Room acoustics

Contemporary office concepts focus on openness, communication and knowledge sharing. With the employees' need for peace and quiet and concentrated work, how can this be reconciled?

Today's working world requires a high degree of cooperation and communication. Teamwork and knowledge sharing are part of everyday office life, but so are concentrated (individual) work and discretion. In order to be able to work well and productively in this field of tension between communication and concentration, professionally planned and individually optimized room acoustics are required.

Acoustics as a prerequisite for productive and healthy working

Other than the visual appearance of a room, the importance of room acoustics is often underestimated when planning office environments. The topic of acoustics sometimes only comes into focus when employees do not feel comfortable in the workplace. For example, after a new office has been set up or refurbished, they complain that it is difficult to concentrate on communication, e.g. when making phone calls, in some rooms. The acoustics are then perceived as disturbing, be it due to a generally excessive noise level caused by printers or copiers, conversations between colleagues or other acoustically induced distractions. However, over-damped rooms can also be unpleasant if there is pressure on the ears or speech intelligibility is poor. The perception of room acoustics is very subjective. It can vary from employee to employee and can also depend on the mood of the day and the tasks to be performed.

WINEA FLEX UP Arbeitsplatz-Einhausung zur visuellen und akustischen Abschirmung

It has been proven that unfavorable acoustic conditions can have a massive impact on productivity and employee satisfaction. Noise can lead to lower performance and cause stress, particularly in activities that require a high level of concentration and working memory. Employees in acoustically unfavorable offices also complain more frequently about fatigue, irritability and a perceived higher workload.

Sound shielding and sound absorption

Effective acoustic measures can be implemented both in existing facilities and when planning new rooms. A distinction is made between sound shielding and sound absorption. Direct sound, which spreads across the room Without being reflected, is perceived as particularly disturbing. Sound-shielding acoustic elements - positioned as close as possible to the sound source - interrupt the direct sound on its way from the sound source to the ear. Sound absorbers, on the other hand, attenuate the sound that hits them. This is done either by converting the sound energy into other forms of energy such as thermal energy (porous surfaces) or vibrations (resonance absorbers made of vibration-dependent materials). Acoustically effective systems in the office, such as movable walls, behind-desk or On-desk panels, ideally combine both principles for maximum effectiveness in the smallest possible space.

Four different absorber groups are generally used in offices: sound absorbers for the ceiling design, for the wall design, floor coverings and sound-absorbing furniture. To achieve acoustic effectiveness over large areas, the floor should be carpeted if possible. On the ceiling, sound can be conditioned With acoustic ceilings, e.g. in the form of ceiling sails above the workplace. With component-activated ceilings, the additional installation of ceiling sails is only possible to a very limited extent, which is why care should be taken when selecting the ceiling system to ensure that it has a sound-absorbing effect.

The optimum room acoustics

Important regulations and key figures that need to be observed when planning room acoustics are set out in a series of standards, guidelines and laws. However, these can only ever provide guidelines for individually optimized room acoustics; there are no one-size-fits-all solutions. Instead, it is important to develop individual and professionally planned acoustic concepts based on the size and structure of the room in question, the structural features and the requirements of the respective users.