Noisy boardroom fixed using Hush Absorber panels

Hush Acoustics has completed a project to improve the acoustic environment much closer to home than usual by installing its high performance Class A sound absorber panels within its HQ boardroom. 

The 31 square metre boardroom at its Sheffield site had been left relatively untouched since the company moved into the premises in 2022 as it focused on developing its production facilities and creating a high quality environment in its main open plan office area. As usage has steadily increased, however, improving the boardroom had become a higher priority. 

Reverberation

Like many boardrooms, conference rooms and meeting rooms, the key issue being experienced was reverberation – this is where soundwaves reflect off hard surfaces back into the room to create an often unbearably noisy environment. This meant the room was a less than ideal setting for routine activities, such as meetings around the table and virtual meetings conducted through the room’s large screen and audio system, due to poor speech intelligibility resulting from the excessive background noise.

In situations like this where surfaces such as wooden floors, plastered walls and large TV screens mean there is little scope for sound waves to be absorbed, an effective solution is to install sound absorber panels in strategic locations within the room. The range of panels manufactured by Hush offers solutions for mounting onto walls and ceilings, as well as suspending from ceilings in the form of rafts or baffles. The most suitable type for a project will depend on the room conditions, available space and target reverberation time.

The Hush team started the process of addressing the problem in the same way that they would with every client reverberation project by conducting a survey of the room and gathering accurate dimensions. This information was used to obtain the necessary acoustic calculations to determine which type of absorber panels would be most effective, the quantity and positioning.

The reverberation time (RT60) prior to the work commencing was estimated at 3.5 seconds. This is a level that is far higher than what would be recommended for meeting rooms in new build or conversion projects, because in an acoustic environment with these levels of reverberation it can be very difficult to hear what others are saying, compromising the core purpose of the room.

Hush Absorber 50

The solution involved the installation of 28 Hush Absorber 50 panels, 12 of which were sized 1200 x 600 x 50mm and sixteen smaller panels measuring 600x600x50mm. The larger absorber panels were mounted on the walls, whilst the smaller panels were installed on both the walls and ceiling. In order to maintain aesthetics within the boardroom, the larger absorber panels were wrapped in an indigo blue coloured fabric to create a decorative feature, while the smaller panels were finished in a white fabric to blend into the décor. 

Post installation testing revealed the significant improvement that the sound absorber panels have made. Reverberation time was recorded at just 1.0 seconds, meaning that the improvements were instantly noticed by members of the team and the boardroom is now far more popular with users as it better fulfils its potential. 

All Hush Absorber panels are made to order by Hush Acoustics and are formed of a specially formulated acoustic foam which is hand finished with interior fabric. This fabric is available in numerous colours, and can even be printed onto to create attractive room features, and is applied to the face, edges and back return. 

Additional sound absorbing elements are also available from Hush Acoustics in the form of acoustic notice boards, which function exactly as would be expected for a notice board whilst being able to absorb soundwaves, and acoustic desk dividers.

Find out more about the range of products available from Hush Acoustics to resolve reverberation issues in meeting rooms, offices and numerous other spaces at www.hushacoustics.co.uk.

Hush Acoustics Ltd
Unit 2, Tinsley Industrial Estate
Shepcote Way
Sheffield
South Yorkshire
S9 1TH

Tel: 0114 551 8685
Fax: 0151 944 1146

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