Of all the office acoustical issues that we address on a weekly basis, one of the most common issues is excessive reverb in conference rooms. This happens most commonly in conference rooms because they’re larger, and generally have hard, reflective surfaces. Conference Room Acoustics can be treated with acoustic panels, fabric-stretched wall systems, or other treatment options once the proper amount of treatment is determined.
Why is Addressing Conference Room Acoustics Important?
Conference Rooms are the number one location of teleconferencing meetings, where phone calls are put on speaker for a number of participants to hear and speak. Unfortunately, telecom speakers are extremely sensitive to reverberation, and even levels that would be considered acceptable in many circumstances (0.5-0.8 seconds) may be too reverberant to hear on the other end of the phone, resulting in warbled speech.
Meeting agendas and actions items can often deteriorate into a list of “whats” and “can you repeat thats” if the acoustics in the room aren’t addressed.
Conference Room Acoustic Treatment – Case Study
A client in downtown Clearwater, Florida reached out to Commercial Acoustics due to severe reverberation issues in their conference room. Each time they attempted to use the room for teleconference (telecom) calls, it was disrupted due to the excessive reverberation in the room.
As in many conference rooms, the space lacked sufficient absorptive material, allowing excess buildup of noise, and making it hard for listeners on the call, as well as people in the room, to clearly understand the discussion. This is the case for many “Huddle Rooms” and call rooms that are under-treated, especially as more firms move to an Open Office layout.
Solving Conference Room Acoustic Issues
In order to solve the issue, Commercial Acoustics custom-fabricated Acoustic Panels and installed them in the Conference Room along the walls and floors. Accent acoustic panels were used along the back wall under the lighting to offer an aesthetic finish, while ceiling panels were used to blend into the exposed concrete deck.
While the pre-treatment conference room measured reverberation times of 1.2 seconds, this was reduced to 0.7 seconds after acoustic treatment. This falls well within the range for conference room reverberation lengths (Full List of target Reverberation Times)
Overall, Commercial Acoustics was able to treat the conference room with 14 custom-made fabric wrapped acoustic panels and allow the client to use the room for standard telecoms once again. Lead times for this type of project typically run 1-2 weeks for fabrication, and single-day installs.
