Exposed Soffit Ceiling

A soffit is an architectural feature found on both the outside and inside of buildings. It denotes the horizontal underside of any construction element. Many people are familiar with the term in relation to the eaves of a house. In this scenario, the vertical board below the roof edge is the fascia. While the horizontal underside that covers the eaves is the soffit.

Inside many commercial or retail buildings, contractors often build the floors using steel beams and concrete slabs. We refer to the underside of these floor slabs as the soffit ceiling. Additionally, the soffit serves as a vital anchor for the building’s mechanical and electrical (M&E) services. The M&E installations can be considerable, and they either fix to or suspend from the concrete soffit.

A common way to hide these services is by installing a tile and grid suspended ceiling below the soffit. The ceiling tiles are removable, which enables access for equipment maintenance and repairs. But there is a growing trend toward leaving soffits and services exposed. In such instances, designers often leave the concrete soffit with its natural finish. Galvanized steel services then complement the concrete to create an industrial scheme. Although, the designer may choose to paint the ceiling soffit and any visible services black to create a uniform appearance. Thus, the upper ceiling space and services become less prominent.

At OWA, we define an acoustic ceiling raft as a separate, floating, horizontal assembly. It features many removable or fixed panels and suspends from the soffit on rods or wires. A raft is usually a large installation, bigger than a smaller one-piece canopy. It may be metal or a combination of metal and mineral.