The acoustics in the office and work premises has a major impact on the well-being and productivity of the workforce. There are certain basic rules that must be observed during the planning and design of offices.
- The acoustics of a room, i.e the properties of a room that affect sound transmission, is heavily influenced by the surfaces used in the room.
- To achieve pleasant acoustics, the materials used need to have sound absorption qualities.
- Sound absorption can be described as the ability to dampen sound, i.e to convert incoming sound energy into other forms of energy.
- This can be done with resonant panels, perforated plates with non-woven materials, foams, or acoustic plasters.
Sound absorbing materials for optimum reverberation time
The acoustics variable that must always be taken into account in room design is the reverberation time. It measures the time that a sound takes to become inaudible.
- The recommendations of DIN 18041 serve as a basis for the optimum reverberation time of a room.
- To generate optimum reverberation times in offices, sound absorbing materials must be used.
One property used to describe the material is the sound absorption coefficient ɑ. That is the material’s ability to convert the incoming sound to other forms of energy, such as movement or heat, and thus absorb it.
- The sound absorption coefficient is, however, primarily determined by the frequency, the number of sound pressure changes per second.
- Lower sound absorbers damp high frequencies and large or high sound absorbers are used to damp low frequencies.
How sound absorbers work — basic principles
The following basic principles provide a general overview of how sound absorbers work:
- Materials with higher sound absorption levels cause a greater reduction in the reverberation time in the room.
- A highly absorbent sound absorber can only achieve the desired result in the room, if a sufficient surface area is used.
- Even a sound absorber with relatively weak absorbency can achieve the desired effect, provided that it has a sufficiently large surface area.
- Sufficient sound damping can be provided for a room by using one sound absorber or by using a variety of different sound absorbers (1)
Acoustic room design — performance requirements
There are many ways to create pleasant acoustics in office and work rooms. Innovative acoustically effective solutions can be used to prevent noise pollution in the working environment, such as workstation dividers, stand-up walls, board wall elements, ceiling panels, and furniture. A preventive office design can reduce stress, nervousness, tension, and loss of concentration and increase employee performance.
Furthermore, acoustically effective elements, that blend in harmoniously with the style of the particular work area, create a more pleasant ambience in the room. Sound absorbers with printed textile fabrics help to give the room the desired feel and visual elements can also function as decorations.
Modern acoustic technologies improve comfort
Open-plan offices in particular require an integrated acoustic strategy. Above all, the sound level and speech intelligibility in the work areas play a primary role.
- The sound level relates to the room volume for the particular activity.
- For example, high speech intelligibility is needed in meeting rooms, but quiet workstations are needed in the team space, to promote concentration.
- To create pleasant acoustics in office and work rooms, measures such as organization, shielding/damping, absorbing, and masking must be combined appropriately.
One element for optimizing acoustics in open spaces is the integration of sound masking in water and climate walls.
- Gentle background noises such as pleasant white noise or splashing, which are perceived subconsciously, can provide a more comfortable atmosphere in open work rooms.
- They do not disrupt communication or concentration in the workplace so they are widely accepted by employees. (2)
Cf.:
(1) Hilge, Dr. C.; Nocke, Dr. C.; Büro-Forum, Raumakustik, Akustische Bedingungen am Arbeitsplatz
(2) Klaffke M. (2016), Arbeitsplatz der Zukunft, Gestaltungsansätze und Good-Practice- Beispiele