Gone are the days of inflexible architectural acoustic products that only allow for one interpretation and design of a product. Autex is emblematic of this move, allowing designers and users to combine acoustic products to create unique, integrated products.

Etch is one such products, a wall fabric that can be used in conjunction with other Autex products such as the APA sound absorbing core. Available in 15 standard patterns and 30 colours, etch is a textured overlay that adds an aesthetic layer to high performance sound absorbing products.

Check out all of the Etch designs here.

Hailing from California, Arktura is emblematic of the exciting direction that the acoustics industry is taking. Their products combine expert knowledge, creativity and cutting-edge technology and demonstrate that acoustic products don’t need to be boring and can dominate internal spaces with eye-catching designs.

The Softgrid family consists of 12 unique ceiling system solutions, each possessing their own distinct shape and pattern. The panels can be used as singular module features, or can be combined to create a dynamic architectural field. The panels are made from ½” thick PET fins that can achieve an NRC rating of .9.

Pictured is Softgrid Wave, an undulating acoustic system that create a striking depth of field. The system is connected using a module joining bracket to create a sweeping acoustic ceiling.

Integration with services is becoming a common feature among new acoustic products.

Arktura’s Vapor Soft Trail is an acoustic ceiling solution that makes integrated lighting a seamless process, creating a luminous ceiling feature.

Suspended on an aluminium frame and made from Arktura’s 100% PET Soft Sound acoustic material, the tileable panel allows for light penetration using Arktura Backlight and InLine lighting.

A contemporary trend amongst acoustic manufacturers is a move away from single, stand alone wall applications towards comprehensive wall coverings. Just as wallpaper is applied to walls, tileable acoustic wall coverings are commonly glued to walls as a direct application.

A latest offering from Dutch furniture manufacturer Devorm, is the Dots wall panel. Made from 100% PET felt, the wall covering can be applied straight to a wall, or applied on top of a plain PET felt panel to boost its acoustic capabilities.

The result is a seamless textured wall covering that breaks up the monotony of plain walls, while boosting a room’s acoustics. Read more about Devorm here

Softgrid Orbit is an example of Arktura’s innovative design of acoustic products.

Intersecting acoustic fins form striking sound absorbing islands that can be used as stand alone suspended ceiling features, or combined to create a dynamic architectural field.

Acoustic wall solutions have evolved in recent years to more seamless acoustic wall coverings. Panels that demonstrate no visible gaps, and create a textured wallpaper effect, with the benefit of reducing interior noise levels.

Echojazz, formed in Switzerland in 2015, has designed one such solution in Echomonoc, a homogenous textile surface with commendable acoustic properties.

Made from 100% PET from recycled PET bottles, Echojazz is a robust, shockproof acoustic tile that comes in five different designs, allowing users to create their own unique designs. Pictured is the Echomonoc Flow tile.

Modern acoustic ceilings represent a significant departure from the homogenous acoustic ceilings of old, which were dominated by flat, static surfaces that were intended to blend into existing architectural features, rather than catch the eye.

Autex Frontier Fins directly contract the traditional uninspiring ceilings. A modular, dynamic system that offers up to five different designs available in 12mm and 24mm thicknesses and 17 different colours, users can configure the system to meet the unique requirements of the space.

The system can be formed to create a linear effect, or a dynamic architectural field by arranging the fins at alternating angles and directions.

Woven Image has been active since 1987 when it was founded in Australia, yet its range of acoustic products represent the philosophy behind many emerging acoustic products. Highly customisable, environmentally friendly and tileable, Woven Image’s acoustic solutions appear more as textured, seamless wall finishes than they do your typical standalone acoustic panel.

Balance is a precision cut acoustic tile that creates a tiled effect for interior spaces. Made from 100% PET, Woven Image’s products achieve the Global Green tag certification. Since the company’s inception, over 200million PET bottles have been recycled and repurposed to produce Woven Image products.

A brand new player in the acoustic market, 14six8 is blurring the line between what is a feature office piece and a sound absorbing products.

As 14six8 describe their products: “Through the vision of creating contemporary furniture from sustainable and recycled material 14six8 draws on inspiration from natural elements to produce acoustic friendly office solutions.”

The Dew hanging acoustic panel strikes you more as an abstract art piece than an acoustic solution. With endless assembly configurations the solution gives designers and architects to dream of and configure their own pieces of sound absorbing office furniture.

Hive is demonstrative of the ingenuity of 14six8 products. The system allows the designer to customise the horizontal volume of the solution. The end product can be a complex depth of field comprised of numerous attached modules.

Vertical hexagonal inserts, available as solid elements or patterned cut-outs can accommodate for ceiling services while creating an effect unlike any other acoustic product on the market.

Textiles and acoustic products have always gone hand in hand. Fabric wrapped acoustic panels have been a mainstay in the market for decades now. However, no textiles have never quite represented what Finnish-born artist Anne Kyro Quinn has developed in her range of woollen felt fabrics.

These textiles resemble artworks more than your traditional fabrics, and while not acoustic in their design, there are exciting opportunities to use the fabrics as part of interior acoustic solutions.

Pictured is the Tulip fabric, which is described by Anne Kyro Quinn as a snapshot of “the exuberance of nature”, which makes “a powerful visual statement that charges the interior with vitality”. Tulip is one of 11 current designs.

Those familiar with the acoustics industry will no doubt have heard of Abstracta. Active since 1972, Abstracta continually pushes the boundaries of acoustic innovation and sustainability.

A recent acoustic offering from Abstracta is the Sahara panel. A sound absorbing wall tile that represents “sand formations carved by the wind”.

Sahara is one of the few acoustic products on the market that is made entirely from cork. As Abstracta state: “Sahara is made out of waste material from the production of wine corks at a factory in Portugal. Cork production occurs in harmony with nature; indeed, it helps to preserve Portugal’s beautiful groves and forests of cork oaks, which in turn provide essential habitat for the Iberian imperial eagle and other wildlife. “

It is no exaggeration to say that BAUX pulp is a revolution in acoustic design and sustainaibility. Since BAUX stormed onto the acoustics market in 2013 their philosophy has been on natural, environmentally sustainable products that uses a products’ core material as a feature of its design.

BAUX pulp panels are 100% bio-based acoustic panels made from Swedish fir and pine trees, water, wheat bran and potato starch. The panels come in three different colours, which are controlled by the concentration and type of wheat bran present in the panel.

The panels are made by first mixing the ingredients with recycled water and feeding the mixture into a 3D mould. The mixture is then pressed with 40 tonnes of weight and dried using a technological vacuum technique. The result is a completely organic product, environmentally neutral and chemical-free. See more about the process here.

The only acoustic divider mentioned on this list, Offecct’s Membrane is a champion of the concepts mentioned in this list – a unique, modular acoustic system that creates a stunning and distinctive pattern.

The room divider consists of smaller acoustic panels which together creates a modular system with two inspiring finished patterns. Membrane absorbs and diffuses the sound at the same time as it’s letting through light and which creates a unique expression.

You can learn more about Offecct Membrane on Offecct's website.