Too often, the office soundscape is overlooked. With a huge focus placed on aesthetics, acoustics are frequently cut from office designs as a way to save money, only for businesses to realise their importance once their space has been fully fitted and implications arise.
In fact, acoustics are one of the most imperative features within a functioning office and don’t have to be expensive or impact aesthetics if specified correctly.
As fit out specialists, we provide sound treatment within our fit out projects as well as smaller refurbishments, finding a solution that will enhance the design rather than compromise it. Whether you’re looking to control loud environments or need a bit of quiet time to focus on work, discover our creative interior tips to advance acoustics in your office.
1) Acoustic Partitioning
Office partitioning is a great way to divide new areas within an office and, at Gravity, we often install them in our fit out projects to form new rooms or to separate departments. They are a practical solution within many workplaces, as different systems boast different performance attributes.
Without the help of an experienced fit out team, it can be difficult to know what acoustic qualities your office partitioning needs. Our team of experts closely assess how your workforce functions, ensuring that we provide partitioning solutions tailored to the acoustic demands of your workplace.
And partitioning doesn’t necessarily have to be a solid wall! Quite often, we use acoustic glass partitioning as it allows a healthy flow of light to reach the newly formed area and adds a contemporary finish whenever applied.
2) Acoustic Art
Whilst hanging art around the office can be a decorative feature, the soft texture of these creative wall panels also provides sound treatment by absorbing unwanted noise that would otherwise bounce off the hard surface of the wall, echoing back into the room.
The dual-performing wall panels offer a vast choice of design options, with studies showing how they can be used to inspire creativity or showcase company culture and branding. Preserved planting such as moss wall is an alternative sound absorbent that is long-lasting, enhancing workspaces in appearance and performance!
3) Acoustic Ceiling Rafts & Baffles
Ceilings cover a large surface area so it’s no surprise to hear the level of impact it has over office acoustics. Whilst suspended ceilings provide an element of sound control depending on the installed tiles, we realise not every workplace uses these systems.
As an alternative, we often incorporate acoustic ceiling rafts, baffles and canopies for targeted sound protection. These creative ceiling solutions are compatible with suspended ceilings and exposed soffits, hanging with a ‘weightless’ appearance. The baffle surface absorbs reverberations produced in a room, ultimately improving speech clarity and forming conversation hubs wherever they are hung.
4) Acoustic Furniture
Office furniture can also be overlooked when it comes to acoustic potential. In fact, even a standard office chair is likely to use soft materials that help by absorbing noise within the workplace. We furnish all our fit out projects with furniture that serves a purpose. That means for more acoustically challenged environments, we have a few tricks up our sleeve..
Upgrade that standard office lounge chair to a high-backed winged chair. These creative seats provide more than a comfortable place to perch, surrounding employees with concentrated sound protection to improve speech clarity for one-to-ones or quick conversations that are easily heard over external office noise.
Privacy screens and desk dividers are perfect for open plan offices that might be struggling with sound. They act as a successful zoning method to divide spaces and create effective, agile workplaces.
As a more high end option, acoustic booths and meeting pods provide essential spaces for confidential meetings, focus areas where staff can get their heads down and some are even compatible with digital screens for uninterrupted video meetings. For this reason, we’ve found acoustic pods and phone booths are becoming a prominent feature in offices designed for a hybrid work model.
Like What You Hear?
At Gravity Office Interiors, we provide high quality solutions that incorporate form and function. With any project, we start by getting to know you and how your business works to ensure we deliver effective acoustic solutions to create the perfect soundscape for your office. To advance your office acoustics, get in touch with our expert team today.
