The Pinnacle Modular Acoustic System by Unika Vaev—developed in collaboration with Gensler, serving as product design consultant, and in partnership with Wilsonart—is one of the most unique approaches to acoustical treatments the industry has seen in a while.
“We wanted to do something that was a little more architectural in nature, rather than just hanging stuff from a grid ceiling,” explained Scott Goodwin, Unika Vaev’s director of design.
Mission accomplished: this angular, double-sided structure combines texture, color, graphics and optional LED lighting to offer up a new experience at each vantage point within a space.
“Our inspiration was lenticular art, which gives any Pinnacle installation a wonderful kinetic effect through the application of two images, applied in strips, to the opposite sides of the angled acoustic support structure,” said Scott Star, director of product development at Gensler. “The images — which can be Wilsonart patterns, the designer’s own photos, custom artwork, or environmental graphics — create an illusion of motion as you walk past the product in different directions.” Designers can take their pick of more than 186 Wilsonart patterns, colors, metallics, wood grains and more, resting assured that the precision printing process actually enhances the acoustic capabilities. The Cradle to Cradle Bronze certified-system delivers an NRC rating of 0.95, providing optimal sound quality and most importantly, speech intelligibility.
At NeoCon, Pinnacle will be installed as a fully-surrounding entryway, manifesting its full breath of capabilities—for now. Goodwin reports that free-standing alternatives are under development.
Installation is simple and a point of pride for this introduction says Unika Vaev President and COO Wick Wolfe. The system also features different components to combat any edging issues that can occur in an oddly shaped room. He also sees it applying (affordably by the way) to any number of markets, not just workplace.
“As interior designers focus more and more on creating high-performance amenity and social areas that employees and guests want to inhabit, the need for acoustic control becomes quickly apparent,” Star added. “Products that can reduce noise and distraction while supporting the design intent of a space are increasingly relevant, and this is where Pinnacle takes off.”
