What does a fabric wall panel add to a room?
A fabric wall panel turns a flat wall into a surface with depth. Stretched over a frame, a woven relief catches light from the side and throws small shadows across its face. Getzner describes Cubic Pico as a geometric, three-dimensional weave that keeps its shape extremely well.
Cubic Giga, which Getzner describes in the same words, is the thickest Cubic fabric at 5.4 mm, while Optic Diamond has a characteristic three-dimensional surface texture. Behind the fabric is the part nobody sees: the frame, the cavity and anything that fills it. That hidden part changes the acoustic result, which is why a fabric panel is specified as a construction, not as a fabric alone. Getzner's framed panels and other examples are on the Acunic wall panels page.
How does a fabric wall panel absorb sound?
A panel absorbs sound by turning part of the sound energy that reaches it into heat, which is how the Australian Building Codes Board's sound handbook describes absorption. Flow resistance belongs to the fabric; absorption in use depends on it and on the construction behind it. ASTM E795, the laboratory practice for mounting absorption test specimens, makes the same point: a material's absorption depends on its physical properties and on the way it is mounted.
Absorption shortens reverberation inside the room where the panel hangs. Sound passing through the wall to the next room is a job for sound insulation in the wall itself. The difference is explained in absorption and sound insulation compared.
What does the infill add?
The clearest evidence is two laboratory tests of the same fabric on the same frame. Canterbury Acoustic Testing Services in Christchurch tested six panels of Cubic Pico, each 1.2 x 1.5 m (10.8 m² in total), stretched over a 50 mm frame.
Cubic Pico on a 50 mm frame with an empty cavity measured NRC 0.55 and αw 0.40, class D; with 20 mm fibreglass infill in the same frame it measured NRC 0.85 and αw 0.65, class C (AS ISO 354:2006, Canterbury Acoustic Testing Services report 2026-316.1). The laboratory calculated the NRC values in general accordance with ASTM C423 from the AS ISO 354 data. The fabric, frame and specimen size were the same in both tests, and the infill was the one change, so the difference belongs to the construction.
The table gives each Cubic Pico construction tested by Canterbury Acoustic Testing Services and shows how the construction changes the rating; the two 50 mm frame rows are the wall panels.
Tested with Cubic Pico
Getzner's own datasheet gives Cubic Pico αw 0.75, class C, stretched tightly across a sealed wooden frame at 150 mm clearance (Type E-150, measured to DIN EN ISO 354 and rated to DIN EN ISO 11654, Getzner datasheet of 14 March 2024). That is a different construction from the 50 mm panels, and each figure describes its own. The ratings themselves are explained in how NRC, αw and absorption class work.
Does the fabric need to be acoustically transparent?
The Cubic Pico tests show that the fabric does more than let sound through to a core. With no core at all, Cubic Pico over an empty 50 mm cavity measured NRC 0.55 (AS ISO 354:2006, Canterbury Acoustic Testing Services report 2026-316.1), so the fabric and its air cavity absorb sound without any infill.
Infill then sets how far the panel calms the room. The same panel with 20 mm fibreglass infill measured NRC 0.85 (AS ISO 354:2006, report 2026-316.1), and every absorption figure belongs to a construction. An empty cavity gives a lighter touch that keeps a room lively and natural, and infill calms it further where the room needs more absorption.
Getzner's datasheets give each fabric's specific flow resistance, measured to DIN EN ISO 29053: 393 Pa s/m for Cubic Pico, 329 Pa s/m for Cubic Giga and 442 Pa s/m for Optic Diamond. These values describe the fabric itself, and the panel's absorption rating comes from its construction. For another fabric or frame, ask AKA Acoustics about the construction you plan to build.
How deep should the frame be, and how are edges finished?
For a framed panel fixed against a surface, Acunic absorption has been measured at two depths: Cubic Pico on a 50 mm frame, tested by Canterbury Acoustic Testing Services, and Getzner's Type E-150 test at 150 mm clearance, which covers Cubic Pico, Cubic Giga, Cubic Mega, Volumic Bubble and Volumic Square.
Set the panels out from the roll width. Cubic Pico and Cubic Giga are woven 154 cm wide and Optic Diamond 155 cm wide, so a panel face wider than the roll needs a join. Where the joins and panel edges fall on a textured wall is covered in how to design a textured fabric wall.
Getzner's datasheets give two fitting notes for anyone stretching the fabric. Wear white cotton gloves when fitting it, and seal cut edges with heated fabric edging scissors.
Getzner Textil also makes a finished panel, the acunic frame. Getzner describes it as square, round or hexagonal, for walls or ceilings, in black, white or silver anodised aluminium or in oiled solid oak from sustainably managed Bregenzerwald forests, with backlighting available and sizes from 1220 x 620 mm to 2000 x 1220 mm.
A panel can also carry a custom colour. Getzner's datasheets say technical specifications may differ for dyed fabric, so performance is confirmed for each order, as set out in custom dyeing and UV printing.
Are fabric wall panels fire rated?
The NCC treats wall linings and attachments to walls as separate items in Specification 7, and the building certifier decides which one a fabric wall panel is. Raise the question with the certifier before the fabric is chosen.
Each Acunic fabric has a Group Number in AKA Acoustics' Technical Product Summary (Version A, October 2024). Cubic Pico is Group 1 (Technical Product Summary). Cubic Giga and Optic Diamond are Group 2 (Technical Product Summary). The Group Number of every Acunic fabric is published with its source, and how Group Numbers work explains what the NCC asks for.
Who makes the panel?
Acunic is distributed in Australia, New Zealand and Asia by AKA Acoustics, and a panel maker builds the panel from the fabric. Distributors and resellers who want to offer Acunic to architects and designers can apply through the sales partner programme.
Before a panel is made, judge the relief at full size. You can request Acunic samples, and AKA Acoustics will contact you to confirm the request before samples are sent.
