Travelers through Sacramento International Airport got a fresh terminal to greet them in 2011. The new space, part of a $1.03 billion renovation, updates the infrastructure of the hard-working airport with some architectural pizazz, accented by specialty ceilings. This project faced challenges typical of all specialty product installations: last minute design changes, long lead-time materials, tight schedules and a technical installation. But this ceiling also faced certain unique challenges, including meeting tight acoustic requirements, using reclaimed redwood, achieving color consistency, and mating curved ceilings with architectural metal closures. And it all had to be installed fast enough to maintain the removal schedule of the 45-foot scaffold.

Materials were a key design element for the airport’s 65-foot high ceilings. A monochromatic pallet was chosen using white maple acoustic planks highlighted with redwood grilles. To achieve the desired color consistency, 9Wood hand-blended veneers for the finished ceiling. 9Wood also supplied 17,000 square feet of reclaimed redwood grilles and 55,000 square feet of custom acoustic planks – an unusually large scope. A high noise reduction coefficient requirement of .85 meant the development team needed to achieve maximum acoustic absorption while maintaining a minimal percent opening for aesthetics. This was accomplished using special acoustic backing material and several geometric changes to 9Wood’s standard system.

The grilles were made from reclaimed redwood. The redwood was sourced from timbers once part of a local bridge built in 1937 and damaged by floods in 1997. Each beam was inspected for best yield, scanned with metal detectors, re-sawn and molded to specification. The client asked 9Wood to collect grading marks branded into the wood to link the airport wood back to its origins. Despite age and weathering, the tight-grained Redwood beams yielded salvageable material with beautiful worn character.

Wood trellises over the ticket counters also used the reclaimed redwood. Designed to suspend between outriggers using 2-inch powder coated steel tubing, each ticket counter trellis needed to install as one unit. Meeting proper tolerances for attachments required custom engineering: the assembly needed to prevent cracking in the weathered redwood. The assembly also needed to be constructed such that that the members could slip over the pipe yet be kept from sliding like an abacus. The 6-foot by 7-foot trellis units were heavy, bulky and entirely pre-finished. Spacetone Acoustics coordinated a flawless installation.

Visitors looking up at these specialty ceilings will find a remarkable expression of design, engineering and installation craftsmanship.