translucent partitions - soundproof?

[hinterhaus]

helping a friend redesign the interior of her workplace. she's a dentist.
location is Potsdam/Germany. the 2 storey house was built around 1870 and the ground floor used to be a small shop until the 1990's when it was converted into a dentist's place.
it has been rented since by my friend and is to undergo a makeover now.
the place is ~150m2. (for imperial measure anthropomorphs - by ~100 is sqf :)
currently the partition walls make the main path appear dark and narrow.
crucial tasks are to make the partition walls translucent and find a way to obfuscate the use of restroom from waiting people. (the restroom is directly off the waiting area).
another task is the front windows where they use vertical blinds now. (15cm wide)
those look ugly but are needed to provide some protection in summer.

secondary tasks are design of a new reception desk and a wall cupboard. (working on that)

as i'm worried about the drill noise with translucent walls - can someone suggest a system (with flushing doors) that would form a decent sound barrier?
i've noticed the interesting tranclucent walls thread link (http://www.pushpullbar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2829)
and contacted rodeca in germany - still waiting for someone to get back. they produce a flourescent version that i'd love to use. not sure about the sound insulation qualities though and they don't seem to make doors.
of course glass is another option but i do like that multiwall look especially the twincolour panels.

colours chosen for walls are bright faded green for the waiting area and a warm red along the opposite wall. floors are to be oak. dark is what my friend wants. not sure about that. i thought about making the waiting area partition turquoiseish. :eek: (see skp) suggestions welcome.

[hinterhaus]

skp

[hinterhaus]

floorplan of existing layout.

[pitrak]

as i'm worried about the drill noise with translucent walls - can someone suggest a system (with flushing doors) that would form a decent sound barrier?
... not sure about the sound insulation qualities though and they don't seem to make doors.

Did you use the panels for the project? I would like to know more about the sound-insulation quality of these panels as well. A friend of mine used it in a renovation and he complained afterwards: in the living room you had the feeling of actually being on the street (busy street btw). Is there a workaround for this? As the panels are very light, I assume the problem is inherent to the material...

This afternoon I was looking in a Taschen book: architecture in Switserland. It had a very interesting project by Aldo Celoria - a house with polycarbonate panels as a second skin. The structural skin had glazing both behind the panels (diffuse light) and intersecting the panels (light and sight). Problem is, I can't find anything on the project, I only find information on his Travella house. I think the other house was called Trapanner. Any info or references would be very welcome. If not, I'll just have to buy the book I guess :rolleyes:

What interests me in the project beside the visual and light aspects is the possibility of extra thermal insulation. By adding the panels on the outside of the building, you create an insulating layer of PC panels and a massive volume of air. I wonder if that is enough in terms of decent insulation. Anyone has some experience to share here?

[trogers]

FYI: pitrak, not sure if hinterhaus is going to be a part of this thread...he hasn't logged on since the 15th of January and hasn't posted since August of 2006.