Offices are places for concentration as well as collective interaction and collaboration. The balance between both is a key factor for a well-designed space and is dependent on providing varying acoustic environments and appropriate sound insulation between them.
It is not acceptable for a conference call in a meeting room to be understandable to those in the meeting room adjacent. Adequate sound insulation between these rooms is fundamental to ensuring they can both be used simultaneously. A break-out area should be in proximity to staff desks but sound transfer should be controlled using acoustically absorbent finishes and be suitably screened to reduce the annoyance to people still working at their desks and forced to hear Intrusive conversations.
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