University Heights United Methodist Church

The architect originally specified new, pre-fabricated, fabric-covered acoustical wall panels to replace existing panels that did not have adequate coverage on the back wall of the church. Tony Boxell, of Specified Interiors, showed them CLIPSO® stretch fabric, which would provide an acoustical and seamless wall application. The architect preferred the design of the CLIPSO system over all others, which also saved them 10% in total costs.

The acoustician reviewed our acoustical performance tests and approved CLIPSO for this project. Although the wall had angled slope conditions and numerous cutouts for air diffusers and other wall mounted devices, the CLIPSO installation process was fast and easy. A continuous wood-blocking strip was applied to the gyp board substrate to which our track was secured. The wood furring was wrapped with CLIPSO fabric and tucked into the vinyl extrusion to provide a finished, exposed edge to match the face. Precise field dimensions were not critical, as cutouts are made onsite with CLIPSO coverings. This is not the case with competitive PVC-based, pre-fabricated panels which require exact dimensions with no possibility of correcting onsite.

The owner, architect, and acoustical consultant all commented that the finished appearance did not have the look of a fabric, but rather the smooth, monolithic look of painted sheetrock without the imperfections.

This was the first phase of redesigning the acoustics in the church’s chapel. After the installation was complete, the acoustician performed field measurement readings and verbally confirmed to us that the panels have met their acoustical expectations.