Fairmont Hotel Ballroom

— When a 5-star auditorium demands both seamless aesthetics and standard acoustics | Trandar

"An auditorium facing a street and adjacent hotels — can it be soundproofed while keeping the ceiling worthy of a 5-star standard?"

 "Standard sound-absorbing ceilings have visible joints, but this project requires a seamless, paintable ceiling — is that possible?"

 "When the Acoustic Consultant accepts some reduction in performance for 100% flawless design — this is the ultimate challenge of this project."

📖 Project Story — When a world-class hotel sets a challenge with no off-the-shelf answers

Fairmont Hotel is one of the world's most iconic luxury hotel brands. The 1st-floor Ballroom on Sukhumvit 18 is a space designed to host top-tier events, from weddings and gala dinners to corporate events and VIP gatherings where every detail must be flawless.

However, the location of this Ballroom presented extraordinary challenges.

The front faces Sukhumvit Soi 18, exposed to continuous traffic noise from cars, motorcycles, and the busy main street.

The back connects to the hotel's sister property zone, meaning sound from events inside the Ballroom must not leak out to disturb hotel guests, while noise from hotel operations must not seep into the events.

And all of this had to be achieved within a large auditorium space meeting 5-star hotel design standards, where every element reflects the Fairmont prestige.

🔊 Two simultaneous challenges — Two-way sound insulation and interior acoustic control

This project presented two inseparable layers of requirements.

• First Layer — Sound Isolation

 A large ballroom featuring live bands, a sound system, and large crowds must prevent sound from leaking out to surrounding areas, while simultaneously blocking external noise from disrupting the event atmosphere.

• Second Layer — Interior Acoustic Treatment

 Even with external noise blocked out, a large auditorium with high ceilings still faces issues with echoes and reverberation, which must be managed so that every word from the MC, every musical note, and every moment is clearly delivered to all attendees.

🎨 The special requirement that sets this project apart — Seamless, paintable ceiling

This is where the Fairmont Ballroom project differs from every previous acoustic project.

The Fairmont design team had a very clear requirement: the ballroom ceiling must be completely seamless, as ceiling joints in large spaces instantly ruin the elegance of a 5-star venue. Furthermore, the ceiling had to be paintable and custom-finishable to align with the theme and identity of the Fairmont Hotel.

However, this created an engineering conflict that needed resolving: painting acoustic ceilings reduces acoustic performance below standard levels. The project's Acoustic Consultant analyzed this and accepted a controlled reduction, ensuring it remained sufficient for the ballroom's actual usage.

The challenge thus became finding a material that simultaneously met three criteria: seamlessness, paintability, and adequate acoustic performance after painting.

🛠 The system designed by Trandar for the Fairmont Ballroom

✅ Trandar Hitech Wall — All-around soundproof walls

Hitech Wall was installed as the primary soundproof wall system for the Ballroom, creating an acoustic barrier covering both the side facing Sukhumvit Soi 18 and the side connecting to the hotel zone.

Engineered to block sound waves across all frequencies—from high-frequency speech and music to low-frequency heavy bass—Hitech Wall isolates the interior of the Ballroom completely from the outside world. This ensures every event takes place in a pure atmosphere, free from outside disturbances in both directions.

✅ Trandar Hitech Ceiling — Blocking sound pathways from above

Hitech Ceiling works in tandem with Hitech Wall to create a comprehensive multi-dimensional sound insulation system, specifically blocking sound that could travel through upper floor structures and ceilings.

In spaces with multiple active zones simultaneously, ceiling sound insulation is indispensable, as sound travels not only horizontally but also up into structures and transmits to other areas via vibration.

✅ Trandar Seamless Acoustic — The answer to an impossible brief

This is the heart of the project and the reason why the Fairmont Ballroom stands out from all past projects.

Trandar Seamless Acoustic is a sound-absorbing ceiling specifically designed for spaces requiring both acoustic performance and design perfection, featuring two key attributes chosen by Fairmont:

• Seamless — Unlike conventional acoustic ceilings with visible joints between panels, Seamless Acoustic provides a continuous, uniform ceiling surface across the entire space. Looking up at the Ballroom ceiling reveals a clean, pristine, and flawless surface without joints that disrupt luxury.
• Paintable — Seamless Acoustic supports direct painting and decorative finishes, allowing the Fairmont design team to freely build the Ballroom's identity through ceiling design. The Acoustic Consultant analyzed and verified that the sound absorption coefficient after painting remains sufficient and appropriate for actual ballroom use.

📐 A dialogue between design and science

What makes this project fascinating is the decision-making process between the design team and the Acoustic Consultant.

Generally in acoustic projects, painting over sound-absorbing ceilings is discouraged because paint seals the material's pores, reducing sound absorption efficiency. However, in this project, the Acoustic Consultant thoroughly calculated and analyzed that the reduction remained well within acceptable limits for a ballroom of this scale, especially with Hitech Wall and Hitech Ceiling operating at full capacity to block external noise.

This is a prime example of smart design: accepting certain trade-offs to achieve a holistic result that is perfect in both acoustics and aesthetics.

"The best project isn't one where everything is easy, but one where every challenge is solved with true creativity and expertise."