The science behind
Calculate optimal spacing
Tool for estimation of the optimal distance required between different activities in an open-plan office.
Open-Plan Office Calculator
The first-ever quick tool to help architects, space planners, workplace managers and consultants create more productive open-plan offices.
When planning an open-plan office that needs to accommodate various activities, it's crucial to consider how speech noise will affect your team's productivity and wellbeing. Our calculator, based on the latest ISO 22955 standard, allows you to quickly estimate the optimal distance required between different activities, ensuring your office is designed with people wellbeing and productivity in mind.
Prediction model
The target values for D A,S (in-situ acoustic attenuation of speech between activities) are based on the ISO 22955 standard for open-plan offices in combined spaces1.
Our formula employs a simplified prediction model for ISO 3382-32 parameters related to speech propagation and decay, initially presented and tested by Hongisto and Keränen from Turku University of Applied Sciences3.
This model allows for preliminary estimates of ISO 3382-3 values during the planning phase without the need for extensive computer simulations. It has been refined to include parameters from ISO 22955 and validated in numerous real-life office environments by the Ecophon Concept Development Team in collaboration with external acoustics experts. This model was recently presented at the Internoise Conference in Nantes, August 20244.
Limitations
This model aims to offer general recommendations and guidance based on ISO 3382-3 parameters and ISO 22955 target values. It provides a valuable tool for making early design decisions with quick calculations, compared to the time-consuming and costly computer simulations typically required for precise predictions.
However, accuracy may be reduced in rooms where sound absorption materials are unevenly distributed or in spaces with irregular shapes. Small rooms and those with unusual geometries may also yield less accurate results.
We recommend using the Open-Plan Office Calculator as a preliminary tool to enhance complex approach to acoustics in open-plan office design. For those seeking the highest prediction accuracy, commercial room acoustics software remains the preferred choice.
References:
1.ISO 22955:2021-05: Acoustics - Acoustic quality of open office spaces, 2021
2. ISO 3382-3: Acoustics — Measurement of room acoustic parameters — Part 3: Open plan offices, 2022
3. J. Keränen, V. Hongisto. Prediction of the spatial decay of speech in open-plan offices. Applied Acoustics, 74(12), 1315–1325, 2013.
4. Machner, R., Klein A., Brokmann H., Krummheuer H., Danner G., 2024. “Empirical Method for Predicting Speech Sound Propagation in Offices”. Internoise, Nantes, France.