Many modern offices and working environments have been built in an open plan environment, of course doing so has many benefits to keep a good flow in your office design and create a space where collaborative working is championed.
However, due to the lack of walls, partitioning or break-ups in the structure of these spaces, there is a largely increased noise level depending on how open and how many employees are working in the office and the noise can have a hugely negative effect on the quality being produced if you don’t control that noise pollution.
When your employees are trying to get tasks done, an open plan office can be extremely distracting leading to procrastination, lower quality work, lack of motivation and productivity, as well as projects taking much longer to be completed.
What is acoustic furniture?
Acoustic furniture is specially designed with unique fabrics and size specifications to reduce the noise levels around it and is predominately used in office environment to help with attention and focus in noisier atmospheres.
Although mostly found in corporate settings, acoustic furniture is often also found in restaurants to give customers a more private and pleasant dining experience in busy periods of the day.
So, what are the different kinds of acoustic furniture that you can choose from?
Acoustic partitions
One of the easiest way to reduce the sound level in the office is to add acoustic partitions to break up the noise, partitions have two benefits – they split up open areas, creating more privacy and allowing you to form separate areas of the office without breaking the open plan design, and also more crucially, reduces the noise level in the room.
Acoustic partitions are one of the most popular ways to reduce noise pollution in the office and come in a number of shapes, sizes, styles and materials to not only suit your design but also your budget.
Light shades
One of the lesser known pieces of acoustic furniture is acoustic light shades, not only do acoustic light shades add even more depth to your office design, but they also offer functional purposes too.
Acoustic light shades absorb sound, reducing the overwhelming noise pollution in your office and come in a number of different designs so that you can add functionality to match your aesthetic.
Desks
Desks are of course a staple in any office, but did you know that you can purchase desks that also offer noise reducing qualities? Just like light shades, acoustic desks offer a solution to distracting noise without compromising your open plan design.
The importance of acoustic furniture
There have been numerous studies on the links between sound control and employee wellbeing and satisfaction that suggest that it is so important to limit the amount of noise pollution in your office.
Research has shown that there can even been physical symptoms of stress, and loss of productivity is very clearly evident when employees are exposed to too much noise, which in itself justifies the investment in the acoustics in your office design.
The use of acoustic furniture is a streamlined and practical solution that enables employees to have a little more privacy, as well as reducing the risk of causing a negative physical impact on people in the process.
