E.Box: Bringing Silence into Workplace Design

An interview with Fabio Santoni on E.Box , the Etoile acoustic pod designed to introduce privacy, comfort, and flexibility into contemporary workspaces.

Recent trends in workplace design have increasingly focused on creating dynamic environments that accommodate a wide range of activities: individual concentration, confidential phone calls, video conferencing, quick meetings, and hybrid work modes. Within this evolving landscape, acoustic quality is no longer a secondary consideration but an essential component of the design process.

E.Box, the collection of acoustic pods developed by Etoile, was conceived to provide a protected, comfortable, and technologically equipped space within the office environment, supporting both collaborative meetings and focused individual work. Its self-supporting structure in extruded aluminum, laminated acoustic glass panels, and integrated technical ceiling featuring ventilation, LED lighting, and built-in services define a system that can be seamlessly incorporated into professional settings.

The value of E.Box also lies in its ability to evolve as a design language. Versions featuring curved walls expand the possibilities for spatial integration, introducing a softer, more fluid presence that is particularly suited to environments requiring visual continuity, enhanced spatial perception, and greater compositional freedom.

The product builds on Etoile’s longstanding design culture, rooted in the development of glass partition systems and integrated workplace solutions. Acoustic panels, sound-absorbing curtains, accessories, shelving, work surfaces and closing panels allow the pod to be configured according to a wide range of needs, while also enabling future adaptations and upgrades over time.

In an increasingly flexible workplace landscape, E.Box positions itself as a genuine design tool rather than a simple addition to the office environment. It offers an integrated, reconfigurable solution that evolves in step with the changing demands of contemporary workspaces.

We met with Fabio Santoni, founder of Etoile, to explore the vision behind the development of E.Box and discuss the role acoustic pods may play in shaping the future of the workplace.

Acoustic pods have become an increasingly common feature in office environments over the past few years. What need does E.Box respond to, and why did Etoile choose to develop this type of system based on its experience in partition walls?

E.Box was born out of a growing demand for privacy within increasingly open workplace environments. Large open-plan offices require protected spaces for phone calls, video meetings, brief discussions or focused individual work, without the need to build new enclosed rooms in the traditional sense.

Rather than calling it a phone booth, I like to describe it as an “office within the office”: a self-contained space integrated into the workplace, available in different sizes and equipped with air circulation, lighting and all the features necessary to make it genuinely comfortable and functional.

E.Box is not conceived as a standalone product, but as part of a broader vision of the workplace. How important was it to ensure aesthetic, technical and design continuity with Etoile’s partition systems?

It was extremely important, because every company has its own way of thinking, designing and building. Etoile comes from the world of partition systems, so E.Box could not be disconnected from our technical culture. It had to emerge from the same expertise, speak the same design language and reflect the same attention to construction details.

From the perspective of architects and companies, what opportunities does a modular and configurable acoustic system offer—one that can evolve over time in response to changing functions, layouts and ways of working?

Above all, it creates opportunities to work on the project rather than simply selecting a product. E.Box is not conceived as a closed, standardised solution—something identical for every situation that can simply be taken from stock and installed. Of course, there are reference dimensions and predefined configurations, but every workplace has different requirements in terms of size, height, colours, finishes, acoustic performance, accessories and interior equipment.

The structure has been specifically engineered to allow for significant customisation. We can adapt widths, depths and heights, including dimensions that exceed standard market averages, thanks to a system of beams and components designed to support more complex configurations.

For architects and companies, this means being able to integrate E.Box into a wide variety of contexts, tailoring it to the specific needs of each project rather than forcing it into a rigid framework. It is not a one-size-fits-all solution or a mass-produced object that remains the same in every setting. We always develop it in direct relation to the project.

Today’s market offers a wide range of acoustic pods. What makes E.Box distinctive in terms of build quality, user comfort, material sustainability and customisation?

I don’t like making direct comparisons with competitors. Every company follows its own path, and ultimately it is the market, clients and designers who decide. Our goal has been to create a highly engineered product that is aesthetically refined, robust and, above all, genuinely comfortable to use.

For me, an acoustic pod has to perform in real-world conditions. It must effectively reduce reverberation, provide a high level of interior comfort and allow two or three people to converse without disturbance, while avoiding the feeling of being confined in an enclosed space. This is why we paid particular attention to air circulation and ventilation, integrating systems capable of ensuring adequate air exchange. In environments of this kind, indoor air quality is essential.

Materials are another important aspect. Aluminium and glass are durable, solid and fully recyclable materials, making them consistent with a responsible approach to environmental impact. For us, sustainability is also linked to longevity: creating products that are built to last and can be adapted over time to different project requirements, rather than becoming disposable solutions.

Workplaces are evolving towards increasingly hybrid and flexible environments. How do you envision the role of integrated systems such as E.Box in the coming years, and how might they develop within the contemporary workplace?

The future is difficult to predict because it is constantly changing. One thing, however, is clear: organisations will continue to require flexible spaces capable of accommodating different needs without compromising technical performance or user comfort.

E.Box can play an important role precisely because it enables the creation of protected environments within open-plan offices, without requiring the entire workplace layout to be redesigned each time. It is a tool that helps make the office more agile and responsive.

For us, remaining attentive to the evolving needs of the market will be essential. Companies must continually observe, analyse and anticipate emerging demands. We need to stay alert, ready to recognise change and translate it into tangible solutions. Not by chasing trends, but by continuing to do what we know best: creating technically advanced products, thoughtfully designed and developed around the realities of the space they inhabit.