Keyboards, printers, air conditioning, meetings – we’ve heard it all before.
Although you may want to create a buzz in certain areas, excess noise is generally quite a distraction and will make it hard for staff to concentrate. Tapping of keyboards, the hums from printers and regular meetings all make up the soundscape of most offices, however there are many creative ways to solve these acoustic issues. With over 40 years of industry experience, we can help you dampen the noise to form a more productive workplace.
Benefits of Better Office Acoustics
Open plan office spaces are extremely common today as they allow for maximum use of space, harness natural light and provide a boost in employee creativity and collaboration. However, they do have a downside as they lack privacy and noise pollution can put a strain on employees.
Taking control of acoustics in your open plan design, like we did using acoustic office solutions in this Cheltenham project, or in any office for that matter, can allow staff to concentrate and focus, improving work ability and even going as far as influencing their wellbeing. Creating the ideal acoustic environment can reduce stress levels due to improved speech intelligibility, listening comfort and minimised vocal efforts.
Types of Acoustic Solutions
Acoustic Partitioning
An element of privacy is important in any business. Whether it is for HR meetings, group discussions or staff appraisals, there needs to be a safe space for these conversations to take place.
Partitioning is (if you’ll pardon the pun) a sound solution to separate departments, meeting rooms or offices quickly and with minimal disruption to your business. At Gravity, we offer many different partitioning systems to achieve the commercial design you envision whilst also meeting the acoustic needs of your workplace. To make the most of the natural light within your office space, we recommend glass partitioning.
If you want to still make the most of the natural light within your office space then why not choose glass partitioning. At Gravity, we offer many different partitioning and acoustic glass solutions meaning that you can easily achieve the style you desire whilst meeting your acoustic needs.
Acoustic Ceilings and Flooring
The ceiling and floor may not be the first areas you think of when it comes to controlling noise within your workplace, however they can make a huge difference. After all, the ceiling has the largest unbroken surface area for sound absorption!
An office ceiling has properties that fall into categories of sound absorption (noise being absorbed out of a room) and sound insulation (the prevention of sound travelling between rooms). While most ceiling tiles are designed to do one or the other, there are a few specialist products that offer both.
And let’s not forget office flooring. Softer materials such as carpet tiles are able to absorb noise out of a room, whereas harder surfaces are likely to reflect that sound around a building. At Gravity, we have the expertise to advise what type of commercial ceiling and flooring will suit your workplace and provide the best acoustic environment.
Acoustic Rafts and Baffles
Rafts and baffles are suspended from the ceiling, designed to minimise noise pollution and reverberation. They’re often used in spaces where it’s not possible to install an acoustic ceiling, but also make for impressive design features that absorb sound.
Acoustic baffles can hang to form a ‘wall’ and we often use them as an effective zoning method between different work areas, doubling up reducing noise levels and preventing sound travelling from room to room. During installation, they can be fitted as baffles or horizontally as suspended units.
In open plan designs, free-hanging acoustic rafts and canopies can provide targeted noise protection; creating conversation hubs with improved speech clarity and increased directional hearing. Installing acoustic rafts above workplaces will reduce sound propagation across large distances and contribute to increased privacy between working groups.
Acoustic Wall Panels
As with baffles and rafts, acoustic wall panels offer limitless design opportunities within the office, all while improving the overall working environment (you can even install acoustic wall art!). With sound absorbing properties and a fantastic opportunity to inject colour and style into the office design, acoustic wall panels control noise in spaces where acoustic ceiling solutions cannot be installed.
