Dezeen Magazine

Kvadrat's handmade acoustic panels bring "softness" to minimalist spaces

Zane Walker of Kvadrat explains how its Soft Cells acoustic panels are custom-made by hand in this movie filmed by Dezeen for the textiles brand at its Poland factory.

Kvadrat Soft Cells

Kvadrat Soft Cells is a modular acoustic panel system produced by Danish textile company Kvadrat for a wide range of different buildings.

"Spaces can range from an office environment where we may be putting singular panels in, up to a concert hall or an auditorium where there could be hundreds or thousands of large panels, that all need to work in conjunction," explains Walker, head of project management at Kvadrat Soft Cells.

Kvadrat Soft Cells

The majority of Kvadrat's Soft Cells are produced to order in a factory in Poznań, Poland.

"Every panel is customised," Walker explains. "It is cut, assembled and upholstered by hand, so there is a level of craftsmanship that goes into every single panel."

Kvadrat Soft Cells factory

Kvadrat can produce Soft Cells from just 20 centimetres long, up to six metres in length, in a range of different shapes.

"Everything is measured and check-measured, which gives us the high level of precision that is required for the projects we do, which often have very small tolerances," Walker says.

Kvadrat Soft Cells factory

Each panel comprises a recycled aluminium frame filled with acoustic foam panels and can be covered with a wide range of Kvadrat textiles. The company developed a tensioning system using spring coils to ensure that the fabric remains taut throughout the panels' lifetime.

Kvadrat Soft Cells

The kind of clean, open spaces that are popular in many modern buildings – often constructed using hard, reflective materials such as concrete and glass – can have poor acoustics. Walker says that Soft Cells allows architects to create minimal spaces that are also comfortable to live or work in.

Kvadrat Soft Cells

"The acoustic performance of a space has a direct impact on how people enjoy working or living in that space," he says.

"Architects today are looking for large open spaces with clean lines. Our panels achieve that minimalism while adding softness and improving the acoustic performance of the space."

Zane Walker of Kvadrat Soft Cells
Zane Walker, head of project management at Kvadrat Soft Cells

This movie was filmed by Dezeen for Kvadrat in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Poznań, Poland.

All additional photography is by Kvadrat.