Celtic Manor Resort, Newport

Client: Celtic Manor Hotel
Architect: Goff Associates
Contractor: Z & W
Value of project: £300,000
Type of works: installation of NW100 movable wall in the Caernarfon Suite convention hall and syndicate rooms

The rebuilding of the Celtic Manor Hotel is well known within the independent hotel sector. The international-standard convention hall, the Caernarfon Suite, and syndicate rooms have had Alco Beldan's NW100 installed. The conference centre won the award for the most effective functional design in the HotelSpec European Design and Development Awards 2000.

The difficulty of this project lay in supporting the 6.3m high panels, when the ceiling incorporates a 5m deep void to the substantial roof structure, which in turn supports the roof car park. In order for the heavy panels to operate in all conditions, the 100mm dead-load deflection of the roof structure had to be taken into consideration. This could also be further deflected by up to 50mm under live load from the car park.

The key to the solution was Alco Beldan's standard rapid-action scissor-link mechanism which provides more than 50mm of spring-assisted travel to the bespoke top and bottom seal carriers. Each panel is suspended on two rollers running in heavy-duty track; both roller hangers are fitted with self-locking height adjustment devices which prevent the panels losing level alignment.

The track layout allows the hall to be divided into six, with doubled tracks in the centre to allow two walls to be set up in duplex formation for added acoustic separation, Rw 65dB or greater from a duplex set of Rw 58dB rated panels.

Panels are finished to match the panelled effect of the perimeter walls, thereby creating a seamless finish when in use. When not in use, the panels are concealed in recesses around the hall. To complement the colours used in the traditional Celtic design on the ceiling, the panels were faced with burr veneer with contrasting inlays and American cherry mouldings for skirting and dado rails, completed by bronze colour-coded edge profiles.