NOT ALL OFFICES ARE THE SAME

The demands placed on modern offices have changed dramatically over the last few years. Increasingly flexible floor plans means there are ever fewer offices occupied by one or two people. Open-plan or combined areas are often created. From our point of view that results in two substantial requirements. On the one hand the room acoustics and on the other the illumination of the workplaces. We would like to briefly discuss both topics.

What use to me is a ceiling with an integrated lighting system when the arrangement of the lights restricts my flexibility to use and furnish the room? As a rule, the desk must be placed under the lights. In such cases, it proves advantageous to install a ceiling system with light reflectance greater than 90%. That means I can guarantee maximum flexibility using standard lamps with direct / indirect lighting shares. As there are more workplaces arranged within a given area, considerably greater demands are placed on the room acoustics in open-plan offices and combined areas in particular.

At the same time, each member of staff has to work highly concentrated and that with background noise causing no disturbance or as little as possible. Setting up call centres presents difficult challenges. A large number of people work in a confined space in these centres, all making telephone calls at the same time. On the one hand personnel need to concentrate on listening to their interlocutors and at the same time pass on information while causing as little disturbance to their colleagues as possible.

In cases such as these, a simple acoustic solution is generally not sufficient. In such instances, a combination of ceiling and wall absorbers and possibly also workplace absorbers , if necessary, should be installed to guarantee the best-possible room acoustics. We are always happy to offer assistance and advice to find the best-possible solution to your needs.