The Sliding Hardware Seals It

The new headquarters of the Kostner Group in Vahrn/South Tyrol is in the middle of an industrial estate between the dual carriageway and the motorway. The architecture represents a counterpoint in this situation. A green oasis was created, which more than fulfilled the high ecological and social responsibility demands of the builder. The new office building provides the people who work here with an optimum environment: clean air, tranquility and flexible room structures.

A special situation arose in the reception area of the new office building: The entrance takes you into a two-story open foyer with a central atrium as a meeting area with intersecting staircases. There is a considerable amount of public traffic here, and the employees need to be able to communicate with each other across the floors – all accompanied by an appropriate amount of background noise.

However, there are offices immediately behind the reception desk. The atmosphere is changing all the time. On the one hand, the employees need visual contact with the entrance and the staircases, and want to be ready to communicate with visitors and co-workers. On the other hand, they need to be able to concentrate on their work in a relaxed atmosphere. If necessary, it must therefore be possible to block themselves off from the noise in the atrium and protect themselves from the drafts which blow in via the sliding doors in reception, particularly during the winter.

The builder’s requirements were clear: Transparent and tightly sealing door elements which could be flexibly opened and closed without getting in the way in the confined spaces, or taking up additional room. “The intention was always to achieve this using a sliding door”, explains Giuliani. “However, I had my doubts about whether it was actually possible to achieve the acoustic effectiveness that the customer wanted using a sliding hardware.”

The “Hawa Junior Acoustics” sliding solution with sound attenuation fulfilled the requirements. The amount of background noise from room to room is reduced considerably with the door closed thanks to optimized, all-round sealing, and unwanted odors and drafts are also kept out.

To the project report