Shell Australia has its head office over multiple levels in Brisbane, Australia. It is green star rated and considered a very comfortable and modern place to work. We had previously installed a Soundmask system on one of the levels. So when it came time for the business to refurbish its premises, they knew that they’d need a sound masking system included.

The requirements

Part of the reason for this was not only comfortable acoustics. The client also wanted to achieve a 5 star environmental rating for the fitout. To achieve this, a background sound level of 40-45dB needed to be added throughout the space.

But the design wasn’t simple. The office was broken into different zones itself. These included meeting rooms, quiet rooms, open plan offices, and small quiet pods. Furthermore, each level had 4 different ceiling surfaces, including acoustic tiles, exposed ceiling, acoustic insulation and pressed aluminium. This meant that to achieve an even spread of sound throughout we needed to zone the system.

The outcome

A zoned office needs a careful design. Along with our installer Programmed, we implemented a system that sounded great and could be adjusted to meet the acoustic consultant’s requirements.

Furthermore, we could reuse the previously-installed system which was redeployed. This allowed costs savings to the client. We then added additional systems to the other six floors to provide a comfortable acoustic environment for its workers. Shell was able to both meet the environmental ratings and do so with a reduced carbon footprint thanks to Soundmask.