How to lower the noise in an open office with furniture: panels, dividers, high-back sofas and booths

To reduce the noise of an open office, attack first what is most distracting, the conversation that is understood, and do it in this order: rearrange the positions, put felt panels between facing desks, add high-back sofas for short conversations and take video calls to acoustic booths. All of this is furniture: it is installed without intervening in the premises and goes with you if you change offices. If what bothers you is the echo of the room, that is treated in ceilings and walls with an acoustic specialist.

Why does an open office sound so much?

Behind the complaint "there is a lot of noise" there are almost always two different problems, and it is advisable to separate them because they are solved with different things:

• The direct voice.What is most tiring is not the volume but the conversation that is understood: the call from the colleague next door, the impromptu meeting next to the stall. That is cut with distance, barriers between people and closed places to talk.
• The reverberation.In a room with a plaster ceiling, glass and hard floor, sound bounces and accumulates; Everyone speaks louder to be heard and the general level goes up. This is treated with absorbent surfaces on ceilings and walls.

The furniture solves the first problem and helps somewhat with the second. This guide goes through what you can do with furniture, from smallest to largest investment.

What do the decibels on a technical sheet mean?

The decibel (dB) measures the sound level on a logarithmic scale: every 10 dB more is perceived as approximately twice as loud. These reference values ​​help to locate the figures on the tokens:

With that table, a declared isolation of 30 dB reads like this: a normal conversation inside the cabin reaches outside, on the order of a whisper, and the noisy office is heard inside like a quiet office.

When comparing chips, look for two things. The first is the standard: for cabins, ISO 23351-1 measures the reduction of voice level and classifies the result by letters, so it asks for the standard and the class; a number without a norm cannot be compared. The second: a desk divider is not measured in dB of isolation, because it does not enclose sound. It cuts direct voice between two positions, which is something else.

What can be solved with distribution alone?

It is the step that does not require new furniture and usually provides more than expected:

• Separate focus areas from call areas.The teams that spend the day on the phone (sales, support, recruiting) go together and away from those who need concentration.
• Move away fixed sources of noise: printer, coffee maker, the most used meeting room door.
• Use storage as a barrier.A row of tall bookcases or 5-door Access Series lockers (up to 197 cm high) between two zones cuts the direct line of voice.
• Don't face the call stations.Two people talking five feet away from each other interrupt each other; in parallel or diagonally, much less.

What is difficult to decide on the plan and expensive later is where the cabins go: they need an electrical point nearby and a hallway to enter. If the office is being planned, those decisions come into thedistribution planningfrom the foreground.

Glass divider or felt panel?

For rows of desks facing each other, felt: in addition to cutting off direct voice, it absorbs part of the sound that reaches it. Glass works when what matters most is light and the feeling of an open office, but it does not absorb anything.

In a bench row, the double support is mounted between the two facing positions and the single one at the ends. Before purchasing, confirm that the brackets fit the thickness of your current covers.

Are high-back sofas suitable for talking on the phone?

For short calls and conversations with two to four people, yes. The backrest and sides are at the height of the head of the person sitting and cut the voice to the sides; two sofas facing each other create an informal room without partitions.

They do not replace a booth for an hour-long video call: they do not close from the top or the front. And in these areas the tapestry works harder than on any other office furniture, so ask about the Martindale cycles, the density of the foam and the resistance to disinfectants.

When is an acoustic booth needed?

When the problem is the long video calls and meetings of two to six people that today occur in the booth or in the hallway. The cabin is the only piece of furniture that encloses the sound with a door, ceiling and walls, and that is why it is the highest investment in this guide: in Dunati's price list, the Zenpods start from $4,720,000 + VAT ($5,610,000 with VAT), and the value of each project is confirmed in the quote.

All have a 9 mm acoustic panel interior, carpeted floor, wheels to position them, leveling legs and a 5 + 5 mm laminated glass door, with a declared insulation of 30 dB. According to its technical sheet, the Zenpod Pro line is certified with UL 962, Greenguard, ISO 23351-1:2020 and ISO 3382-2. In the Zenpod S, the ventilation renews all the air every 30 seconds (202 m³/h) and the 4,000 K LED light turns on by itself with a motion sensor, together with the fan.

They come with wheels to position them and leveling legs that fix them in the installation and leave them firm, and they do not need work on the floor or ceiling: if the distribution changes, Dunati moves them on the same wheels. Dunati delivers them assembled and connects their electrification to the points left by the construction company; does not do electrical installations. With stock in Chile, installed delivery takes about 10 business days; Colors out of stock come by import, with about 120 calendar days. They have a 3-year warranty.

To choose size and compare the cabin with a closed room, the guideWhat are acoustic booths?goes into the technical detail.

When is an acoustic specialist needed?

When, with everyone silent, the office still sounds: the echo of footsteps, the general hum, the meeting room where the video call is not understood. That is reverberation, and it is corrected with absorption on large surfaces: panels or clouds in the sky, wall coverings, hanging baffles. It is work on the premises, not furniture; When the project needs it, Dunati coordinates it with your architect or your construction company.

A rule that does not fail: if the complaint is "I listen to what my neighbor says", it is furniture and distribution; If the complaint is "everything is rumbling", it is the premises.

What to ask before buying acoustic furniture?

1. With what standard was the data measured in dB and what class did it obtain?For cabins, ISO 23351-1.
2. How does the cabin ventilate and what maintenance does it require?Filters, fans and door seals are checked: ask how often and by whom.
3. How is it transferred if the layout changes?It matters the day the layout changes.
4. What upholstery do the sofas have, how many cycles does Martindale resist and withstand disinfectants?
5. Do the dividers mount to my current desks?It depends on the thickness of the cover.
6. Who connects the electricity?Dunati connects the electrification of the furniture to the points left by the construction company; The electrical installations are carried out by the client's or the construction company's electrician.
7. How much warranty does each product family have?A single number for everything is not useful for comparison.

Acoustic booth or acoustic panels?

If the problem is calls and meetings, cabin: it is the only thing that contains the sound. If the problem is the echo of the room, panels on ceilings and walls with an acoustic specialist. Many offices need both.

My team complains about the noise of calls. What do I do first?

Gather those on the phone in an area, away from assembly stations, and give them a closed place for video calls: an individual booth per call area is the first step.

How many decibels does an acoustic booth lower?

The Zenpods claim 30 dB of isolation: a normal conversation inside reaches the order of a whisper outside.

Do glass dividers lower noise?

They cut direct voice and line of sight between two positions, but do not absorb. To absorb something in the post, the 12 mm felt panel.

How long does an acoustic booth take?

With stock in Chile, from about 10 business days, delivered and installed. Out-of-stock colors arrive by import, in about 120 calendar days.

Can booths be installed without intervening on the premises?

Yes. The Zenpods come with wheels to position them and leveling legs that fix them in the installation, they do not require work on the floor or ceiling and they connect to an existing electrical point.

What guarantee do they have?

The cabins and sofas, 3 years; desks and storage, 5 years. The legal guarantee runs separately.

Where can they be tested?

In the showroom at Av. Vitacura 6577, Vitacura, Santiago, Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., with parking. There are Zenpod S and W cabins and Federica and Taurus sofas on display; If you are looking for a particular model, coordinate the visit at +56 9 8583 5709.