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Acoustic Bulletin

Room acoustics blog

Magda Szubert

Enhancing Acoustic Design In Open-Plan Offices

2025-09-17 by Magda Szubert

Enhancing Acoustic Design in open-plan offices - presentation at Euronoise/ Forum Acousticum

At Forum Acusticum / Euronoise 2025 in Málaga, Rainer Machner presented a study that blends technical rigour with practical application. Together with Holger Brokmann and Dr. Achim Klein from Saint-Gobain Ecophon, he explored how the simplified ISO 3382-3 prediction model can support faster and more user-focused acoustic design in open-plan offices. Traditionally, ISO 3382-3 is […]

A New Way to Predict Office Noise Annoyance

2025-09-17 by Magda Szubert

Open-plan offices are often criticized for being noisy and distracting. Coworkers’ conversations in particular can make it difficult to focus. Until now, most assessments of office noise have relied mainly on sound pressure level (LAeq). But sound level alone doesn’t tell the whole story. At Forum Acusticum/ Euronoise in Málaga, Valtteri Hongisto, from Turku University […]

Predicting the distraction due to speech and babble

2025-06-16 by Magda Szubert

Open-plan office

Task-irrelevant speech is among the most common and disruptive sources of noise in modern office environments. For acousticians, the challenge has long been: how do we objectively assess the distraction caused by such fluctuating, speech-dominated environments using tools readily available in the field? A new study by Hongisto et al. (2025) offers a solution. It […]

Forum Acousticum/Euronoise 2025: Let’s talk acoustics, research & real-world impact

2025-06-16 by Magda Szubert

Let's meet at Forum Acousticum Euronoise 2025

From 23–26 June 2025, the acoustics world will gather under the Andalusian sun for Forum Acousticum / Euronoise 2025, hosted in the vibrant coastal city of Málaga, Spain. This joint congress is one of the year’s most significant events for anyone passionate about sound—its science, its design, and its profound impact on people.We’re thrilled to […]

Restaurants get louder—here’s how good acoustics and table spacing can break the cycle

2025-03-21 by Magda Szubert

In hospitality spaces such as restaurants, hotel lobbies, and cafés, escalating noise is more than just a nuisance—it’s a scientifically recognized phenomenon with measurable impacts on both guest experience and business outcomes. This is largely driven by the Lombard effect, a reflexive human response where people raise their voices in noisy environments to be heard. […]

How noise affects decision-making

2024-12-17 by Magda Szubert

How noise affect decision making

Noise has always been seen as a challenge in workplaces, but its impact on decision-making—especially in experience-based judgments—is not yet fully understood. This article looks at two research studies that explore how noise affects decision-making and the practical implications of their findings. Why room acoustics matter in decision making Efficient decision-making is essential in workplace […]

Active noise-cancelling headphones do not improve cognitive performance in office noise environment

2024-09-25 by Magda Szubert

Valtteri Hongisto at Inter-Noise conference in Nantes presenting on The Influence of Active Noise-Cancelling (ANC) Headphones on Performance, Stress, and Experience in Office Environments

In modern open-plan offices, noise from conversations and background activities can significantly impact employees’ productivity and well-being. Active noise-cancelling (ANC) headphones are often employed as a personal solution to reduce distractions and control the acoustic environment. But how effective are these devices in enhancing performance, reducing stress, or improving the overall work experience? This article […]

Empirical Method for Predicting Speech Sound Propagation in Offices

2024-09-25 by Magda Szubert

Prediction model of speech propagation in offices- presentation at Internoise 2024

ISO 3382-3 describes how to assess sound propagation and speech intelligibility in open-plan offices. At the recent Inter-Noise conference in Nantes, Rainer Machner presented Hongisto and Keränen’s (2013) regression-based model for predicting ISO 3382-3 parameters. By analyzing data from 10 office spaces, he evaluated the model’s performance and gave practical recommendations for its use in […]

Irrelevant speech makes perceived workload higher

2024-06-17 by Magda Szubert

Irrelevant speech affect cognitive performance

Irrelevant speech, or background conversations, has been shown to impair cognitive performance and cause physiological stress. Recently published research demonstrated that working during task-irrelevant speech not only increases stress, as measured by heart rate variability, and reduces accuracy but also increases annoyance and perceived workload. Method Thirty participants performed two cognitive tasks (n-back and serial […]

Dissatisfaction with noise strongly related to the perceived fit of office

2024-03-18 by Magda Szubert

How indoor environment impact the perceived fit of the office

Many research studies investigate satisfaction with indoor environmental quality in offices. In their study, Jenni Raduni and Valtteri Hongisto from Turku University examined the influence of office types and satisfaction with indoor environmental quality factors on different activities’ perceived fit. The study was based on a large global dataset consisting of more than 82,000 respondents […]

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