Cinemas in the Grandberry Mall, Tokyo

The Grandberry Mall in Tokyo's Minami Machida district opened its doors in 2000. With more than 60 outlets, it became one of the top 3 centres for fashion and design in Tokyo. In addition to several restaurants and a large outdoor area, the "109 Cinemas" complex also forms part of this popular shopping destination.

The cinema operator was looking for efficient vibration and sound insulation to ensure an outstanding cinema experience for its customers.

In order to protect the auditorium from external sources of noise, low-frequency vibration isolation was desired. This is where Getzner came in and developed an optimum solution using various types of the highly efficient polyurethane material Sylodyn®.

The Getzner solution

Getzner supplied a solution consisting of approximately 60 pretensioned point bearings with a precisely coordinated natural frequency in order to protect the steel structure on which the rows of seats were placed from disruptive vibration and sound transmission.

After the closure of the Grandberry Mall at the end of 2018, the elastomer bearings were removed and tested to assess their long-term behaviour. In 2019, Getzner Werkstoffe analysed two of the removed point bearings in order to compare the material behaviour with the Sylodyn® specifications after a working life of 14 years.

The Getzner Sylodyn® material used as a point bearing for the vibration and sound insulation of a cinema hall did not show any significant change in its functionality even after 14 years of use. The bearings met the requirements perfectly.