Architecture Research Office has created a new acoustic tile collection for FilzFelt. ARO Block is a series of modular acoustic tiles that add sound control in a customizable, easy-to-install system.
A play on the triangle, ARO Block 1 uses the negative space between tiles to create secondary patterning. The triangular shape of ARO Block 2 is at a slightly smaller scale than its cousin, ARO Block 1, and the hexagonal negative space between tiles becomes the focal point. The dynamic shape of ARO Block 3 uses asymmetrical angles that nest together while simultaneously creating voids. Inspired by architectural shingles and cladding, ARO Block 4 takes the ubiquitous rectangle and shifts it slightly to convey movement and variation in customizable patterns.
63 wool felt color options allow for endless configurations and one-of-a-kind sound softening solutions that install wall-to-wall or in small areas to add color, texture, and unique patterning. ARO Block arose out of a need to resuse post-industrial remnant material at FilzFelt's manufacturing facility. This material is generated from FilzFelt's CNC cut products and projects and tends to be narrow strips that require smaller or modular products.
"ARO Block emerged from a simple challenge posed by the FilzFelt team - what can we create to utilize remnant felt? Working with typical remnant dimensions, we brainstormed about a smaller unit size made useful through tiling," explained Kim Yao, principal at Architecture Research Office. "Like our other products, ARO Block is modular. Inspired by masonry construction, each block laid adjacent to another makes a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts."
