Troldtekt® T24 tiles

Innovation overview and development

Choosing Troldtekt T24 tiles allows you to create a room with good acoustics and a distinctive design. You also get a suspended and fully removable ceiling, making it easy to inspect any installations above the ceiling.

The ceiling consists of cement-bonded wood wool panels. Elegant grooves have been milled into each panel,
creating a pattern of rectangular fields. After installation, the ceiling makes for an elegant, uniform surface with long lines running across the room.

The actual installation of the panels takes place using a suspended, visible T24 rail system and does not require the use of tools or screws. This means that the panels are also easy to remove.

The acoustic panels are made from two raw materials:

• Red spruce from certified forests (FSC® C115450 and PEFC™)
• The patented FUTURECEM cement, which has a carbon footprint approximately 30 per cent lower than traditional cement.

The panels are also Cradle to Cradle Certified® at gold level. This means that Troldtekt works strategically across five sustainability categories: Material Health, Product Circularity, Clean Air & Climate Protection, Water & Soil Stewardship and Social Fairness.

How the new product was developed, including effective collaboration, knowledge transfer and partnership along the project team
Troldtekt T24 tiles are a supplement to Troldtekt’s award-winning design series. The series builds on a well-known original product, which Troldtekt has been producing for nearly 90 years.

The new solution stands out as it is installed using a visible T24 rail system and does not requires the use of tools or screws.

The entire design series was developed by Troldtekt’s in-house architect, Michael Christensen. He has taken a well-known standard product, Troldtekt acoustic panels, which have been produced since 1935, and refreshed the design using CNC-milled patterns. The premise was to ensure that the solutions in the series could be produced industrially so that they could be made available at competitive prices.

As the first step in the development of the new solutions, Michael Christensen and his colleague Bjarne Mortensen attended a course on CNC technology. They learned about the possibilities offered by CNC machining and about programming, which can be carried over to the machine used in production. This was followed by intensive work to test prototypes using the CNC machine.

In addition to Michael Christensen and Product Developer Bjarne Mortensen, a larger design team from the sales department and the Troldtekt management team has also helped refine the product series during the development process.

Along the way, the team has received feedback and inspiration from the renowned Danish designer and TV host Søren Vester. Søren Vester had a good quote, which became the starting point for the different designs. “It’s not about the panel, it’s about the surface,” he said. Each solution is therefore intended to be part of an overall larger or smaller acoustic surface. That is also the case for the new Troldtekt T24 tiles.

The cement used in the product is an innovation in itself. Troldtekt T24 tiles are based on the patented reduced-carbon cement type FUTURECEM. FUTURECEM was created by Denmark’s largest cement producer, Aalborg Portland, and is the result of an innovative technology using limestone fillers and calcined clay. This results in a cement with a carbon footprint that is around 30 per cent lower than traditional cement during the manufacturing phase.

Integrating FUTURECEM into the production of Troldtekt panels required product development efforts and large-scale testing. Troldtekt and Aalborg Portland worked together closely to achieve this. This resulted in Troldtekt acoustic panels with a carbon footprint that is 26 per cent lower than Troldtekt panels based on traditional grey cement and 38 per cent lower than Troldtekt panels based on traditional white cement.

The footprint is measured across the entire life cycle of the product and documented in Troldtekt’s third-party verified environmental product declarations (EPDs).

How might this product have an influence on the specification
First and foremost, Troldtekt T24 tiles are an acoustic product that absorbs sound extremely efficiently. A suspended Troldtekt ceiling can “swallow” 80-90 per cent of the sound that reaches the ceiling, sometimes even more. This results in a short reverberation time and good acoustics. In comparison, a concrete ceiling typically absorbs only 1-2 per cent of sound, which means that the sound reflects back into the room, resulting in noise and difficulty hearing what is being said.

Troldtekt acoustic panels also help to ensure an indoor climate that is free from harmful chemicals. In practice, the systematic work with Cradle to Cradle certification means that Troldtekt has detailed knowledge of the ingredients in its products, which are analysed by third parties. This results in documentation that Troldtekt does not contain any substances that are harmful to people or the environment.

Troldtekt has also achieved a number of indoor climate awards, including the “Allergy Friendly Product Award” from Allergy UK, the German “Der Blaue Engel” and the Danish “Indeklimamærket”.

Visually, Troldtekt T24 tiles add wow-factor to a space. It’s up to you whether you want each acoustic panel to be supplied with four or seven milled grooves. A half-groove is also milled into each of the four sides of the panels, which means that when two panels are installed next to one another, an additional groove is created that fits the T24 rail profile. Smart and elegant.

The acoustic panels for Troldtekt T24 tiles are available in natural wood or painted in the standard colours of white, grey, black or clay. All variants are Cradle to Cradle Certified at gold level.

How the product improved productivity in the process and/or quality and performance of the interior system
Troldtekt T24 tiles are a simple and robust choice – whether you’re a fitter or a building contractor. As you can see above, the product improves the acoustics in a space significantly, while also providing you with a ceiling proven to be free of harmful chemicals.

The solution is easy to install, simplifying the work processes at the building site. The T24 rail system is installed at least 200 millimetres below the fixed ceiling before the fitter mounts the acoustic panels to the rails – without the need for any tools or screws.

This also means that the ceiling is fully removable. This is an advantage if you need to inspect any installations concealed above the ceiling or if the ceiling subsequently needs to be removed and reused in another building.

You also end up with a ceiling, for which the EPD calculations indicate a service life of at least 50 years and that can be repainted repeatedly without compromising the acoustic properties.