Building standards often consider the performance of a building, including energy efficiency, water consumption and material usage. But what about the occupants? An environmentally friendly, well-built building provides no guarantees that their needs will be considered, even when certified in most cases. Unless it has a WELL Building Standard certification, that is, which considers thermal […]
Offices
New Finnish acoustic standard paves the way
Finland paves the way for clear and science-based guidelines worldwide, with its revised standard for acoustic environments in buildings. Developed by the country’s leading acousticians, the standard is established in the business and among policymakers. In 2017, Finland’s Ministry of the Environment issued a decree on the Acoustic Environment of Buildings. Several parts of the […]
There’s more to sound absorption than just the acoustics
Deciding which sound absorbing product to choose for a building used to be a fairly simple business. Assessing trade-offs between acoustic performance, design and budget were the primary considerations. But now we know that every product in a building has an additional cost for the indoor and outdoor environment. So it has become imperative that […]
Additional acoustic treatment in a bank hall – a case study.
Excessive noise levels can be a significant distraction while trying to talk to a client, and it can make it difficult to hear and understand what the other person is saying. It can also be frustrating and stressful for both the client and the bank employee. In addition to being a distraction, excessive noise level […]
Great presentation of ISO 22955 at Internoise
Conference proceeding by Michel Batista: Acoustic assessment of an open-plan office environment against the newly published ISO 22955 acoustic parameters New ISO 22955 for open plan offices was a topic of a few research papers at Internoise. Michel Batista from Subsonic Designs showed interesting examples of in-situ measurements and simulations according to ISO 22955 and […]
Acoustic privacy and screens – What are the technical details?
How do you improve acoustic privacy in open offices? This might be the most important question for anyone designing or managing open office spaces as speech noise is the primary contributor to distractions for office workers [1]. The answer is that the right acoustic features must be in place, from the very base build of […]
Keeping noise levels stable, while the hustle increase excessively
If we improve an acoustic environment, usually we reduce noise level and reverberation time. When an unexpected situation occurs, reductions are not reached, but… Consider activities before making your conclusion! This study was conducted in 2021 in the Customer Service Centre of ČEZ in Děčín. ČEZ Group is the biggest energy company in the Czech […]
Design dive: Open offices, part 3 – Interior
In this post series, we aim to provide you with all the foundational knowledge you need to create the best possible workspace sound environments. We have already covered the context history, materials, and geometry in the previous parts. This post deals with the interior acoustic design of open offices. How important is interior design for […]
International & American standards for indoor acoustic comfort
In many circumstances it may be desirable to refer to international or national standards to ensure that exact details of quality, methods, measures etc. is precisely corresponding to a predetermined set of rules and guidelines. There are several standards relating to room acoustics that anybody working in the building industry could utilize for better collaboration […]
Psychoacoustics: Humans and sound environments
From thunderclaps to crying children: sound waves have a large variety of physical, physiological, and psychological effects on people. These effects, rather than the actual sound wave, affect acoustic comfort. In room-acoustic design, it is often not enough to measure how to achieve the best possible technical parameters. In addition to this, one should always […]
