As we continue to advance technologically, the open office space continues to be a popular choice for many businesses. Open offices bring about a sense of collaboration, dynamism and flexibility. However, they are often plagued by one common problem: office echo. This article will discuss an unconventional yet effective solution to this challenge – bookshelves.
It may seem unlikely, but strategically placed bookshelves can significantly cut down the echo in an expansive office. We’re going to explore why that is, how to make it work, and the benefits you might experience from using bookshelves to quell echo in your workspace.
## Understanding Office Echo
Before diving into the solution, it is crucial to understand the problem at hand. Echo happens when sound waves from your speech bounce off hard surfaces such as walls, ceiling, and floor, and then return to your ears.
Open office spaces echo because they usually have high ceilings, hardwood floors, and large, undecorated walls – elements that foster the prevalence of echo. These hard surfaces do not absorb sound, instead, they reflect them back into the room. This causes the sound waves to keep bouncing around the room, leading to echo or reverb.
## Bookshelves as Effective Sound Absorbers
Bookshelves, with their irregular surfaces and the large amount of porous material (such as paper) present in books, are excellent for absorbing and diffusing sound waves. This diffusing property can help reduce echo rapidly.
The science behind this lies in the way different materials react with sound waves. Hard, flat surfaces, like walls, reflect nearly all the sound, whereas, soft and irregular surfaces, like a bookshelf filled with books, absorb a substantial portion of it, diffusing the rest.
The irregular shape and varying densities of books disrupt the uniformity of the sound waves, preventing them from bouncing back into the room and reducing echo as a result.
## Strategic Placement for Optimal Results
Along with the kind of material, the placement of the bookshelves also plays a critical role in controlling echo.
A room has six reflective surfaces – the ceiling, floor, and four walls. Since ceilings and floors are less flexible in terms of sound improvement measures, focus on the walls. More specifically, corner areas as they tend to reflect a majority of the sound energy.
Placing loaded bookshelves against the wall or in corner areas of your office can help break the path of sound waves, preventing them from continuously bouncing around. This makes the bookshelves an effective, as well as simple, economical, and aesthetically pleasing way to control office echo.
## Additional Benefits of Incorporating Bookshelves
Beyond alleviating audible irritation, bookshelves can bring additional benefits to an office environment. By design, bookshelves both absorb sound and add visual interest, which can foster improved concentration, stress reduction, and workplace satisfaction.
Here’s how:
### Improved Concentration
By cutting down on echo, bookshelves can effectively reduce extraneous noise in the workspace. Quieter workspaces can help to improve concentration and increase productivity.
### Enhanced Office Aesthetics
Bookshelves, particularly when filled with an array of interesting books, become a visually appealing element in an office setting. They can make a workspace feel more inviting, comfortable, and personalized, which can boost employee morale.
### Resourceful Space Utility
With the need for physical distancing due to COVID-19, bookshelves can serve as stylish, functional partitions that allow for necessary distancing without compromising on aesthetics or sound control.
## Optimizing Your Bookshelves for Sound Control
When using bookshelves for sound control, some methods enhance their performance:
### Fill Your Shelves
The more items on a shelf, such as books or decorative pieces, the better it will diffuse sound. Varying the sizes and orientation of books can also enhance sound absorption.
### Use Thicker Shelves
Thicker shelves will improve sound absorption as they offer more material for the sound waves to travel through before being reflected back.
### Diversify Your Shelf Material
While wooden shelves are the most common, trying other materials like fabric-cushioned or metal shelves can provide a different degree of sound absorption and diffusion.
In conclusion, strategically placed and well-stocked bookshelves can significantly reduce office echo, while also offering additional benefits like workspace aesthetics and privacy. By understanding the science of sound waves and the role of material and placement in absorbing and diffusing these waves, you can utilize bookshelves to their full potential towards creating a pleasant and productive workplace.
