GCC megaprojects can benefit from a new line of sound-absorbing ceiling panels, industry experts announced today in the build-up to the INDEX interior design exhibition.

In the build-up to World Expo 2020 in Dubai and 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar, the GCC's completed projects in residential, commercial, retail, medical, and education sectors are set to grow by 7.7 percent from 2014 to reach USD 72 billion in 2015, according to a recent report by research firm Ventures Middle East.

"GCC countries are heavily investing in major projects from transportation, to financial hubs, and office towers - which require the most advanced interior design solutions to reduce noise and absorb sound, while contributing to a pleasing working and traveling environment," said Santhosh Vallil, Senior Sales Manager of Hunter Douglas Middle East, the regional branch of international ceiling manufacturer Hunter Douglas.

With the GCC's interior contracting and fit-out sector set to reach USD 8 billion in 2015, Hunter Douglas has introduced the XLnt swing-down ceiling panels, designed for airports, train and metro stations, offices, and other utility buildings  - spaces in which architects wish to use large, flat finishing elements.

XLnt ceiling panels have an unrivalled stiffness because of a layered composition of honeycomb aluminium - based on composite technology from the aviation industry. As a result, architects have tremendous freedom in creating their own designs, without worrying about ceiling tensile stress, bending, or sagging.

"Thanks to the swing-down system across the width, each separate panel is easy to pull down, and causes minimal obstruction on the path beneath," said Martin van der Meijden, Product Manager - Ceilings, Hunter Douglas. "As a result, installers and installers and technicians easy access to any part of the plenum space by undoing little clamps while the panel remains securely fastened."

There are open or closed variations of XLnt ceiling panels, both classified as A2 by Eurobrand, the European independent brand experts, which means they are suitable for almost every kind of application or building. The panels are available in sizes up to 1.25 x 2.5 meters, and have a small, aesthetically-pleasing seam.

The open, perforated, four-layered variation has a fiber glass panel between the aluminium layers, leading to a high sound absorption value (?w 0.75), which is directly related to the panel's high degree of openness. The panel fronts have an openness of 23 percent, while the panel backs have an openness of 35 percent.

Meanwhile, the closed, three-layered panel is entirely flat with three layers - including an aluminium front, an aluminium honeycomb, and an aluminium back - for a total thickness of 2.5 cm.