Sound levels and speech privacy in an open space academic learning environment

Abstract

Undesired sound and speech privacy in a large educational space or open office environment are persistent problems for occupants. The architectural design studio on the campus of Kennesaw State University (formerly Southern Polytechnic State University) is used as a case study. Students have desk space very similar to those in professional open offices, and are used for individual and group projects. Simultaneously classes are held where instructors or students will be presenting to their class in an area that is only partially partitioned off from the rest of the design studio. For the first set of in situ experiments, sound levels are recorded over several days at various locations and correlated with learning activity. Second, broadband noise is used to measure the reduction of spectrum levels between source and receiver, at different locations. Finally, students and professors participate in an anonymous questionnaire regarding their perceptions of the acoustic quality of the space; specifically regar...