Office acoustic panels are the best way to fix reverberation in spaces where sound becomes noise. A lot of modern offices end up in need of acoustic panels as contemporary designs use hard surfaces, vaulted ceilings and plenty of glass. While this creates bright office spaces, they are often noisy and difficult to focus in.
We partnered up with Yorkshire Soundproofing to go and treat a local office in York that was suffering from terrible reverberation issues.
Acoustic problems in the office
Acoustic problems in Monitor’s offices meant people were unable to focus, take a phone call or speak with colleagues easily. These office spaces were newly decorated and refurbed, but sound hadn’t been considered in the office designs. Ultimately, the glass partition, high ceilings, hard floor and in-room kitchenette meant the space wasn’t user-friendly. Luckily, management at the company took sound seriously and decided to get the problem resolved with proper sound absorption.
They chose the grey Still Note panels which come in different sizes and suited their aesthetics. They are also a superb retrospective sound design choice as they can be added to ceilings or walls and configured to fit the current space.
Why acoustic panels are good in office spaces
Acoustic panels are a good fit for office spaces because they can be hung from the ceiling out of the way. In this example, the office still felt light and open after the installation was finished. Acoustic panels can also be adhered directly to the walls. This was done in a smaller side office where two desks were close to a wall which increased reverberation.
The acoustic panels are lightweight, which means no additional structural changes need to be made before installation. Our Still Note panels were hung from wire fixings which are adjustable to fit any ceiling height. It is best to allow a gap between the panel and the ceiling, if possible, as absorption is increased. You can see in this example that a 25cm gap was left to improve the performance of the acoustic panels.
How were the panels installed?
The panels were installed with a fixing and wire system which was simply screwed into the ceiling. Each acoustic panel is hung from multiple pigtail screws that are twisted into the material. This makes the panels easy to install and take down for light maintenance.
It is best to spread acoustic panels around an office so that the absorption is evenly distributed. In this case study you can see that the panels go from one end to the other. We generally advise covering around 1/3 of hard surfaces, but this depends on your space and sound issues. For this example, the ceiling treatment alone was sufficient for good sound attenuation.
Step 1
Measure out the position and screw the pigtail fixing into the fibers. This will not show from the other side.
Step 2
Drill the metal casing into the ceiling and securely screw the wire in place.
Step 3
The panel can be clipped to the wire by the pigtail screw.
Step 4
The wire length can be easily adjusted by pressing and sliding the hook.
Did the acoustic panels work?
Yes, the acoustic panels worked and reduced reverberation in the office. The video above has a before and after audio example, so you can hear how acoustic panels work for yourself. Before installation, the room was too noisy and speech could be hard to focus on. After the installation, sound was controlled and it was easy to talk while other activities carried on.
This has made a huge difference to the office and made it far better to work in. Now the office space has been successfully treated, they are installing acoustic baffles in their meeting room. This will make in-person meetings and video calls far easier and more professional.