What is a false ceiling and why is it being used widely?

Are you bored of your concrete ceiling? Ever since its invention by Japanese during Muromachi period some 800 years back, the concept and design of false ceilings had underwent a sea change. Gone are the days when they used to be constructed with the help of interlocking tiles. Nowadays they are being designed with the help of tensile materials, known by different names like tensile roof structures, indoor tensile structures, interior etc. But what are false ceilings exactly? What’s the purpose of constructing one? In this articlewe will explain them a bit.

WHAT IS A FALSE CEILING?

It is a secondary ceiling hung below the main ceiling to give an illusion of interlinked tiles or a taut fabric. Thanks to its versatility and other inherent benefits (which we will see below), false ceilings have become a common sight at almostevery commercial place, be it in an office, a business place, a commercial complex, an IT conglomerate, a restaurant, a theater or a playground stadium. Various types of false ceilings have become part and parcel of all these places. It is different from a complete tensile roof because in false ceiling only the secondary ceiling is made from tensile materials (or other materials) while in tensile roofs even the main structural ceiling is made from tensile materials.

PURPOSE OF FALSE CEILING IN COMMERCIAL SPACES

Apart from improving the aesthetic performance like color, texture, form etc., it also helps maintaining the proportions of building structures by managing the ceiling heights. Some of the other benefits of using a tensile

• Hides building infrastructure like piping, ducting, trusses etc.
• Ugly structural members like beams,etc. that usually spoil the ‘look’ of the room are concealed.
• Provides excellent heat insulation.
• Acoustical improvement by absorbing reverberations and noises and reducing echoes.
• Being an extension of tensile structure, it is relatively easy to provide different shapes and designs to these dropped ceilings.
• Fire safety being a factor in several industrial buildings, ceiling tiles made from mineral fibers or fire-rated wood panels can be used within the construction to meet acceptable standards and ratings. Coating the tensile materials with TiO2 can grant it respectable flame retardation capabilities.
• Anti-microbial performance. The control of bio-contamination is essential in healthcare settings such as hospitals and large commercial kitchens
• Almost all tensile materials are known for their excellent light transmission and translucent properties. Picking a tensile structure false ceiling reduces the need for artificial lightings and is a major contributor to reduced electricity bills.
• Some materials like ETFE are known for their self-cleaning abilities. The use of false ceilings made from such materials reduces the effort and cost required for maintenance and clean up.
• Sound proof rooms such as meeting rooms, conference rooms, etc. which require a quit environment.

Tensile Architecture is a company which deals with manufacture and supply of polycarbonate, prefabricated and tensile fabric structures for different structures like car parking, walkway, sun sheds, canopies etc. Visit their website at http://www.tensilearchitect.in/ to know more about it and its products.

Tensile Architecture is a company which deals with manufacture and supply of polycarbonate, Tensile Structure, Visit their website at http://www.tensilearchitect.in/ to know more about it and its products.