At Sonus, we believe in offering customized acoustic solutions that fit the unique needs of every space we work with. Our Custom Shop is a testament to this belief, as it allows us to develop products such as wood systems, products with LEDs, one-of-a-kind Olino baffles , Felt, and more. We are also constantly exploring new materials to bring the best solutions to our clients, no matter what their needs may be.
Our Custom Shop provides all the R & D for our own product roadmap but more importantly, it also solutions for you as well. The process begins when a client comes to us with an idea or problem they want us to solve. We enter into an agreement with them to determine ownership, trademarks, and the potential for commercial reproduction. From there, we discuss and visualize the space, determine the necessary materials and characteristics, and design the product via CADs and renders. We then create and test a prototype, assess durability, and determine costs and production time.
We've used our Custom Shop to create a variety of unique products for our clients, such as irregular patterns for ceiling baffles, kerfed wood, and extra-thick wedged panels, for clients such as Subaru and City of South San Francisco. These products are important to our clients because they not only improve the acoustics of a space but also contribute to its overall aesthetic, achieving their original design vision without compromise — something that was rarely possible before.
Let's Take a look at the process!
It can be a specific design or a problem they need help solving. We will decide right up front if we think we have the chops to tackle it.
This agreement determines ownership, trademarks, and the ability to reproduce as a commercial product or not.
With our clients, we discuss, visualize, and outline the space and use of the space, architectural style elements, rough dimensions, mounting type, sound control demands, and other requirements.
During this step, we nail down measurements and drawings while also determining if we have the right material with the client's desired characteristics and acoustical value. In this phase, we can engage engineers, 3D designers, material experts, and more. Also, during this step, we decided on potential covering types and all the necessary components.
For this step, we produce a prototype of the design, test the hardware and installation, assess durability, and determine product costs/repeatability. An important part of this step is that once we decide if it’s viable, we send it for early testing at Johns Manville. They test for sound absorption and fire rating.
After the prototype phase, we meet to discuss whether we like the outcome and want to specify the product. We then determine the time frame to produce and the costs.
This may seem like a lot of steps, but it ensures that our clients always get the perfect product for their needs.
I bet you want to see some examples. Well, here they are: the first one is a two-for-one. We had a client who wanted an irregular pattern for their ceiling baffles. They went through the custom shop process and ended up with the perfect design for their baffles. In fact, they liked their baffles so much that they asked us for a custom wall pattern that matches the baffles. Custom design requests aren’t the wildest things we make in the custom shop but they are some of the most important. How the acoustics look, not just function, can really make or break a space.
Another client came to us with an idea for a dimensional panel with different size circles for the pattern. They sent a picture of the pattern and we made a design of what we could do, based on the limitations of the fabric, that was similar to their picture. To make the pattern stand out more we changed depths with the circles, some circles were add-ons, some were groove lines and some were negative pieces. This design became the bubble pattern we now offer to clients.
If you're interested in getting something made in our Custom Shop or want to learn more about our current products, visit our website. We're confident that we can find the perfect solution for your unique needs.
