The Quiet Revolution:
Part 1 | The Challenge of Noise in Modern Workspaces

Poor acoustics make it difficult to communicate and even harder to concentrate – affecting productivity, learning, and overall wellbeing. Excessive noise is a major source of workplace stress, impacting both mental and physical health.

The assault on your ears can come from traffic outside, mechanical equipment in adjacent spaces and, critically, interactions, phones and voices within the workspace. Coupled with this is an increase in density in open plan offices with bench desking. Banks of people on Zoom/Teams calls can be distracting, even colleagues catching up and chatting can interrupt your focus.

Acoustic Design Must Support Different Work Modes

In city office clusters around the world the adaptability of core layouts, right-sizing and futureproofing needs of workspaces are being scrutinised. And with the “war for talent” and employee retention recognised as an ongoing challenge by multinationals, workplace design has become centred around occupier and employee satisfaction as a crucial element in corporate strategy.

Real estate company JLL’s Global Future of Work biennial survey, most recently published in 2024, highlighted the creation of high-performance environments which can adapt to the changing needs of employers and staff, citing “Businesses will demand high-performance environments in order to support more complex work requirements, which are driven by AI, top talent attraction and managing high levels of flexibility in hybrid working models.”

The creation of offices that facilitate seamless remote and on-site collaboration while promoting focused work have come under increasing scrutiny from employers. While mandates for a “return to the office” are being implemented for example in the UK, discussions that centre around the idea that offices and workplaces “must earn the commute” have arisen more broadly too.

Employees often cite the lack of sound privacy as well as access to focused workspaces and private workspaces as key reasons for lower satisfaction rates. With the on-going requirements for predominantly open plan spaces to support flexibility and collaboration, need grows for the provision of:

●  Quieter zones for focused work to take place, with noise from adjacent spaces kept to a minimum;
●  Meeting rooms with controlled acoustics for confidential or contained conversations, conference calls etc.

Designing for Neuroinclusivity

Along with consideration for multi-modal ways of working, designers are also being asked to consider neuroinclusive environments – spaces that support the sensory needs of all users. The office soundscape now demands attention: audio clutter is on a par with visual clutter if we are to support productive working for all.

In its work on this theme, global architecture practice HOK highlights the fact employers are beginning to recognise that, in addition to simply being the right thing to do, accommodating neurodiverse people (approximately 15-20% of people) can provide a significant competitive advantage. Its publication Designing a Neurodiverse Workplace examines workplace design, showing how environments tuned to diverse cognitive and sensory needs can boost productivity, satisfaction and innovation for everyone.

Critically, one area the publication highlights is acoustic quality. It reveals “Where neurotypical employees may find ambient noise – or the lack of it – counterproductive, employees who are especially sensitive or prone to distraction, such as those with autism or ADHD, can find it downright disabling.”

Consideration of acoustics starts at design stage

While the functionality and aesthetics of the workspace are key to the designer, today a more holistic view of the occupant experience embraces acoustic comfort. The acoustical environment of a workspace has until now primarily focused on sound absorption to support speech legibility or privacy. How denser/busier areas in today’s workspaces with a lack of effective sound control, providing distractions for all, is now a major concern.

Clients want and need exceptional performance solutions when it comes to acoustic sound insulation in modern workspaces. Understanding acoustic performance ratings are important because this data helps designers to achieve the required types of sound reduction in different spaces.

The British Standard 5234: 1992: Partitions suggests that the sound insulation performance levels of a general office should be Rw38dB and a private office should be Rw44dB.

Rw, or Weighted Sound Reduction Index, is an acoustic rating used to measure and indicate how effective a “soundproofing” wall, system or material is, it refers to reduced airborne sound transmission. Essentially, it indicates how effectively a material blocks or reduces the sound passing through it.

The following values provide some general guidance on acoustic privacy in relation to Rw effects (figures are given in decibels (dB) a measure of sound intensity):

• 25 Normal speech easily overheard
• 30 Loud speech clearly overheard
• 35 Loud speech can be distinguished
• 40 Loud speech heard but not intelligible
• 45 Loud speech heard faintly
• 50 Loud speech and shouting can be heard with difficulty

Trusting the Data: Tested and Verified Performance

At Optima, all our glass wall and door systems are independently tested in a UKAS-accredited laboratory. Full test reports are available upon request – helping specifiers accurately compare products and ensure they meet project-specific acoustic goals.

Approved data (third party accreditation) from verified laboratories is critical for specification in order both to accurately compare product solutions as well as determine how well a building partition will attenuate (reduce) airborne sound.

Christian Mabey, MD, Optima Products Ltd says: “We like to work in a consultative manner and therefore information we give out will be based on our testing. Architects and designers can get this information from us, with the documentation that relates to our testing showing objective values that have been measured. This is critical to give clients what they have asked for, for example, a privacy rating to allow for confidential discussions to take place within a broader open environment.”

We are pleased to say that Optima’s glass wall systems and doors provide market leading acoustical performance – Fact. Our third-party accredited documentation demonstrates sound insulation can be achieved for total privacy up to an impressive Rw53dB using two sheets of 16.8mm acoustic laminated glass on our Revolution 100 system for example.

Acoustic Design and Sustainability Go Hand-in-Hand

Measurable and effective acoustic design can also be critical in meeting project sustainability goals, achieving points for Indoor Environmental Quality in the BREEAM and LEED rating systems for example. WELL certification evaluates various elements of the sound environment, including sound level measurements, speech privacy, noise reduction and soundscapes.

High performing acoustical solutions bring demonstrable value to clients and the possibility of achieving excellent building standards cannot be overlooked.

With consideration early in the project design and development phase, we can provide for workspaces and classrooms that promote occupants’ well-being, productivity, and communications through effective acoustic design.

Read more on how we helped Estee Lauder in Singapore deal with office sound intrusion.

Find out more on a shift toward human-led design, influenced by the stabilisation of hybrid working patterns in JLL’s report here.

Contact us to discuss your office soundscape and acoustic requirements with our design and technical experts.