Bell Museum, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN

• Building Type: Museum & Planetarium 
• Main Contractor: Sonus Interiors
• Building Structure: Concrete
• Services: Acoustic-Tetctum Baffles 

The Bell Museum is home to the world-renowned wildlife dioramas and a 120-seat digital Planetarium theater. The contractor, Sonus Interiors, was tasked with installing 500 2ft x 4ft Tectum baffles. The Tectum baffles needed to be hung in all classrooms, presentation areas and general museum display areas. They were looking for a suspension solution that was both aesthetically pleasing and cost effective.

The traditional suspension method would not only have included aircraft cable that needed to be measured, cut, and crimped, but it would have also involved the extra step of needing to be painted. Gripple’s Black Suspension Solution blends in with dark ceilings and provides a discreet point of suspension. In addition, Gripple’s Black and Standard Hangers contain fewer components, and come ready-to-use, with no tools or cutting required for installation. Prior to this job, the contractor had limited experience using Gripple products. They found that not only were the products easy to install but also very beneficial when it came to time and labor savings, with total labor savings coming out to $14,985.37.