The ceiling surface is an important functional component of a room. It helps control the diffusion of light and sound about the room. It may play a role in preventing the passage of sound vertically between the rooms above and below, and horizontally between rooms on either side of a partition. It is often designed to resist the passage of fire and must itself be appropriately noncombustible. Frequently, it is called upon to assist in the distribution of conditioned air, artificial light, and electrical energy. In many buildings, it must accommodate sprinkler heads for fire suppression and loudspeakers for intercommunication systems. And its color, texture, pattern, and shape are prominent in the overall visual impression of the room. A ceiling can be a simple, level plane, a series of sloping planes that give a sense of the roof above, a luminous surface, a richly coffered ornamental ceiling, or even a frescoed plaster vault such as Michelangelo’s famous ceiling in the Sistine Chapel in Rome; the possibilities are endless.
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