Noise is consistently one of the top complaints in workplace surveys and the consequences go well beyond distraction. Research shows that it can take up to 20 minutes to regain deep concentration after an interruption. In a busy open-plan office, those interruptions can come every few minutes.

The effects are measurable: reduced output, more errors, greater fatigue, and for many people, a preference to work from home on days that require focus. For businesses investing in a return to office, poor acoustics undermine the case before it’s even made.

Good acoustic design doesn’t silence an office. It shapes sound so that different types of work can happen at the same time without one disrupting the other.

Most acoustic problems in offices fall into two overlapping categories.

Background noise generated by people, such as conversations, phone calls, keyboard sounds, movement, and by equipment such as HVAC systems and AV technology. In open-plan environments, noise from one part of the floor can travel across the entire space. The problem isn’t just volume; it’s intelligibility. Hearing a nearby conversation clearly enough to understand it is more disruptive than general ambient noise.

Reverberation is what happens when sound reflects off hard surfaces and lingers. Exposed concrete ceilings, glazed partitions, timber floors and plasterboard walls all reflect rather than absorb sound. The result is a buildup of noise that makes speech harder to understand and the space feels louder than it actually is.

Solving both problems requires different approaches, and in most offices, both need to be addressed.

Open-plan layouts dominate modern office design for good reason. They support collaboration, communication and the kind of informal interaction that’s difficult to replicate remotely. But they also concentrate noise in a single shared space, with no walls to contain it.

In a typical open-plan floor with 20 or more people, conversations, calls and background noise overlap constantly. Without acoustic treatment, hard surfaces amplify the effect — sound bounces from ceiling to floor, wall to desk, and back again.

The most disruptive sounds in open-plan offices tend to be nearby speech that is just intelligible enough to draw your attention, intermittent noise from phone calls and video calls, and the general rise in ambient noise level as the floor fills up.

Activity-based working, where people move between collaboration zones, focus areas, and breakout spaces, has become common in UK offices. Each zone has different acoustic requirements. Quiet focus desks need low distraction. Collaboration hubs need controlled reverberation. Breakout areas need energy without excessive echo. Designing acoustics to support all of these in the same space is the central challenge of modern office acoustic design.

BS ISO 22955:2021 is the British and International Standard for acoustic quality in open-plan office spaces. Published in 2021, it replaced older guidance that had not kept pace with how modern offices actually function.

What it recommends in practice:

• Ceilings are the primary driver of reverberation in open-plan offices. The standard calls for Class A absorption products covering approximately 50–60% of the ceiling area. This is the single most impactful intervention available.
• Wall treatment plays a supporting role, particularly for workstations positioned close to walls or in corners. The standard recommends panels installed at ear height, with two perpendicular walls treated where possible to reduce flutter echo.
• Flooring provides limited acoustic benefit in most cases and should not be considered a substitute for ceiling or wall treatment.
• Acoustic screens, furniture and sound masking can all contribute, but the standard is clear: none of them replace proper ceiling absorption.

Resonics has a dedicated guide to BS ISO 22955:2021 and what it means in practice for architects, FMs and designers.

The shift to hybrid working has changed what offices need to do and raised the acoustic bar considerably, especially for meeting rooms and AV spaces.

When a meeting includes people in the room and participants dialling in remotely, the acoustic environment affects both groups. Excessive reverberation makes speech harder for remote participants to understand. Background noise from the open plan office bleeds into calls. Poor absorption creates echo that interferes with microphone pickup.

Hybrid meetings require a different level of acoustic precision than traditional boardroom design. The room needs to be quiet enough for remote participants to hear clearly, controlled enough for in-room participants to follow the conversation, and designed around the position of microphones and speakers, not just human listeners.

Key considerations for hybrid meeting rooms include:

• Reverberation control. Meeting rooms with hard walls, glazed partitions and minimal soft furnishing are particularly prone to echo.
• Wall panels, ceiling treatment, and flooring all help with absorption but the ratio of absorptive surface to room volume needs to be calculated, not guessed.
• Speech privacy. What happens in a meeting room should stay there. Transmission through partitions, gaps above suspended ceilings and shared HVAC routes are common failure points. Acoustic consultancy identifies these before installation.
• AV integration. Microphone placement, speaker positioning and room geometry all interact with acoustics.

For conference rooms and formal presentation spaces, the acoustic requirements become more stringent, with additional attention to low background noise levels, controlled early reflections and consistent coverage across the listening area.

The right acoustic treatment depends on the space, the activity and the aesthetic brief. These are the main product categories Resonics specifies across office projects.

Acoustic ceiling rafts and baffles

Suspended horizontally from the ceiling, acoustic rafts are the most effective way to achieve the coverage required by BS ISO 22955:2021. They integrate around services, lighting and sprinklers, and are available in a wide range of colours and finishes. Baffles are well-suited to exposed ceiling environments where horizontal fixings aren’t possible.

Key products: Ecophon Solo, Silent Space SilentRaft, Autex Frontier

Acoustic wall panels

Wall panels reduce flutter echo, support workstations near walls, and in most offices carry significant visual weight. They’re often as much a design decision as an acoustic one. Products range from fabric-wrapped panels to three-dimensional PET designs and fully bespoke systems.

Key products: Autex Groove, Impact Acoustic wall panels, Tenso Wall, Acoufelt QuietForm

Sound masking systems

Sound masking adds a carefully calibrated layer of ambient background sound, typically a soft, broadband signal, that raises the auditory threshold for speech intelligibility. The effect is that nearby conversations become harder to overhear without feeling louder. It’s particularly effective in open-plan environments where speech privacy is a concern and as a complement to physical treatment in large floor plates.

Acoustic screens and desk dividers

Acoustic screens interrupt the direct path of sound between workstations. They don’t significantly affect reverberation, but in a well-treated space they help create acoustic separation between adjacent desks and zones. They’re most effective when used as part of a wider acoustic strategy.

Acoustic pods

Phone booths and enclosed acoustic pods provide private spaces for calls and focused work. It’s increasingly common in hybrid offices where the floor plan no longer supports a dedicated private office. They’re a practical addition to any activity-based working environment.

Sustainability requirements now feature in most commercial fit-out specifications, and acoustic products are no exception. Several of the manufacturers Resonics works with have invested significantly in sustainable production.

Autex products are carbon neutral and manufactured from at least 60% recycled PET material. Impact Acoustic panels are made from recycled PET and designed with circular economy principles. Acoufelt builds responsible sourcing into its entire product range. Ecophon products are independently tested and carry credible environmental documentation.

For projects targeting BREEAM, WELL or LEED certification, acoustic performance and sustainability credentials can often be satisfied by the same product.