SOUND MIND

Three ways that sound and technology can improve workplace experiences

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For many decades, the main complaint in shared buildings has been noise. Noise distracts people, creates stress and frustration, causes ill-health, and deters people from using spaces. None of these things are good. But today I'd like to reframe how you think about noise - and more widely, sound - in buildings.

In my experience, sound isn't typically viewed as a particularly positive aspect of buildings and facilities. Often it's a problem that needs to be addressed, such as a faulty air conditioning unit or a complaint about a loud co-worker. And perhaps because it's not tangible, people tend to not place that much importance on sound generally and its impact on people's experiences and their well-being. When it comes to designing buildings, visual design typically comes first. It might be followed by some acoustic treatments and sound masking thrown in for good measure, but that's about as far as most building designs go when it comes to designing sound.

The truth is that the sound around us plays a huge role in people's everyday experiences. The sounds that we encounter in buildings affect a great number of things, from heart rate and respiration, to hormones production, cognitive functioning, and various aspects of behavior, health and well-being. These responses have all been validated by hundreds of published research papers. It makes sense: Our ears are important tools for survival. They tell us about things that we can't see, so our brains are always working to interpret the sounds around us.

If you take away just one thing from this article, it should be that sound can be used to create a positive impact in buildings. Just as some sounds can have negative effects on people, other sounds can be measurably positive. Approaching sound in this way, we can use it to improve metrics related to productivity, comfort, health and even how long people spend in spaces.