A shared office space can be an attractive option for small business. The work environment is collaborative and modern, and attractive to younger workers. Costs can be lower than a standard office lease due to sharing some costs and only renting essential space. However, there can be issues, including with acoustics. Our client Astral is…

Finding the original inventor of sound masking isn’t easy. Do we define sound masking as any sound that masks other sounds? If so, then we have to go back to natural sounds like water flow. I can imagine a pair of early humans standing next to a waterfall talking about something secret! But I don’t…

Welcome to the first in our series of blog posts featuring papers from the recent Acoustics in the Sun conference. Today we’re giving our take on Alex Foster and Deb James’s paper titled AI in Architectural Acoustics. Is AI just another trend? There were a lot of AI papers presented at the Acoustics conference, which…

The soaring atrium in the Australian Nurses and Midwifery Federation is a beautiful testament to open design. Unfortunately, it also created the perfect funnel to amplify intrusive noise throughout three storeys. Further, the low background sound levels in the space meant any noise would become annoying. The facility The Australian Nurses and Midwifery Federation built…

Sometimes clients will ask us if our systems are “active noise control”. The simple answer is that active noise control uses a different acoustic principle to sound masking. But it’s good to understand the specifics. What does sound masking do? Sound masking adds a randomised sound to a space to increase the ambient background sound…

The main limitations of a sound masking system’s success are client expectations, and the proximity and loudness of the problem.  Sound proofing If a client’s expectations of sound masking include “sound proofing”, then they will be disappointed. Sound proofing is a different technology. Usually it includes absorption, blocking, damping, reflection, or diffusion. Sound masking adds…

Melbourne City Council’s Council House 2 (aka CH2) building was the first commercial project to be awarded a 6-star Green Star rating by the Green Building Council of Australia. Completed in 2006, the building’s innovative design was a flagship green office, known as the “world’s greenest office” at the time. As with other green buildings,…

Sometimes acoustics and aesthetics appear mutually exclusive. Architects can be guilty of designing spaces with their eyes, not their ears. The reverberance in warehouses and atriums offer two examples of this. Minimalist, glass-filled spaces with shiny, hard surfaces are aesthetically pleasing. But this often comes with the sacrifice of privacy and noise. Unfortunately, adding physical…

Architectural trends have been moving towards open ceilings with exposed services for some time. There are pros and cons to this move, including the acoustic comfort of a space. Low background sound levels and reverberant surfaces require careful treatment when aesthetics are paramount. Soundmask has experience in solving acoustic problems in these challenging spaces. Exposed…

Wherever there are low background sound levels, sound masking can help. Further, guaranteed success comes with acoustic ceiling tiles and carpet where there is low background sound. This is especially true in the ubiquitous open plan office. Noise carries easily between desks, especially conversations, creating an uncomfortable acoustic environment. Open plan offices An open plan…