Acoustic Design and Lighting Strategies Combine to Improve Focus and Well-Being
Appropriate lighting is a well-documented factor contributing to the ability of people to focus and maintain concentration in spaces like offices and schools. Lighting color temperature and design strategies also impact the comfort and well-being of those individuals who may spend long hours indoors.
In addition to lighting, another environmental component affects the experience in these corporate and academic facilities. Sound, more specifically unwanted or distracting noises, can be a distraction and a stressor for those working or studying nearby.
Strategies to address noise distractions include the use of suspended light fixtures
Acoustic design thinking creates comfortable, productive environments free from noise and distractions. Incorporating materials, layouts, and technologies to control or mask these sounds is essential in offices, schools, and similar environments where noise can significantly impact focus, communication, and well-being. Innovative acoustic strategies incorporate existing elements like acoustic suspended lighting, walls, and ceiling surfaces to absorb, redirect or block sound waves.
Studies have found “overwhelming evidence” that the design of offices impacts staff health, well-being, and productivity. This evidence indicates the near impossibility of optimal concentration and productivity in spaces with unwanted noise.
Head of Strategic Workplace (EMEA) at JLL, Claudia Hamm, remarked, “Major corporate clients are now recognizing the business benefits and productivity gains of buildings which bring out the best in their employees and are increasingly making their strategic real estate decisions with these in mind. This report reinforces the view that a building’s impact on its occupants must be included within financial considerations.”
Open concept designs elevated acoustic distractions
This recognition of how environmental factors impact productivity has forced a rethink of the trendy open office layouts for the first two decades of the 2000s. These office designs removed walls and other dividing structures to encourage collaboration, but the absence of these solid structures enabled sound to move without restriction. Ringing phones, conversations, typing, and other noises that were once contained become unwanted distractions.
In 2019, 75% of the office’s spaces were open-concept. The din of noise became a leading complaint of office workers as productivity dipped and employee satisfaction declined. Studies conducted by the University of Sydney and Harvard University confirmed the productivity challenges inherent in the open floorplan concept. The most frequent employee complaint was the inability to focus due to noise. These distractions forced new behaviors that reduced collaboration.
More design trends that increase the decibel level
In addition to removing walls and partitions, popular designs now include removing ceiling material to expose building infrastructure and adopting hard materials like stone, brick, and steel that do not absorb sound. The hard surfaces and the absence of sound-absorbing ceiling tiles have further enabled unwanted sounds to bounce around the space without limitation.
Switching from a traditional drop ceiling to an open or exposed ceiling creates more sound in an office space by increasing sound reflections and reverberation. When ceilings are removed, sound waves bounce off exposed hard surfaces like beams, trusses, and the ceiling deck rather than being absorbed or blocked by acoustic tiles or panels. This removal of ceiling tiles leads to excessive reverberation or lingering echoes, making conversations difficult and increasing overall noise levels.
High or open ceilings also mean that sounds travel farther before being absorbed, causing voices, footsteps, and other noises to spiral out of control and fill the space with echoes. Without the sound-dampening effect of a finished ceiling, the room becomes much more acoustically “live,” amplifying distractions and making it harder to focus or communicate clearly.
Understanding acoustics and how sound distraction can be reduced
The principles of managing the decibels created by sound can be summarized in a simple ABC structure.
- “A” stands for absorb –using sound-absorbing materials like acoustic panels, carpets, ceiling baffles, and specialized furniture to reduce echoes and reverberation. This tactic minimizes the persistence of noise, making conversations clearer and reducing overall sound levels.
- “B” stands for block – indicating the use of architectural features and strategically placed surfaces to scatter sound waves, preventing them from concentrating in specific areas and ensuring a more even sound distribution.
- “C” stands for cover – which means to cover the sound with a background noise. Sound masking systems introduce a subtle, engineered ambient sound (e.g., gentle white noise) through speakers distributed around the office. This background noise is specifically designed to blend with the frequencies of human speech and common office sounds, making conversations and distractions less intelligible and noticeable
Measuring sound absorption
The sound absorption coefficient indicates how much sound is reflected off a surface. The coefficient is frequency dependent, meaning certain materials interact with different sounds differently. Office environments are a collection of various frequencies that require a collection of surfaces and design strategies for decibel reduction.
Measuring the sound absorption of material is indicated by a metric known as a Sabin. The amount of absorption in one square foot of a material is a Sabin. Designers can include all square feet of surfaces in a space to determine the total amount of Sabins—the more Sabins, the quieter the room.
Sound reduction efficiency in a space is measured in terms of reverberation time, or RT60. The 60 refers to the number of seconds it takes a sound to decay by 60 decibels. The lower the RT60, the more efficiently the room limits the travel or echo of sound. One second or less is preferred for office environments, whereas spaces like concert halls are designed for 2 seconds or longer.
Acoustic design strategies for professional and educational spaces
Acoustic design thinking transforms offices, schools, and similar environments by systematically reducing noise distractions through material choices, spatial layout, and technology integration. The result is a healthier, more productive, and more enjoyable space for everyone.
Architectural features and strategically placed surfaces scatter sound waves, preventing them from concentrating in specific areas and ensuring a more even sound distribution.
Sound-absorbing materials like acoustic panels, carpets, ceiling baffles, and specialized furniture reduce echoes and reverberation. This absorption minimizes the persistence of noise, making conversations clearer and reducing overall sound levels.
Suspended lighting fixtures wrapped in acoustic material will serve as baffles that reflect and improve the RT60 rating by accelerating the decibel reduction. Three-dimensional objects can absorb sound from multiple directions, impacting the soundwaves more efficiently than 2D objects like acoustic wall panels.
The desired aesthetic, existing architectural elements, the intended use of the space, and the lighting requirements are all factors that must be considered in acoustic design. For example, the footcandle requirements may be achieved with only four suspended acoustic lighting fixtures, but the desired RT60 may require eight baffles. In this instance, only half of the baffles need acoustic lighting fixtures. Alternatively, depending on the dimensions of the space, fewer larger baffles placed further apart may enable the lighting and noise reduction demands.
Integrating lighting with acoustic designs
Suspended linear lights can significantly reduce noise in spaces by integrating sound-absorbing materials into their design, creating what is known as acoustic lighting. These fixtures combine high-quality illumination with acoustic panels or baffles, which are engineered to absorb sound waves and reduce reverberation and ambient noise.
A typical suspended linear acoustic light might feature a long LED fixture encased in a sound-absorbing baffle. When installed in a high-ceilinged office, it both lights the workspace and captures sound waves that would otherwise reflect off hard surfaces, resulting in a quieter, more focused environment