Landscaped Offices Research Articles

How to cope with noise in open plan offices

The shape of the rooms, the behaviour of the ceiling to the angle of sound, the number of people accommodated in a given space—all these factors are discussed by the author in relation to measurements taken in offices in Europe and Scandinavia. The generic term ‘open-plan’ is used to describe the offices, since not everyone agrees on what consititutes a truly landscaped office. The author is a consultant with the Acoustic Advice Bureau, IR.VMA Peutz BV, of the Netherlands.

Office landscape: does it work?

A field study of the effects of changes in office environment, from a conventional rectilinear bull pen and cubicle style to a modern office landscaped, was conducted. The attitudes and perception of 120 employees were recorded using a semantic scaling instrument, and an attempt was made to apply this data in a meaningful redesign, before the subjects were moved to the landscaped office interior. The judgements of aesthetic value changed positively on retest, but perceptions of noise level, loss of privacy and visual distractions also were recorded. Some of the problems in utilizing the data are discussed.

Measurements of noise in air conditioned, landscaped offices

Objective and subjective assessments of noise in ten landscaped offices have been carried out. The relative contributions of external noise, air conditioning noise and office activity noise have been determined, and related to subjective response of the occupants. Some design rules and practical remedies for reducing noise are suggested.

Frequency analysis of air conditioning noise in landscaped offices

Site measurements of spectral levels of air conditioning system noise in ten landscaped offices were made. These objective measurements were related to the subjective response of the occupants to air conditioning noise, in order to put forward design rules. It was discovered that if the background office noise was NR 45, then the design value of the air conditioning should be NR 40, in order to limit the percentage of people aware of noise from the air conditioning to 15%. Narrow bandwidth frequency analysis revealed that there was no significant effect from discrete frequencies in the air conditioning noise.

Study of the Acoustical Performance of a Landscaped Office

The occupants of a newly opened landscaped office were subjected to two different masking spectra each day for an extended period. They were polled daily as to their preference and were allowed to comment on the sound masking. Levels of 51 dBA produced unanimously strong disapproval and rejection. Reactions at 48 dBA, while not so strong, were still negative towards the idea of added noise. Natural sound levels in the office were lowered to about 35–40 dBA, but even this relatively quiet condition was preferred to a low level of masking noise (45 dBA). The effectiveness of the noise for masking speech was measured using the rhyming test described by Griffiths [J. Acoust. Soc. Amer. 42, 236 (1967)] and a test crew. The results obtained showed a predictable relation to articulation index calculations based on S/N ratios. Physical measurements were also made to determine the effect of the acoustical ceiling, baffles, and acoustical screens on sound propagation in the landscaped office. The results suggest that there is currently perhaps undue stress on the need for the ultimate in absorption.

Employee Reactions to a Landscaped Office Environment

An anonymous questionnaire study of 136 employees at various organizational levels in five departments regarding their reactions to various aspects of a landscaped office environment three months after occupancy revealed quite favorable reactions over-all, particularly compared to conventional office environments. Some of the more important improvements over conventional office environment as perceived by the individuals involved in improved over-all psychological climate, including acoustical and communication factors, as well as others. Some critical reactions also involved acoustical as well as other variables. Many of the measured reactions appeared to be functions of the organizational level of the respondant. Specific reactions to the importance of privacy at the work place were measured. Acoustical as well as visual factors were noted as both improvements and problems regarding privacy. A follow-up of the same areas approximately one year later indicated continued over-all favorable reactions to the landscaped environment compared to conventional office environments.

Management and productivity

The latest edition of the Baker Library Reference List Number 25 (Business Literature: An Annotated List for Students and Businessmen. Boston (Mass.) : Harvard University, Graduate School of Business Administration, 1969, 139 pp., $5) is arranged under 14 subject headings with three appendixes (General Bibliographies and Periodicals, Published Case Studies and Publishers) and an index of authors, titles and subjects. Edited by Lorna M. Daniells, it is generally restricted to items in print in December 1967. Its main fault is the usual one of American books on management-excessive national bias. For example, all seven bibliographies listed are American as are 19 of the 20 periodicals, the exception being The Economist. While it is true that Americans still lead the rest of the world in the field of management literature, they really should recognize the contributions being made by other countries. One such contribution is the British Institute of Management’s Basic Library of Management, the latest edition of which was published in October 1969. The Institute also began to publish during 1969 two useful series: Management Checklists, each containing a brief introduction to a particular topic followed by about 30 or SO questions for the manager to ask himself and a select reading list, and Information Sheets, designed to serve as primary sources of information. Topics covered so far by the two series include the effective use of executive time, decimal currency, manpower planning, open landscaped offices, and films for management.

A study of the acoustic field in landscaped offices with the aid of a tenth-scale model

The development of a scale model technique for the study of the sound field in landscaped offices is described. Results of pilot studies are given, and comparisons made with measurements in a full-size office, and with calculations based on a simple theoretical model.

TECHNIQUES IN ACTION

Office landscaping eliminates the numerous little boxes which often constitute an office system, saves duplication of numerous services and overcomes barriers to effective information and communication systems. In this article, T. A. Scrutton, Director and Secretary of Beecham Products, answers questions on why Beechams established several landscaped offices experimentally and what it has achieved so far.