Before

The idea behind open plan offices is that they should promote sharing and communication amongst employees. But if the acoustics are not prioritised it also means that conversations far away can travel and disturb others.

Victoria often gets interrupted in her work, she overhears telephone calls and conversations between colleagues even far away from her desk. She has resolved to playing music in her headphones to drown the disturbances but frankly, the music also disturbs her and she finds it difficult to concentrate and perform.

After

The office has now been optimised acoustically by establishing clear acoustical etiquette rules. Work groups have been seated in a more logical order, so that the overhearing becomes constructive rather than disturbing. More silent rooms have been added in the design, providing spaces where focussed work or longer telephone calls can take place, to avoid disturbing others.

Wall panels have also been installed along one side of the wall in order to further prevent sound from spreading. This also helps the sound atmosphere by eliminating the echo effect between opposing reflective surfaces.  

This means Victoria doesn't get interrupted by the far away conversations anymore. Instead she can focus on her task - and doesn't need her headphones anymore.

A surprising effect is also that the open plan office works more as it was intended - thanks to less people using headphones, the workers have become more approachable and more prone to communicate with each other.