Commonwealth Bank — Darling Square
Adaptive masking for a chilled beam workplace
The project
A 44,000-square-metre, 12-storey workplace development at Darling Square in Sydney, designed by Woods Bagot and developed by Lendlease.
The challenge
Support speech privacy and acoustic comfort for a workplace accommodating around 3,000 occupants and a wide range of working activities.
As ambient sound reduces, speech intelligibility increases in turn. This allows unwanted conversation between co-workers to become too easily understood, making it almost impossible to concentrate.
The design
Quiet passive chilled beam air conditioning meant background sound needed deliberate control. Sound masking was coordinated with the wider acoustic design.
The delivery
Working with acoustic consultant Arup, 45dB designed, supplied, installed and calibrated a multi-zone adaptive sound masking system.
Controlled background sound
When background sound is very low, distant speech can become easier to understand. Masking helps reduce its reach through the workplace.
The system
Zoning and activity sensors allow gradual adjustment within commissioned limits as conversational activity changes throughout the day.
Send us your plans to discuss sound masking for exposed ceilings, chilled beams or activity-based workplaces.