Fall 2004 Vol 3.2
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AMBICO subscribes to daily reportage on project plans filed across North America.
These reports are based on search criteria and are focused on specialized door and
frame products. The percentage of acoustic door and frame products being specified
is an eyeopener: 95% of all specialized door products being specified are acoustic
wood and acoustic steel doors and frames. Is there an "acoustic revolution" underway?
The sixties are famous for many things but one innovation, which revolutionized homes,
educational facilities, and the work-place, was the introduction of a design phenomenon
which became known as the "open concept".Homes were designed with large un-walled areas
and unobstructed views throughout main floors and stretching to upper levels. Schools
were being built with few, if any walls and large common areas. Established schools were
being renovated with all but privacy areas and load-bearing walls removed. Meanwhile, in
the work place, a similar revolution was taking place. Private offices were replaced
with "work stations", often consisting of a desk and the few feet surrounding it. Entire
floor areas were wall and barrier free. The typical office building today is characterized
by large open areas divided by a maze of pods, work stations and softwalled cubicles,
encasing workers and their equipment.
This concept was believed to foster team-work, camaraderie, creativity, a sense of freedom
of space and imagination. The truth has been far from it. Sean Michael Kerner, July 9, 2003,
at www.builder.com, believes that today's cubicle fans are "refugees" of open concept. He
states that the cubicle, "a home away from home", provides personal space, easier concentration
and less distraction. However, cubicles are almost entirely made from sound absorbing materials
with walls only 4-6 feet in height. The major dissatisfaction with both the open concept and
the evolution of the cubicle is the constant distractions which result from the din emanating
from co-workers, office traffic, computers and other office equipment. Kerner's research
indicated that in the open concept environment there is no room for personal conversation
or privacy.
Where will the "refugees" of cubicles go?
Motoko Rich, in The Wall Street Journal Online ("Fed-Up Employees Revolt Against Open-Office")
reports that "... architects and interior designers are heeding the call to restore some peace
and quiet ..." in the workplace. His report goes on to say that regardless of the failure of
the open concept to foster creativity, communication and collaboration among workers, the
reality is that a combination of the savings in costs of construction, the flexibility this
concept affords and the "atmosphere" of teamwork, will be used as excuses to retain open concept
and cubicles.
In the field of education, open concept has been viewed by most as a complete disaster. The
underlying vision that all children will thrive in one, common environment was short-sighted
and has proven to be a major miscalculation. Children have largely varying learning abilities,
attention spans and most importantly, physical abilities (i.e. ranges of hearing, sight, and
mental capacities). This led to chaos whether on a large scale or in "corners" of each open
concept area. A recent New York Times article, "Office Messes", explores the challenges faced
by office workers (and students, both children and adults) who suffer from learning difficulties
such as ADD and ADHD. An open concept facility made teaching these students a nightmare for
all concerned and has seriously affected their ability to learn. Quoted in the article is Dr.
John Ratey, co-author of "Driven To Distraction", who states, "If I were to create an environment
that is bad for ADHD, it would be today's typical office."
The basic problem to be solved through architectural acoustics is simple: keep the distractions
of unwanted sound (noise?) out of certain areas or, conversely, keep sounds encapsulated within a
certain area.
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Jack Shinder, President of AMBICO LIMITED, in his published article, "Crashing Through The Sound
Barrier" (www.ambico.com/news/crashing.asp) explains
the problems surrounding noise control:
"Noise seeps through walls and floors as well as doors. This is known as flanking noise, i.e.,
noise that goes around things, because parts of a building are not isolated from one another.
Noise control in doors is particularly difficult to achieve because a door (unlike a wall
or floor) must be operable.
Walls and floors have the luxury of achieving their acoustic goals in a 6" to 9" thick space,
whereas architectural aesthetics demand that an acoustic door will appear and function as a
normal 1-3/4" thick door. The process of developing a product to achieve these goals takes
a great deal of expertise and many years of research and development. Very few firms in North
America possess this knowledge and manufacturing capability."
Shinder's article provides an explanation of "Sound Transmission Class" (STC) and goes on to
outline the dilemma in manufacturing "operable" structures which will provide the STC levels
required by a project. The Research & Development team at AMBICO continues to investigate
ways of optimizing the performance of all door and frame products, particularly when faced
with the challenges of oversized openings and/or unusually shaped openings. A most recent
advance is AMBICO's newly developed and performance tested acoustic windows described in
"AMBICO Solutions Involve Research and Development – A Window of Opportunity" of this newsletter.
