acoustics, design and environmental comfort

Proper sound insulation in work spaces can reduce stress levels by 27% and increase concentration by 48%

According to recent studies, it appears that noise within an open space can lead to a 15% drop in workers’ productivity, causing greater difficulty in concentration.
This would result in a loss of time of up to 20 minutes per day.
On the other hand, in case of confined spaces noise manages to spread by crossing partitions and seeping through the ceiling, reducing productivity by up to 7 %.
Finally, a better acoustic environment in work spaces has proven to reduce stress levels by 27%, and increase attention levels by 48%.
Obviously, as is always the case in this kind of research, these are statistical evidences and not truths carved in stone, however, these are figures that should give us pause when it comes to designing an office or a workspace. While attention to acoustics used to be restricted to theaters, auditoriums or rooms intended for listening to music, today its applications range in all areas of architectural design, from domestic to professional environments.
Actually, in order to ensure an adequate level of comfort, concepts such as sound insulation, sound absorption, soundproofing, and reverberation are not limited to structures alone but apply to interior design and to the very furnishings of spaces.
Proper attention to environmental comfort rightly includes building acoustics among the parameters to be defined at the design stage along with air-to-light ratios, safety, fire and all other legal requirements.

Obviously a good knowledge of the specific characteristics of the materials to be used in defining work environments, particularly when using modular partition elements, is a fundamental requirement underlying any good design.
Most especially if you want to combine functionality, aesthetics, and employee well-being.
This is why architects, designers, and specialized companies have been directing their efforts for years to find the right balance in the design of modular spaces, using specific products and solutions intended for acoustic correction, which can reduce the level of distraction and the negative effects of noise, while creating discreet, privacy-friendly, engaging and dynamic environments.
Especially since the trend of coworking spaces where many people share a single workplace, is widespread.
In fact, the need increasingly represented by the market is to offer workspace solutions suitable to rapid conversions of organizations’ needs, without these reconfigurations to compromise in any way the abovementioned comfortable features, thus to maintain the best working conditions in every situation.