DECRIPTION
Areas designed to accommodate more than 5 people without complete separation between workstations. The activities in such a space can be: phoning, administrative work, etc.

For this type of space, the main objective is to guarantee no disturbance (concentration) and privacy of conversation (confidentiality) between close workstations as well as comfort for conversion at short distance.

CONSTRAINTS

• A higher density of occupants in an open space means less distance between people and thus less confidentiality. Conversations can be disturbing for other workstations. Risk of cocktail party effect: this occurs when too much noise builds up in the office space because each occupant needs to raise his voice to be understood
• Mixed activities in the same space: Occupants are exposed to multiple sources of noise, of a different nature: phone calls, conversations, noises of machines (PC…), air conditioning, and external noise. The acoustic environment of a given workstation can be affected by activities either in the space, in adjacent spaces or outside. The different external and internal sound sources contribute together to the background noise which can provoke tiredness after a long exposure.
  
  

ARMSTRONG SOLUTION
In large open plan spaces it is desirable to have a higher sound absorbing (lower density) ceiling to limit the propagation of noise within a space to provide concentration and confidentiality, and to also lower sound levels with in the area. The addition of localised absorbers such as acoustic canopies above workstations can provide additional acoustic control to these areas. The use of low level partitions, with absorbing materials, to block direct sound between workers will assist and active acoustic systems (sound masking) can even be used to cover remaining noise distractions and increase confidentiality and concentration levels.