Royal Far West Children's Hospital Play Area
The challenges
Since 1924, the Royal Far West charity, based just metres away from the iconic Manly beachfront, has provided healthcare and developmental support for children living in rural and remote areas across Australia. In 2018, in recognition and support of the charity’s incredible work, the NSW government announced funding for Royal Far West’s proposed state‐of‐the‐art Centre for Child Health and Learning – a crucial facility that would greatly expand and enhance its level of care.
Intended to provide a relaxing environment, benefitting from sea views, the six‐storey centre’s enviable location – just off the bustling Manly esplanade – meant that residents were also surrounded by a hospital, school, shopping centre and busy road.
For Michael H, Facilities and Operations Manager at Royal Far West, maintaining a peaceful ambience in the centre’s outdoor covered balcony area was a key concern. “We have a range of children here who are receiving treatment and care for various issues, including behavioural and hearing. We didn’t just want the play area to be a nice, relaxing space for the children to enjoy – there were also important clinical reasons for needing to keep loud traffic noise and echoes to a minimum”. Reducing reverberation and absorbing noise where possible within the space drove the need for including a high performance solution.
The solutions
Working closely with Royal Far West, project architects, Architectus, specified Pyrotek’s highperforming Reapor noise‐absorbing panels to cover all wall and ceiling surfaces within the balcony area, to help create an oasis of calm in an otherwise noisy environment.
Opting for 25mm thick panels, with an impressive 65% sound absorption (0.65 NRC), the non‐combustible rated Reapor system is one of the few available on the market that can be adhered directly onto a wall without insulation, while also being lightweight and offering a long product life
The results
The result is a light, quiet balcony, away from the hustle and bustle below, that puts the focus back onto the stunning sea and beach views.
“The tiles we selected are unobtrusive”, remarks H; “they don’t stand out, but instead provide a muted canvas, both visually and acoustically, that blends into the environment and absorbs the unwanted noise extremely well. We’re thrilled with the finished look and feel of the area, and feel that we definitely made the right choice with Reapor”.
