loop

RMIT DESIGN HUB

Loop was developed as an internal meeting pavilion situated in the open plan ‘warehouse’ spaces of the RMIT Design Hub. While the open plan office offers many advantages in spatial flexibility and ease of interaction, the need for visual and acoustic separation for specific tasks, meetings and web-based conferencing is vital. Rather than developing an approach that involved complete spatial and acoustic separation the design proposal sought to achieve a sense of ‘permeability’ in the modulation of spatial conditions.

The focus of the project involved developing a way of thinking toward interior structures that can shape and control sound, light and air in open plan contemporary office environments. This involved the development of a flexible system for spatial solutions which could be tailored to fit different programmatic, aesthetic and acoustic circumstances.

The proposal consisted of the arrangement of multiple permeable layers that attenuate sound while maintaining luminosity and airflow. The wall system offered a new approach to the challenges of open planning by transforming sound environments rather than blocking sound transmission.