Acoustic Issues in Open Plan Offices: A Typological Analysis

This paper reports the acoustic issues of open plan office environments. According to a detailed research based on the scientific literature of the most suitable acoustic descriptors recommended for the open plan offices analysis, the main typological-functional configurations of these environments have been analyzed in order to identify six spatial typologies. The variation of acoustic parameters of these typologies has been evaluated by using a sound pyramid tracing software. The analysis procedure was calibrated in a case study of an office environment, where a measurement campaign was carried out. Results point out that the acoustic improvement of open plan offices can usually be achieved by introducing a sound absorbing false ceiling and dividing panels between working positions, but there are different issues depending on spatial geometries of the office. Better results are referred to office typologies characterized by reduced height and equal plan dimensions.