5 Ideas for Meeting Acoustic Guidelines for Commercial Buildings
Acoustics play a big role in any working environment, including open-plan offices and meeting rooms, and should complement and support the way employees and employers interact and communicate.
The ability to be able to hold private and sensitive conversations with confidence – and without distractions – is crucial in workplaces and commercial premises.
When we think of acoustic requirements and soundproofing we often default to minimising the sound leaving a room, but as you’ll read in this blog, it’s equally important for a building’s design and materials to minimise noise and distractions entering from outside the space, too!
The Association of Australasian Acoustical Consultants has developed a Guideline for Commercial Building Acoustics which lists a range of outcomes for the acoustic design of offices.
We share an excerpt from those guidelines below and discuss some great ideas for how to adhere to the suggestions.
Acoustic Comfort in Workplaces
Can you hold conversations without intrusive noise in your workspaces?
Are your audio or video conferences audible from outside the meeting room they are being held?
According to the Association of Australasian Acoustical Consultants’ guideline, acoustic design of offices and open-plan work areas should facilitate the following:
“A) Spaces should be comfortable to occupy; occupation and work carried out within each space and environment should not be tiring over long periods.
- B) Appropriate privacy should be provided for conversations, as required in each space, with levels of privacy ranging from not distracting to completely confidential.
- C) Speech should be comfortable to listen to in each space and should sound natural. Speech should be free of distracting distortions, such as focussing, shrillness and echoes.
- D) Spaces should have a suitable level of ambient noise.
- E) Spaces should be free from distracting noises, such as hydraulics, lift noise or the clanking of crockery in a kitchen.
- F) Speech transmitted to remote participants during video and audio conferencing should be sufficiently natural and free of detrimental acoustic effects to allow easy and comfortable participation by all participants.”
5 Ideas for Meeting Acoustic Guidelines for Commercial Buildings
So how can an office space achieve acoustic comfort?
Here are some thought starters:
1. Design and planning
The layout of your workspace will have a big part in how comfortable it is from an acoustic perspective. Proper planning is required to ensure it is a pleasant place to work.
One idea would be to separate lobby/reception areas and kitchens from workstations where the additional noise may be disruptive or hinder productivity.
Boardrooms often require careful consideration to ensure conversations and presentations can be heard clearly within the space, but not outside of it. Meeting areas may also be a space where confidential conversations take place, so this should be kept in mind as well.
For the best solutions for your premises, you’ll have to consult with your builder or architect.
2. Walls to full height
While this may seem like an obvious consideration, having proper separation between people and spaces can really boost productivity and comfort for some workers.
It also means workers can talk on the phone with ease or have confidential conversations without others overhearing.
3. Materials
Building materials are also an important consideration as some are better at absorbing and reducing noise. For example, one effective idea is to include acoustic ceiling tiles which help to reduce reverberation.
Carpet can also lead to a quieter workspace as it can help soften and dull sounds.
4. Framing and partitioning
Leading on from the above, the combination of framing and materials, e.g. plasterboard or gyprock, will have an impact on noise levels as well.
You can find the sound ratings of plasterboard paired with our different partition systems here.
5. Door seals
Lastly, acoustic door seals can be very effective at reducing airborne sound getting through spaces that are others difficult to avoid – such as the gaps between a door and its frame. This in turn this can add to the comfort of the space and the performance of the workers inside it.
Read more about the door seals we stock here:
Do you have any questions about our ISO-9001 certified aluminium door frames, window frames and partitions?
We’re always happy to take your call so please get in touch today on 1300 274 407.
Bris Aluminium is a locally owned and operated company which supplies Australia’s best aluminium partitions, door frames and windows. You can easily shop our product range online.
Our high-quality products are affordable, great value for money and customisable. We can help with superior office fit outs for a variety of businesses and can assist with a range of residential space saving solutions as well. To make things easier, detailed design drawings are also available online for every product we stock.
Bris Aluminium’s quality assured certified products have a high level of adaptability and meet Australian standards including access requirements relating to disabilities.
Contact our friendly and professional team today on 1300 274 407 or enquire online here, so we can help to create the space you desire on time and on budget.
