Designing in acoustics

Acoustics are an element of a workplace that can’t be seen but if overlooked can detrimentally impact occupants. Effective management of acoustics contributes significantly to the overall comfort, productivity and wellbeing of employees. There are many elements to managing acoustics as part of office interiors which facilities managers need to consider.

Noise control is the most obvious one. The office floorplate needs to be designed in such a way and equipped with soundproofing equipment to minimise both external sounds such as traffic noise or construction and internal sources of sound such as the whir of the printer or the clank of crockery in the kitchen.

There’s also the issue of the chatter of colleagues, particularly in designated focussed working areas. There is a delicate balance between wanting staff to come back into the office in order to collaborate and maintaining more peaceful areas for tasks that require concentration. People who are non-neurotypical are particularly susceptible to noise-based distractions.

Confidentiality is also crucial in certain interactions in the office and indeed paramount in particular industries such as the legal sector. It’s often difficult to incorporate acoustic privacy in open plan offices as opposed to more cellular floorplates but this can be achieved through clever design and placement of white or pink noise systems, partitions, panels to ensure that sensitive conversations, phone calls or video conferencing content are not overheard. Protecting speech privacy fosters trust as well as confidentiality within the workplace.

ACOUSTIC SOLUTIONS

International interior finishes company Woven Image has addressed how the role of the physical workplace has changed at an exponential pace in terms of both technology and lockdowns, leaving many organisations reassessing how best to use space. The result is the Serene Contours collection which has linework strongly inspired by the Art Deco era. Last autumn, the company, which originated in Australia, introduced two new EchoPanel® precision cuts; Palace and Ohm along with Duet Ion, a dual-sided panel for partitioning applications. Also included within this collection is the quilted acoustic fabric Focus Chain. These products combine the move for more tactile surfaces and three-dimensional textures with the drive towards sustainability as well as strong acoustic performance. Further responding to the changing nature of the office post-pandemic as primarily a place to connect and interact, exchanging ideas and information is Woven Image’s latest launch the Array and Fuji ranges of design-driven acoustic ceiling and wall finishes.

Fuji has a range of ceiling acoustic tiles which reduce reverberation times through a high sound absorption rating. Array is a dramatic, customisable acoustic ceiling baffle system that helps to control reverberated noise in busy, shared spaces. Architects, designers and specifiers can achieve unique installations through varying configurations of tile size, colourway, hardware finish and suspension height.