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We’ve looked at Quiet Mark certified solutions, such as meeting rooms, lighting and furniture that can reduce unwanted noise in the workspace. Can you give us 3 other solutions that can increase acoustic comfort in the office and explain why this is important?
Research from the British Journal of Psychology found that background noise kills productivity levels, with studies showing that workers can be up to 66% less productive when exposed to just one nearby conversation.
This applies as much to work from home as it does within a commercial office space. Those noisy distractions which zap our productivity mean that we spend more time completing certain tasks. This can result in longer work hours, leading to increased stress levels. Feelings of anxiety can keep us awake at night, impacting our sleep health, preventing us from recuperating and feeling well.
Optimising acoustic comfort within our homes requires a two pronged approach. One needs to both choose appliances that have low noise levels and are proven to be the quietest of their category, such as air purifiers, hand dryers and extractor fans, and introduce more sound absorbing/ acoustic enhancing products and materials. So let’s look at those 3 examples:
Quiet Clean Air
Concerns over the quality of the air circulating through our homes and offices were rising prior to Covid, and the amount of time we spent indoors during lockdown only served to reinforce these concerns.
Blueair HealthProtect / Protect Air Purifiers, (pictured above), uses HEPASilent Ultra™, Blueair’s most advanced filtration technology to date. This technology combines electrostatic and mechanical filtration to remove up to 99.97% of airborne pollutants such as dust, pollen, dander and mould. The technology removes VOCs (including formaldehyde), odours and nanoparticles down to 0.03 micron and removes up to 99.99% of viruses and bacteria.
Quiet Office Washroom
Office bathroom design has also changed radically since the pandemic, with a contactless experience being a key goal. As door handles make way for touch-free chicane bathroom doors, sensor taps and quiet hand dryers are other areas of growth in testing and certification at Quiet Mark.
Acoustic ceilings
Rockfon® Mono® Acoustic is a seamless acoustic ceiling which delivers outstanding acoustic comfort. You can pair great acoustics with an artistic interior design. Flat or curved, bright white or coloured, ceilings or walls, it brings great seamless acoustic design to spaces of any size. The completely seamless system allows for easy integration of all services and the possibility to repair the surface.
It has been used in the new fit out of Kingsley Napley’s offices, by Architect, KKS Savills, pictured below.
As the law firm wanted to create an atmosphere of hushed self-assuredness with a hint of opulence, sound absorption was really important. Classic contemporary furnishings in muted tones, modern art, the use of deep blue and orange on the walls and plenty of natural daylight space completed the aesthetic.
“Mono Acoustic was chosen for its appearance but also for its ability to mitigate against the unwanted sound generated by hard surfaces. It delivered clean lines while successfully hiding the services above. We are so pleased to have discovered this beautiful, fabulous product!” exclaims KKS Savills Associate Director and Senior Designer, Paul Butterworth.
