Abstract
Adequate speech privacy and communication are two of the most important acoustical goals in offices; but in open-plan spaces, these two are in conflict: The more you have of one, the less you have of the other. Laboratory studies and evaluation of field situations have led to the development of an analysis technique based on the articulation index concept which takes into account: speech effort, room characteristics and treatment, desk spacing, location and size of acoustical barriers, background noise levels and spectrum, and the degree of privacy or intelligibility required. Particular attention is given to the requirements for ceiling absorption. Calculation techniques are presented that permit a simple analysis, and comparisons between predicted and observed subjective reactions are made. Although the amount of data is limited, it appears that useful predictions relative to speech privacy and speech communication in open-plan spaces can be made.
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