Matter and surface
Ceiling
housingclassroomofficetemple
It is the underside that closes a space at the top. It can be the exposed slab or a lining hung below the roof.
What it solves
It separates the room from the heat stored by the roof and dampens the noise of rain. If the space above is ventilated, hot air leaves before it reaches the people.
Today
Leave a ventilated air space between roof and ceiling with low inlets and high outlets. Use sound-absorbing materials where rain on metal sheeting is loud.
Common mistake
Closing the ceiling without ventilating the roof space, which traps heat and moisture.
Tomorrow
A ceiling of plant fibers or reclaimed wood can absorb the noise of rain on the roof and the hubbub of classrooms and dining halls. Removable panels allow wiring to be changed without demolition.
Where it comes from
- 1Greece and Rome Mediterranean, Antiquity
Coffers of stone and later of concrete, like those of the Pantheon’s dome, lightened the weight and ordered the surface. - 2Ancient China China, Antiquity
The coffered timber ceiling (zaojing) crowned halls and temples. - 3Andalusian and Mudéjar architecture Spain, Middle Ages
The timber coffered ceiling (artesonado) joined structure and ornament in roofs and floors. - 4Spanish colonial period Mexico and Peru, viceregal period
The artesonado passed to the viceregal churches of the Americas.
Masters
- Alvar Aalto Viipuri Library, Vyborg, Russia (formerly Finland), 1935
In the auditorium he designs an undulating timber ceiling that reflects sound throughout the room. He teaches that the ceiling also shapes how a space sounds. - Carlos Raúl Villanueva Aula Magna of the University City, Caracas, Venezuela, 1953
He hangs from the ceiling Alexander Calder’s acoustic clouds, which correct the sound of the hall. He shows how art and acoustics can together resolve the ceiling of a large auditorium.
See also
Also in Matter and surface
Diagrams and texts by LDB Arquitectura. They are shared under the CC BY 4.0 license, which allows them to be used and adapted with credit to the source.