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Whitepaper: Negative impacts of workplace sound are highly underestimated

The buildings that house our offices and homes have been transformed over the last couple of decades, with massive innovations in the architectural designs and the construction methods that are employed. Even the interiors of our workspaces have been transformed considerably – but sound and acoustics have remained secondary concerns for the most part.

In an urban environment that gets louder and noisier as populations and traffic continue to grow, it undermines the well-being and productivity of its occupants. In many projects, we find that the performance of the technology in meeting rooms, training rooms, conference rooms, and other collaborative spaces is considerably impacted by errant noise or poor sound engineering.

A FREE Whitepaper by Biamp (titled “Building in Sound”) discusses this issue in greater detail, and its key conclusions are captured in this infographic.

Biamp describes the 4 ingredients of effective sound design for any space as:

ACOUSTICS: Which should be designed in from the start, with the help of professional acousticians, to make sure they are ideal for the room’s purpose — now and for future needs. Tap interior design features such as modern sound absorbers; they can be printed with textures and patterns and look great.

NOISE REDUCTION: Consider all noise sources, especially heating, ventilation and air conditioning, computer fans, printers, telephones and simple things like the sound of furniture on the flooring.

SOUND SYSTEM: Cheap systems limit options for upgrade and refinement, and low-end loudspeakers produce poor effects on people. Both elements will cost later when you discover you need flexibility and a future-proof upgrade path.

CONTENT: Professional help is needed to design your soundscape, using science and art together to create something that is appropriate, flexible, and congruent with your brand and values, plus is effective in supporting people in whatever they are doing.

A few excerpts from the Whitepaper…

“…different approaches to integrating sound are being used to create more agreeable environments. Some of this work revolves around ‘deadening’ rooms to minimize reverberation. Other efforts focus on opening ‘artificial windows’: using sound proactively to lower stress levels and create a more positive environment.”

“The evidence linking noise to a huge range of complaints is now unassailable, and it is encouraging to see many forward-looking organizations embarking on programs to harness sound for the benefit of all users within a building.”


biamp_soundscapes


(Image credit www.biamp.com)

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