Design of room acoustics for open offices

OBJECTIVES: Noise control in open offices should aim at reducing disturbances caused by speech noise (ie, improve speech privacy). Room acoustics can be controlled with high room absorption, high screens and book cases, and sufficient masking sound. The interaction between these means is complicated, especially when speech privacy is studied at different distances from a speaking worker. The aim of this study was to develop a simple and fast model that predicts the room acoustics in an open office in a way that has a high correlation with the experienced acoustic environment. METHODS: Room acoustics were measured in 15 open offices. The model was developed using a multivariable regression analysis of the experimental data. RESULTS: The accuracy of the model was found to be sufficient for practical design work. CONCLUSIONS: The modeling tool is freely available on the Internet. It facilitates acoustical design significantly in all phases of building design.