As the advent of a new way of working dawns, there is a rather sleek and contemporary addition to the office that is likely to become a familiar fixture. Acoustic booths are a self-contained, segregated and sound proofed space. The benefit of the booths lies in the versatility of their design: they come flat packed and are erected relatively quickly, they are not required to meet building regulations and they can be moved around within the workplace floor plan. A perfect solution to companies who work in open plan areas and now may require private meeting spaces and quiet zones.

The booths are upholstered with sound absorbing fabric which covers the walls and floors offering protection of up to 45 decibels; with doors furnished from high quality insulating glass, helping to further sound proof the booths.

The cubicles come in a variety of sizes suitable for 1 person requiring a break out space with a shelf for them to work on their laptop to the larger models which are big enough for 6 people needing a meeting room which can accommodate furniture. As a designated area it makes it easier to know when it needs to be cleaned and keep track who has used the booth; all essential to the new way of working.

Some clients have preferred not to have the doors on them instead, incorporating the booth as a segregated but open meeting area. They have the flexibility to meet different requirements.

As well as being space efficient the booths are multifaceted and offer a range of appealing features:

• Air conditioning controlled by a motion sensor
• LED lighting
• Whiteboard panels
• TV monitors

Local design and fit out company COEL have seen an increasing trend in acoustic booths being adopted. Raspberry Pi is one of the companies COEL has fitted acoustic booths for; Laurie Smith, Director of Operations at Raspberry Pi said:

“COEL installed four acoustic booths as part of our office refurb a couple of years ago. They were quick and easy to install and are now regularly used for meetings or a quiet place to work. The design of the booths reduces the noise level, which works well in our open plan office space. They also serve as noise-reducing dividers between banks of desks. They make a great comfortable and multifunctional addition to our office.”

The advice we received from COEL as to which pods would be right for our requirements helped guide our decision making and their speed and efficiency at installing the pods ensured that it was a seamless process which meant there was little to no disruption for the Raspberry Pi team.”

Read the full article in the Cambridge Independent.