Ever gaze toward the ceiling at your local restaurant, or concert venue, or conference hall and think of the geological phenomena known as plate tectonics? My guess is probably not, so it's a good thing that 5.5 Designers and manufacturer Oberflex have: the two companies were rightly proud to debut their innovative Tectonique 5.5 Ceiling Tiles this past November at  Batimat in Paris.

Tectonique 5.5 Ceiling Tiles. Designed by 5.5 Designers. Manufactured by Oberflex.

The Compelling Aesthetic and Innovative Technology of Tectonique 5.5 Ceiling Tiles

So what does Tectonique have to do with plate tectonics? This innovative ceiling surfacing material is modeled after the movement of the earth's plates, which, if you remember your high school geology, is "the current model for how the Earth functions internally… it is the surface expression of terrestrial life."

Thanks to 5.5 Designers and Oberflex, it's also a beautiful new way to adorn your ceiling. Consisting of four styles-Continent, Fault, Eruption, and Slide-the Tectonique Collection approximates the different ways the earth's plates interact. This manifests in myriad intersections of these wooden laminate ceiling tiles, so many, in fact, that "bespoke becomes standard."

The Tectonique Ceiling Tiles indeed create a bold new look, but that's not all they do. The fissures and gaps between tiles form multiple sound traps, which increases acoustic performance. Furthermore, Tectonique 5.5 Ceiling Tiles feature an innovative new installation system. Comprised of movable rails and brackets, the system is easy to set up and break down. And all components, including the tiles themselves, are designed for easy recycling and re-incorporation into the product stream.

The exclusive mounting system also makes it easy to alter and experiment, to capitalize on the ceiling tiles' inherent variability and nearly infinite aesthetic flexibility: "a series of models designed as moving surfaces which are ripped, torn apart, sliced and meet again to form micro-landscapes which remind us that our world is very much alive."

Via MocoLoco.

About the Manufacturer: Oberflex's new "ceiling solutions" are comprised of seven different species of wood and no small measure of innovative thinking. The line of ceiling tiles is not only environmentally friendly-manufactured in a way that minimizes waste and maximizes available resources-but also acoustically superior and aesthetically intriguing. The Tectonique 5.5 line, produced in concert with 5.5 Designers, is modeled after the movement of the earth's plates, creating a look and style that "frees architects' and interior designers’ creativity by offering them a range of possibilities previously available through customization only."