

The first acoustically-optimised lightweight textile resulted from the successful combination of computer modelling, acoustic measurement and textile expertise. Working with Empa, project leader Douglas succeeded in converting the new findings into weaving techniques. On the basis of numerous acoustic measurements made on various samples specially woven by Weisbrod-Zurrer, they were able to gradually optimise the acoustic properties of the fabric. The Swiss weaver then adjusted the sophisticated manufacturing process so that the industrially-made curtains actually displayed the required acoustic characteristics.

Weisbrod-Zurrer aroused enormous interest following the market launch of the collection with the three qualities – Streamer, Liquid and Whisper. Even the experts were enthusiastic, according to the spokesman.

“Acousticians are pretty astonished when they see the readings we are achieving with the new curtains in the reverberation room,” says Kurt Eggenschwiler, head of Empa’s acoustics/noise control division.

The new textiles can be used in a variety of places where there is a need for sound insulation, such as offices, living rooms, restaurants, hotel lobbies, seminar rooms and even multi-purpose auditoriums.

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