Contributions to acoustical comfort in the built environment, 1956–2015

Abstract

When the senior author joined Paul S. Veneklasen & Associates in 1956, research was under way on speech intelligibility relative to background noise, not in buildings but in spacecraft! Back on earth, additional studies countered the then-popular idea that gypsum board construction was low quality with poor sound isolation, leading to the development of multi-layer gypsum board wall designs for office buildings and studios. Further investigations predicted speech intelligibility based on design features and led to development of prototype masking noise systems. A set of acoustical design elements (such as tall furniture barriers, sound-absorptive barriers and ceilings, and orienting workstations to maximize distance) emerged naturally from these studies. Within the last couple of decades, however, open-plan office design has evolved away from traditional design, incorporating fewer of these design elements. This provides opportunity to evaluate the efficacy of standard design elements in modern collaborative work areas. Occupancy surveys and acoustical measurements were performed in open office areas of six companies. The results verify the effectiveness of traditional acoustical design elements, but also indicate where typical acoustical design practices may be modified while maintaining acceptable acoustical performance in collaborative open office areas.