DAMPA_75_years_of_quiet_design_ENG - Flipbook - Page 107
Demountable
ceilings
In 1968, the biggest contract yet was won to provide 50,000
square metres of suspended ceiling for the new Rigshospitalet (State Hospital) in Copenhagen. Since 1960, the architects Jørgen Stærmose and Kay Boeck-Hansen had been
working on the design for this massive, state-of-the-art reinforced concrete medical megastructure, to be located to the
north of the city centre. Having noted the project as a possible lucrative opportunity, Jean Fischer had earlier contacted
the architects to find out what their ideal ceiling design
would involve. Instead of panels, they wanted demountable
tiles so that the building’s complex hidden servicing could
be readily accessed for quick repairs whenever necessary
without any need to use a screwdriver or any other tools.
Fischer and his assistant Ove Jørgensen therefore devised
a solution whereby the insertion of a coin at the corner of a
tile would release it from the ceiling frame.
When it came to selecting the most favourable solution, the
hospital authorities evaluated the various types of acoustic
ceiling on offer, whittling the possibilities down to two preferred options; panels made by a West German company
and the Dæmpa tiles. As the project was of high value,
mock-up demonstration sections of ceiling were then built
and each company’s representatives were required to give a
live demonstration of the quick removal and re-installation of
their respective designs. According to Harry Schrøder, who
was the Dæmpa representative, his rival representing the
West German maker embarrassingly failed to dislodge its
panel and, in the frantic effort, instead caused the entire ceiling section to collapse to the floor. Schrøder was then able
coolly to climb the ladder with a two kroner coin and release
a Dæmpa tile with complete ease. The client’s response
was ‘Yes, thank you - you’ll be hearing more from us’ – and
so the big contract was won.
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