The GCC completed projects in residential, commercial, retail, medical, and education sectors are set to grow by 7.7 per cent from 2014 to hit $72 billion this year, according to a recent report.

In the build-up to World Expo 2020 in Dubai and 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar, the completed projects in residential, commercial, retail, medical, and education sectors in the GCC are set to grow by 7.7 per cent from 2014 to reach $72 billion this year, according to a recent report by research firm Ventures Middle East.

These megaprojects can benefit from a new line of sound-absorbing ceiling panels from leading company Hunter Douglas, said industry experts ahead of the Index interior design exhibition.

“GCC countries are heavily investing in major projects from transportation, to financial hubs, and office towers - which require the most advanced interior design solutions to reduce noise and absorb sound, while contributing to a pleasing working and travelling environment,” remarked Santhosh Vallil, the senior sales manager for the Middle East branch of international ceiling manufacturer Hunter Douglas.

With the GCC’s interior contracting and fit-out sector set to reach $8 billion in 2015, Hunter Douglas has introduced the XLnt swing-down ceiling panels, designed for airports, train and metro stations, offices, and other utility buildings  - spaces in which architects wish to use large, flat finishing elements, he noted.

XLnt ceiling panels have an unrivalled stiffness because of a layered composition of honeycomb aluminium – based on composite technology from the aviation industry. As a result, architects have tremendous freedom in creating their own designs, without worrying about ceiling tensile stress, bending, or sagging, he added.

“Thanks to the swing-down system across the width, each separate panel is easy to pull down, and causes minimal obstruction on the path beneath,” stated Martin van der Meijden, the product manager for ceilings, Hunter Douglas.

“As a result, installers and installers and technicians easy access to any part of the plenum space by undoing little clamps while the panel remains securely fastened,” he noted.

There are open or closed variations of XLnt ceiling panels, both classified as A2 by Eurobrand, the European independent brand experts, which means they are suitable for almost every kind of application or building. The panels are available in sizes up to 1.25 x 2.5 meters, and have a small, aesthetically-pleasing seam.

The open, perforated, four-layered variation has a fiber glass panel between the aluminium layers, leading to a high sound absorption value (aw 0.75), which is directly related to the panel’s high degree of openness. The panel fronts have an openness of 23 per cent, while the panel backs have an openness of 35 per cent.

Meanwhile, the closed, three-layered panel is entirely flat with three layers - including an aluminium front, an aluminium honeycomb, and an aluminium back - for a total thickness of 2.5 cm.

Hunter Douglas is market leader both globally and in the Netherlands for innovative, aesthetic, high-quality window coverings, sun control systems and architectural ceiling and façade panels.

For almost 50 years, its products have contributed to the sustainable thermal, acoustic and visual appeal of buildings across a wide range of branches and sectors, from trade to industry and from the catering business to government.-TradeArabia News Service