by Brianna Crandall — July 7, 2017 — During what is considered the largest contract furnishings exposition in North America, Maars Living Walls was honored with Best of NeoCon Gold and Silver awards for its steel concept wall SQAPE and the just-launched Acoustical Sliding Door. The Netherlands-based worldwide manufacturer of partition walls swept the Movable Walls category at NeoCon 2017, held in June at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. The company had won two awards in 2016 as well.
Maars says its partition walls are continually making progress in the fields of design, soundproofing, multimedia and fireproofing. The integration of new high-tech systems and intelligent solutions in walls also creates a wealth of new opportunities. Maars offers both standard and customized solutions in, for example, offices, airports, factories, cinemas, shops and hotels, as well as in the public sector at hospitals, public institutions, universities and schools. The three new movable walls solutions are described below.
Best of NeoCon Gold: SQAPE
Gold award winner SQAPE is touted as the next generation in solid steel architectural walls, answering an increasing demand for privacy in open-office spaces. Using patented technology, SQAPE has minimalist detailing for design continuity.
Gold winner SQAPE creates visual privacy as well as sound privacy, with exceptionally high acoustic performance of 60 dB.
With SQAPE, all elements are innovatively integrated in the construction, resulting in an uncompromising interplay of lines. This design continuity is also in the door module, which is completely concealed: there is no doorframe, nor visible hinges, because of pivot construction; also, door-handle options are integrated with the wall. SQAPE creates visual privacy as well as sound privacy, with exceptionally high acoustic performance of 60 dB, says Maars.
SQAPE movable walls can be a substitute to traditional drywall construction, not only in the offices segment but also for educational and healthcare institutions.
Best of NeoCon Silver: Acoustical Sliding Door
The Silver award-winning Acoustical Sliding Door (scroll down on page) offers a simple, elegant design. Developed by Maars’ research and development (R&D) team and third-party-lab tested, the solution seals the entire door for superior acoustic performance, with a drop seal along the bottom providing additional sound insulation. In lab testing, the door keeps sound in (or out) up to 35 decibels (dB). When compared to a normal sliding door, this is an improvement of 15 dB, where every 3 dB is a doubling in sound insulation, notes the company.
The Silver-winning Acoustical Sliding Door offers a simple, elegant design with a solution sealing the entire door for superior acoustic performance, keeping sound in (or out) up to 35 dB.
The Acoustical Sliding Door has a sound insulation performance in STC of 35 dB to ATSM E413-10 standard. The door can be integrated in all of Maars Living Walls’ systems, including Horizon, String², Panorama and Metaline.
Carré
Also at NeoCon, Maars Living Walls introduced a single-glazed wall solution: Carré. Architects and designers are creating loft-like industrialized spaces for the open-office environment, and Carré was designed so specifiers can create warehouse-like “window walls” using the glazed relocatable walls from Maars. With Carré, any type of pattern can be designed with steel or aluminum profiles — grids, horizontal or vertical muntins — the options are endless, says the company.
Single-glazed wall Carré enables specifiers to create loft-like industrialized spaces as a temporary or flexible solution for a variety of interior spaces.
Carré creates a continuous design by applying the muntins on the glazed-wall panels and doors, maintaining the movable properties and resulting in a single cohesive design. It can be an ideal temporary or flexible solution for a variety of interior spaces, adding an appealing industrial look.
For more information, visit the Maars Living Walls Web site or click on the specific product links above.
