Modular acoustics
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Modular Acoustics USM Modular Furniture Haller USM Privacy Panels

Room acoustics play a decisive role in determining how we feel in our built environment; whether we find the atmosphere pleasant and soothing or stressful and distracting. We are continuously exposed to noise, tones and voices – all of which are very powerful sensations. Our hearing is extremely sensitive and always switched on, even when we are asleep. It thus accounts for a correspondingly large part of how we perceive our environment. And we cannot simply turn it off, even when everything around us gets too loud and stressful. Acoustics is a complex and extremely important issue,...

Why are room acoustics important?

1 As the user, architect or builder of a building, why should I be concerned with this issue? Eight fundamental questions about room acoustics The most important question concerning room acoustics is: What surfaces should I use to create optimum listening conditions in a room? The surfaces – walls, floors and ceilings, together with fixtures and fittings – are the basic components of the architecture. They form the space in which we live, work, communicate and relax. The materiality, characteristics and quality of these surfaces determine the essence of an architectural design. Good room...

Where there is less noise, there is less stress, more concentration, a lower turnover of workers and fewer days lost to stress-related illness. In short: A company which takes active steps to improve room acoustics will save a great deal of money in the long term. – If as a user or tenant, I discover that rooms which initially seemed ideal for my purposes in fact suffer from poor acoustics, I will face unexpected expenses as a consequence. Levels of effect of good room acoustics – If as an architect, I neglect to take acoustics into account during the design process, I will have to live...

Glass, concrete, open structures – loved by architects, loathed by acousticians. 2 Why do buildings so often require retrofit treatment to improve room acoustics? Contemporary energy concepts such as thermally active components are indispensable in modern architectural design. They ensure that resources are used responsibly, as well as providing a high level of comfort and a pleasant room environment for the users of the building. The same applies to modern office concepts in new or old buildings: Open-plan, transparent working environments which encourage communication are becoming...

4 How does metal furniture improve room acoustics? Non-specialists have some very wide-ranging and in some cases, rather inaccurate ideas of how sound is absorbed. For instance, it’s not unreasonable to think that a perforated surface simply “swallows” sound through the holes. But what happens immediately behind the holes through which the sound passes unimpeded is more important. Acoustically enhanced USM Haller furniture has perforated doors and panels lined with special acoustic fleece which absorbs sound. Solutions from USM bring sound absorption and screening into the room. How can we...

5 How do USM Privacy Panels complement the USM Modular Furniture Haller? USM Privacy Panels are vertical room elements which, like USM Modular Furniture Haller, are also modular in design. This enables them to be configurated in a wide variety of ways, for example mounted on tables, or as freestanding panels for screening and zoning different areas of the room. They are based on a “leaf” principle and have a tubular structure like the USM Haller. USM Privacy Panels can be arranged linearly or in a corner configuration, flexibly extended and combined with USM Haller furniture. Their...

6 The benefits of the USM Modular Furniture Haller are obvious – but what does modular absorption mean? One of the outstanding strengths of USM products is their modularity. Within standard USM dimensions, they enable you to create custom-fit solutions and to respond flexibly to changing requirements. These strengths are directly transferable to sound absorption and sound shielding. Depending on the individual elements and their dimensions, using acoustic calculations and precise measurements it is possible to determine the ideal location for an item of furniture or USM Privacy Panels and...

8 That sounds good, but it comes at a price. Is it worth making an investment of this kind? Undoubtedly – because any investment in room acoustics is an investment in the wellbeing, health, ability to concentrate and thus the efficiency of your employees. Optimum room acoustics in the workplace reduce stress and increase wellbeing. It is possible to quantify the cost of every day of absence or every loss of concentration and interruption to work processes – there are numerous studies on this subject. An investment in carefully planned room acoustics or a later retrofit solution quickly pays...

Building acoustics versus room acoustics Terms and parameters to gain a better understanding of room acoustics Acoustic quality Sound level Frequency Sound propagation Reverberation time Spatial decay Speech intelligibility The effect of surfaces – three dimensions of acoustic properties Sound absorbers Sound absorption coefficient Equivalent sound absorption area Sound propagation in a room Requirements for rooms

Acoustic quality Building acoustics versus room acoustics As an introduction to the topic, let’s look at the small but significant difference between the terms “building acoustics” and “room acoustics”, which are often used synonymously in the building industry. The fundamental question in building acoustics is: What proportion of the sound reaches the other side of the partition in question? Or even: How is sound transmitted from one room to another? The sound insulation of the component separating two rooms is crucial in this respect. Essentially, building acoustics is about the ability...