Noise isn't something that we here in Leipzig's Lower-East Plagwitz Village have to worry too much about.
The loudest it gets here being when the frogs sing their morning chorus around the lake.
However, within the (smow)office, as with in all offices, it can get loud - telephones, typing, coffee machines, Eames House Birds, laptop coolers.
All the normal office noises that conspire to create a background wall of sound.
Whereas long-term exposure to such background office noise is unlikely to negatively affect your hearing, the noise does serve as a source of stress, reduced concentration and reduced productivity.
In 1996 the Center for Hearing and Communication established International Noise Awareness Day to help promote awareness of the dangers of long-term exposure to noise: be it noise at work, noise in the home or your iPod headphones.
In addition, International Noise Awareness Day encourages people to think about the noise that they are exposed to and consider ways of reducing such.
One of the most effective methods of helping reduce the background noise in offices is the use of noise dampening panels.
Those produced by Bremen based acousticpearls are not only certified according to ISO 354:2003 (ISO 354:2003 specifies a method of measuring the sound absorption coefficient of acoustical materials used as wall or ceiling treatments, or the equivalent sound absorption area of objects, such as furniture, persons or space absorbers, in a reverberation room) but also come in a range of high quality Kvadrat textile coverings and so also visually enhance your office.
The size of room and the amount of noise that needs to be neutralized determine the number of panels required; the existing decor, determines if the acousticpearls panels in Mono, Duo or Stripe are chosen and in which colours.
Full details on the noise dampening panels can be found at smow.com under acousticpearls
And here a short soundfile example of the effect of acousticpearls panels:
