Safe and comfortable. Rich in design and environmentally friendly, this is the ceiling of the future.
Ceilings are not only at risk of falling during major earthquakes. Ceilings falling due to aging and deteriorating base materials, daily delicate vibrations, wind and thermal contraction, and other such causes have been reported all over the world today.
Replacing heavy and hard conventional ceilings, a new concept of soft, lightweight, and strong membrane ceilings gently wrap people’s lives.
The danger of falling ceilings is not limited to major earthquakes. Aging and deterioration of the base material, daily delicate vibrations, cold and heat shrinkage. Ceiling falls due to these causes have been reported all over the world today.
Replacing heavy and hard conventional ceilings, a new concept of soft, lightweight, and strong membrane ceilings gently wrap people’s lives.
Feature
Main construction methods and procedures
Technical specification
The mass of the membrane material is approximately 600 g/m². Compared to conventional ceiling materials, it is very lightweight, minimizing damage to people and objects in the room in the event of an unexpected fall.
The thin and soft membrane material not only enhances the room’s design, but also makes the structure capable of following deformation even in the event of large seismic shaking, thus reducing the risk of ceiling fallout to an extremely low level.
In spite of its extremely thin material with a thickness of only 1 mm, it has been proven in in-house tests to be strong enough to catch falling objects.
It creates a space with a high-quality light environment by reflecting natural lighting from windows or indirect lighting effects from light transmitted through the membrane material.
Membrane material: BATYLINE Aw
Facility name: Kurashiki City Indoor Swimming Center (indoor pool)
Room volume: approx. 9,000m² (25m x 36m x 10m)
| Date of measurement | Temperature | level of humidity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before installation of membrane ceiling wood, hair and magnesium plate (t=25) | 2012/3/27 | 31°C | 50%. |
| After installation of membrane ceiling BATYLINE Aw (t=0.7) | 2012/7/10 | 32°C | 74%. |
After the membrane ceiling was installed, we confirmed that the reverberation time was reduced, mainly in the 160-200 Hz band.
We cooperated with the Kawaguchi Laboratory of the University of Tokyo’s Institute of Industrial Science in thermal environment measurement experiments, and confirmed that installing a membrane ceiling can control airflow in a room and save energy.
| establishment | 2012/11/28 |
|---|---|
| membrane material | Polyester membrane material |
| closing time (library, museum, etc.) | About 1 minute at the switch |
| area | 16m2 |
| Location | Measured items | number of measurement points | Measuring instruments | measurement method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| indoor | Indoor air temperature, Walls, floors, Surface temperature of glass, etc, Air conditioning inlet/outlet temperature and humidity, air velocity | Total 42 items | thermocouple | Continuous measurement 10 min/times |
| outside a room | Outside air temperature and humidity | one point | temperature controller |
By contrast of closing and fully opening the membrane ceiling, the membrane ceiling showed a blocking effect of about 4°C to 6°C when the heating was set at 22°C. (Kawaguchi Laboratory, Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo)
*From “Status of Demonstration Experiment at COMMA House (Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo) www.commahouse.iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp.
It is also excellent in design, as it can accommodate curved surfaces and other free-form shapes.
Framing and anchoring membrane materials with ropes or aluminum anchoring systems
Method of fixing only the two ends of the membrane and suspending it freely without hearing.
Method of providing hearing by attaching hardware at points around the perimeter of the membrane.
| Membrane Material | Material Composition/Features | thickness [mm] weight [g/m²] Fabric width[mm] | Visible light reflectance/ Transmittance [%] Transmittance | Sound absorption coefficient [NRC値] note 1 | Color variation | fire resistance performance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sound absorbing membrane material | Flameproof Products | BATYLINE Aw |  Membrane material that is flexible, has high sound absorption performance, and is easy to install. |
0.7 JIS K 6404 600 JIS K 6404 2,700 | White 91/7 Gray 64/2 Beige 53/2 Black 4/1 | 0.68 | Standard: White/Gray  Special order: beige/black  |
Flameproof products*3 Certification No. F-26117 （Japan Fire Retardant Association |
| non-inflammable material | VERVYFINE Aw |  A noncombustible material that is supple and highly sound absorbent. |
0.47 JIS K 6404 490 JIS K 6404 3,000 | 78/18 | 0.69 | white  |
Noncombustible materials*2 Certification No. NM-4223-1 Building Standard Law Article 2, Item 9 | |
| GOTY Aw |  Washi-like noncombustible material specialized for 2-sided fixation type with high sound absorption |
0.60 JIS R 3420 460 JIS R 3420 2,000 | 64/28 | 0.70 | white  |
Noncombustible materials*2 Certification No. NM-4355 Building Standard Law Article 2, Item 9 | ||
| UNITYFINE Aw |  Membrane material with higher sound absorption performance through multi-layering. |
0.32 JIS K 6404 290 JIS K 6404 2,670 (excluding glass fiber fabrics) | (Synthesis) White 65/7 Light gray 49/2 Anthracite 8/1 Quartz 65/6 Sandy Beige 48/3 | 0.74 | White / Light gray / Anthracite / Quartz / Sandy beige  |
Noncombustible materials*2 Certification No. NM-4071 Building Standard Law Article 2, Item 9 | ||
| Airtight membrane material | non-inflammable material | RESTYFINE |  Air-tight membrane material with excellent water resistance and versatility. |
0.37 JIS K 6404 502 JIS K 6404 2,000 | 91/4 | 0.10 | white  |
Noncombustible materials*2 Certification No. NM-4200 Building Standard Law Article 2, Item 9 |
| Mesh membrane material | non-inflammable material | FT381 |  Mesh membrane material with high elasticity and an aperture rate of just under 28%. |
0.95 JIS K 6404 550 JIS K 6404 2,670 | 28%. (Aperture ratio) | 0.12 | Ash blonde / gray / beige / beaten metal / metallic  |
Flameproof products*3 Certification No. F-25272 （Japan Fire Retardant Association |
The above is a typical example. Other specifications are also available.
Product specifications are subject to change without notice.
The above values are based on measurements and are not guaranteed.
Color variations are for illustrative purposes only and may differ from actual products.
All membrane materials have been verified by a third-party organization to be equivalent to F☆☆☆☆. (Formaldehyde emission rate: less than 0.005mg/m²/h)
Caution should be exercised when using in swimming pools.
1 NRC value (Noise Reduction Coefficient) is the arithmetic mean of the sound absorption coefficient at each frequency of 250, 500, 1000 and 2000 Hz.
2 Noncombustible materials are building materials certified by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism as having noncombustible performance as defined by the Building Standard Law.
3 Flameproof products are products certified by the Japan Fire Retardant Association based on flameproof performance standards, etc. established by the Flameproof Product Certification Committee.
A 3 kg striker (stake) was dropped from a height of 1 m onto the center portion and the edge of the membrane surface.
*This test conforms to the “Standard for Protective Caps” as stipulated in Article 42 of the Industrial Safety and Health Law by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