The supply of performance-rated acoustic doors and frames which consistently maintain the
required STC rating of an area, has been a large part of the formula for success at AMBICO
Limited. The addition of acoustic windows, rated to STC 57, builds on that success.
Noise Demonstration
Click here to listen to the NASA, Auditory Demonstrations in Acoustics and Hearing Conservation CD |
NASA's Glenn Research Center has produced an educational CD, "Auditory demonstrations in acoustics and hearing conservation". This excellent arrangement of demonstration tracks, provides recordings of common noises, their "usual" levels, escalated levels, and the same noises with masking and filtering applied. This CD clearly demonstrates the effects of these agents on both tonal and broadband sounds. In fact, masking and filtering and the use of "white noise" have become useful weapons in the war against unwanted sound and noise. To download the intriguing CD produced by NASA, Auditory Demonstrations in Acoustics and Hearing Conservation Featuring the sounds of NASA Glenn Research Center [browse CD].
Acoustics a Top Priority for Facilities Designers
For all of the reasons noted above, architecturally, sound transmission is a major concern
in the design of homes, apartment and condominium complexes, educational, health, and business
facilities, as well as government buildings, penal institutions and transportation facilities.
AMBICO fully realizes the importance of the STC ratings required by project designers and has
gained a world-wide reputation for manufacturing door and frame products, in steel and/or wood,
which meet or surpass these requirements. 
[ Return to Table of Contents ]
Although many projects may require standard sized, STC rated, wood or steel doors and frames, more often
than not, the requirement is for sliding or oversized or unusual jamb width units – and sometimes a combination
of all these specifications: the demand is for more specialized products. AMBICO enjoys meeting these
challenges (see The AMBICO e-Newsletter, Vol. 2:2, "The Sounds of Silence" for examples of architecturally
exciting projects where AMBICO supplied very specialized products).
Blair School of Music
The Nashville Network
Proctor & Gamble
Palace Theatre
Pine Oak Middle School
General Motors Technology Center
Canadian Broadcasting
Place D'Youville
Philadelphia Recreation Department
The Pentagon
Dow Chemicals
The Minuteman Project [ Return to Table of Contents ]
To learn about these new and exceptional products, visit the AMBICO web site at: www.ambico.com OR, select AMBICO PRODUCTS: www.ambico.com/products/index.asp
To link directly to the detailed information available for each product, select their respective home page links:
Tornado Resistant Steel Doors & Frames: www.ambico.com/products/tornado_doors.asp
To request a quote or for further information on our Newly developed products: specialized@ambico.com
The AMBICO "Company Store" contains a number of stock items at any given time. These are acoustic,
stainless steel and bullet resistant products which are commonly required in the construction of certain
types of building, i.e. schools, hotels, institutions, etc. In this issue of the AMBICO e-newsletter we
highlight acoustic in stock items which are of particular interest to our customers and which are available
for immediate shipping.
Acoustic Steel (STC 46 OR STC 51)
Available in single 3'-0"x7'-0"x1 3/4" (914mm x 2134mm x 44.5mm) or in pairs 6'-0"x7'-0" (1828mm x
2134mm) openings.
Acoustic Wood (STC 50) Door with Steel Frame
Available in single 3'-0"x7'-0"x1 3/4" openings.
[ Return to Table of Contents ]
What are the challenges in developing
acoustic window products? In
essence, they are basically the same
challenges faced when manufacturing
"operable" acoustic products
such as swinging and sliding doors:
Although AMBICO began developing
acoustic window and frame products
several years ago, ongoing research
into the use of a variety of newer
materials and combinations of others,
has resulted in the development
of windows to STC 57.
AMBICO acoustic windows have
recently been performance tested to
STC 57 at the Western Electro-Acoustic Laboratory.
For further information on AMBICO
acoustic window and frame products
or to request a quote:
specialized@ambico.com
Ambico Limited
1120 Cummings Avenue Ottawa,
To unsubscribe from this
Newsletter:
This fall, AMBICO is participating in
three large trade show/expositions.
We hope you will visit our booth at
these events:
DHI 29th Conference & Exposition
Contech/DHI 2004
Construct Canada 2004
AMBICO has designed and manufactures performance rated steel doors, rated STC 33 to STC 53,
1 3/4" thick, and wood doors from STC 33 to STC 50, 1 3/4" thick. Products are light weight and are kept
in stock. Obviously, these products present a cost-beneficial solution for facilities designers.
Completed installations of AMBICO acoustic door and frame products best illustrate their specialized applications.
