The desire for quietness and comfort is becoming more and more important, not only in private life but also at work. Creating solutions for good acoustics, especially in public areas and the work environment, has become an increasingly challenging task for designers and architects. Unpleasant noise, and exposure to loud living or working environments, are increasingly perceived as stressful.
On the other hand, there are the current trends in the design and building physics of modern home and office architecture which make it much easier to minimise inappropriate acoustic conditions in a room. Walls and ceilings with sound absorbing properties are also often significant tools in the acoustic design of modern living, learning and working environments.
The acoustics of a room are influenced by many factors: Apart from the basic shape of the room, other features such as floor, wall and ceiling coverings determine the propagation of sound in a room. The size and positioning of sound absorbing surfaces, as well as sound reflecting surfaces, decide whether the acoustics or a room are considered “good” or “bad”. In this sense “good” acoustics means that the room acoustical conditions are suitable for the main use of that room. The acoustics in a room should contribute to our perception of speech, music or other sounds as neither too loud nor too quiet, allow us to communicate clearly and effortlessly, and make us feel comfortable.
