Sound & Vision

Ulysse Dormoy, Chief Executive Officer, Atrium explains why acoustic lighting is the hidden link to productivity and comfort in commercial buildings

The modern workplace has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past decade, with open-plan offices, collaborative zones, flexible meeting spaces, and exposed concrete ceilings becoming the standard. While these layouts encourage interaction and creativity, they also introduce challenges that can significantly impact employee wellbeing and productivity. Two of the most influential factors in this regard are lighting and sound.

Research consistently shows that the quality of light and the acoustic environment in a workspace are not just aesthetic considerations; they are fundamental to how people feel, think, and perform throughout the day. Poor lighting can lead to fatigue, headaches, and reduced motivation, while excessive noise can cause stress, distraction, and even long-term health issues.

In fact, studies reveal that conversational distractions are the number one factor affecting office productivity, with 80 per cent of workers reporting that chatty colleagues disrupt their focus and 70 per cent citing office noise as a major concern.

These distractions do more than irritate – they cost businesses billions. One research firm estimated that distraction among knowledge workers costs the U.S. economy $588 billion annually, while the European Union calculates losses of around €40 billion due to excessive noise. This is particularly troubling given that knowledge workers represent a growing share of the workforce and their intellectual output is among an organisation’s most valuable assets.

SCIENCE OF SOUND

Acoustics, the science of sound within a space, plays a critical role in addressing these issues. At its core, acoustics refers to the properties of a room that determine how sound travels and is perceived. When sound waves encounter surfaces, they can either be absorbed or reflected. Sound absorption occurs when materials reduce the energy of sound waves, preventing them from bouncing back into the room. This is essential for reducing echo and reverberation, which occur when sound waves layer on top of each other and arrive at the ear at different times, making speech difficult to understand.

Excessive reverberation forces people to raise their voices, increasing overall noise levels and stress. In contrast, soundproofing – often confused with absorption – aims to block sound from entering or leaving a space entirely, which is rarely practical in open offices. To measure acoustic performance, designers use metrics such as the Noise Reduction Coefficient (NRC), which indicates how well a material absorbs sound, and Sabins, which account for both the material’s absorption capability and its surface area. Higher NRC and Sabin values mean better acoustic control, leading to slower sound reflections, lower background noise, and a more comfortable environment.

Noise levels are typically measured in decibels (dB), and understanding these figures is crucial for workplace design. Human auditory perception begins at 0 dB, while normal conversation averages around 60 dB. Research shows that the ideal background noise for focused work is approximately 50 dB, and anything above 65 dB becomes distracting.

In open-plan offices, where conversations, phone calls, and collaborative discussions occur simultaneously, these thresholds are often exceeded, creating an environment that hampers concentration and increases stress.

Cornell University research found that excessive workplace noise not only reduces productivity but also contributes to illness, fatigue, and declining morale. Millennials, in particular, report being highly sensitive to noisy environments, and surveys confirm that the ability to focus without interruption is the most valued workplace attribute. Despite this, many office designs still fail to prioritise acoustic comfort, treating noise as a minor inconvenience rather than a significant hazard.