Several examples of completed installations for AMBICO's renowned acoustic door and frame products include:
Swinging Acoustic Steel Doors
Bard College
Annandale-On-The-Hudson, NY
Nashville, TN
Nashville, TN
Cincinnati, OH
Shapiro Campus Centre
Brandeis University, Waltham, MA
Chicago, IL
Houston, TX
Detroit MI
Sliding Acoustic Steel Doors
University of Regina Theatre
Regina, Saskatchewan
Corporation HQ
Toronto, ON
Dow Chemicals
Edmonton, AB
Montreal, QC
Acoustic Wood Doors
Pharmacia
Schiller Park, IL
Philadelphia, PA
Washington, DC
Nanaimo Armory
Nanaimo, BC
Edmonton, AB
Draper, UT
For information regarding the types of products manufactured for
the above projects or other details regarding these projects, contact AMBICO
Limited at: specialized@ambico.com
noting the project of interest
in the
subject line.
In its ongoing efforts to meet the ever-changing and increasing
demands of the construction market place, AMBICO has recently
introduced two new and exciting door and frame products: TORNADO RESISTANT STEEL DOORS AND FRAMES, BULLET RESISTANT WOOD DOORS AND FRAMES, performance rated from UL Levels One (Standard) through
UL Level Eight, all products conform with UL 752 "Standard for Safety for Bullet Resisting Equipment".The
announcement early in 2004 of these two new products has been met with considerable excitement in the
architectural and construction communities.
Bullet Resistant Wood Doors & Frames: www.ambico.com/products/w_bullet.html
Doors are flush with lockseam edges, templated for 4.5"x.180" (114 x 4.57mm) mortised hinges, cylindrical
(161) lock, mortised (86 edge) lock or exit device, surface closer reinforcing, ASA strike and surface bolts at
inactive doors. The units are supplied with all acoustic perimeter seals, door bottoms, thresholds, and astragals
(on inactive).
Frames are available in 5 3/4" (146mm) or 7 1/8" (181mm) jamb depths only.
Frames with non-standard jamb depths to suit stock doors will be made to order in 5-7 working days.
Options available: Fire ratings to 1 1/2 hour, vision lites 5"x20" or 17"x17" only (127mm x 508mm or 432mm
x 432mm only) with glass factory installed, seamless edges, and additional hardware preparations.
Doors are available in either birch paint grade or oak stain grade.Doors are flush, templated for 4.5"x.180"
(114 x 4.57mm) mortised hinges, cylindrical (161) lock and surface closer blocking. The units are supplied
with all acoustic perimeter seals, door buttons, and thresholds.
Steel frames are available in 5 3/4" (146mm) or 7 1/8" (181mm) jamb depths.
Frames with non-standard jamb depths to suit stock doors will be made to order in 5-7 working days.
Our clients' problems inspire us.
Over the years AMBICO has been
asked to develop highly specialized
products, often under extremely
tight schedules. Our Research &
Development team, headed by Jim
Stockwell and Sam Gershon, enjoys
a challenge. When AMBICO was
approached to develop an acoustic
window product which would meet
high acoustic ratings under stringent
performance testing, the R&D
team welcomed the challenge.
the final product, window and
frame unit, must maintain the STC
rating required by the architects for
the room or area where the window(s) will be installed the window must combine the
required STC rating with an esthetically
pleasing opening which integrates
itself to the design and architectural style of the structure
the window glazing will provide an
appearance similar to standard
architectural glazing, and it is essential
that the glass is transparent and
clear the window and frame unit must
be of a minimal thickness and weight
again, to integrate as seamlessly as
possible, to the walls where they are
installed
ON Canada K1J 7R8
Telephone: 613-746-4663
Toll Free Phone: 1-888-423-2224
Fax: 613-746-4721
Toll Free Fax: 1-800-465-8561
E-mail: specialized@ambico.com
Web site: www.ambico.com
E-mail us at
specialized@ambico.com
and simply write in the subject
line:"Please unsubscribe me."
San Antonio, Texas
Henry B. Gonazalez Convention Center
Exhibition Days:
October 29, 30, 31, 2004
(Friday, Saturday and Sunday)
Booth #803
For Show details visit:
www.dhi.org/NewsEvents/annual.asp
Montreal, Quebec
Palais des Congres
November 25, 2004 (Thursday)
For Show details visit:
www.contech.qc.ca/eng/
Toronto, Ontario
Metro Toronto Convention Centre,
South Building
December 1 through 3
(Wednesday, Thursday and Friday)
Booth #832
For show details visit:
www.constructcanada.com