Auckland Children's Hospital Starship has been undergoing major expansions with Phase 1 of the $40m project opening in November 2022. Our Auckland team worked with Chow:Hill on Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) which was part of the Phase 2 of the project.

The brief for the health design team at Chow:Hill was to ensure that no only was the unit effectively functional but it also invoked a sense of calmness and comfort for patients, those being children under 16 years old. T&R’s Phonic Combo + Ceiling Tiles were selected to help achieve this goal.

Phonic Combo + Ceiling Tiles not only provided the functionality of quality acoustics but also an escape into nature. Utilising the customisable option the design team opted to hire a photographer to capture images of New Zealand Forest canopy. These images were then printed onto the ceiling tile. This allows patients to look up at the ceiling and hopefully experience a feeling of comfort, especially when being in a vulnerable state.

“Biophilic printed ceiling tiles reflect a tree canopy removing a hospital feel to evoke the calming, grounding feeling of being in nature.”- Chow:Hill

Phonic Combo + Ceiling Tile is one of T&R’s highest performing ceiling tile. With a very high NRC rating of 0.85 and a CAC of 42, Combo + helps absorb excess sound whilst stopping noise leakage in neighbouring rooms.

Client: Starship Hospital

Architect: Chow:Hill

Main Contractor: Built Environ

Subcontractor: Rokane

Images: Patrick Gailer at Incredible Studio