Ceiling & baffles
The largest available surface, the most powerful lever on large volumes.
See ceiling & baffles →Office & open-plan solution
Acoustic panels for offices and open-plan spaces.
In an open-plan office, noise is the leading cause of lost focus. Not raw volume: the voices you understand despite yourself. Well-placed acoustic panels absorb reverberation, bring the background sound level down and make speech intelligible when needed, discreet the rest of the time. ACOUSTELIO designs these made-to-measure panels for your offices, printable in your colours and fire-certified for public buildings.
The problem
Why does an open-plan office quickly become unbearable?
An open floor stacks up sound sources. Conversations, calls, keyboards, ringtones, the coffee machine. Each is bearable on its own. Together, and bounced back by hard surfaces like glass, concrete or a smooth floor, they add up and linger. Sound does not escape, it goes round in circles. That is reverberation.
Add a vicious circle well known to acousticians: the Lombard effect. In noise, you spontaneously raise your voice to be heard. So your neighbour raises theirs. And the level climbs, step after step. An open-plan office easily goes from 55 to 65 dB(A) at its peak, and every 10 dB roughly doubles the sense of loudness.
The real cost is not the noise itself, it is the attention it steals. You understand the sentence next to you, so your brain listens to it. You lose focus, catch up, wear yourself out. The good news: this phenomenon can be treated precisely, and without heavy works. That is exactly what acoustic treatment is for.
What's at stake
Sound comfort: focus, health, image.
Reducing reverberation is not a wellness luxury. It is a direct lever on performance. Fewer distractions, clearer exchanges, less auditory fatigue at the end of the day. Video-call meetings finally become intelligible, which matters when half the participants are remote. And for the employer brand, a quiet floor sends a simple signal to teams and visitors alike: here, we respect concentration. With hybrid work, the office has to justify the commute: a space where you can hear and focus becomes a retention argument, not a comfort detail.
On the numbers, our panels absorb up to 85% of incident noise (NRC 0,85) and cut reverberation in half in many configurations. These are lab-measured values, not marketing promises. The detail is in the technical sheet supplied with every order, found on the guarantees page.
What it costs you
Noise tires more than the ears.
Four concrete effects of a poorly treated open-plan office, which acoustic treatment reverses.
Focus in pieces
You understand the conversation next to you, so you listen despite yourself. Reckon on around twenty minutes to get back into your task after each interruption.
Auditory fatigue
Forcing your voice and filtering the din all day is exhausting. By late afternoon, teams' energy and mood clearly suffer.
Meetings that go off the rails
In person or on video, a room that echoes makes the speaker hard to follow. You repeat, you talk over each other, you lose the thread and waste time.
Damaged image
A noisy floor is felt the moment a visitor or candidate arrives. Quiet, by contrast, signals the care given to the work and the people.
The method
Measure before treating: RT, dB(A) and NF S 31-080.
Placing panels at random is spending with no guarantee of results. We prefer to start from a numeric goal. The key indicator is called the reverberation time, or RT: how long a sound takes to decay once the source stops. The longer it is, the more the room "rings". In an open-plan office, we generally aim for an RT of around 0.5 to 0.8 second. Beyond that, voices drag on and blur together.
This benchmark is not something we made up. The French standard NF S 31-080 frames office acoustics and defines three levels: standard, high, very high. It sets measurable criteria on RT, the decay of sound across the space and the background noise. Aiming for the "high" level gives a clear target to size the absorbing area, rather than a vague "we want less noise".
One last technical point that changes everything: PET felt works mainly between 250 and 4000 Hz, the band of the human voice. That is exactly where office comfort is decided. So we choose the thickness, the layout and the air gap based on that target, not a one-size-fits-all recipe.
Treat or soundproof?
The confusion that costs dearly.
Two answers to two different problems. Nine times out of ten, an open-plan office calls for treatment, not soundproofing.
Treatment (us)
Soundproofing
Treats the echo in the room
No heavy works
Reversible and movable
Blocks noise between 2 rooms
Lead time
10 to 15 days
Several weeks
Budget
Under control
High
Our solutions
The right surfaces, in the right places.
We combine several panel families to suit your floor and your budget.
Screens & partitions
Between workstations (bench) or free-standing, they cut the direct voice between neighbours.
See partitions & screens →85%
of incident noise absorbed (NRC 0,85)
-50%
of reverberation depending on the configuration
0,5-0,8s
target reverberation time (NF S 31-080)
10-15d
DDP delivery across Europe
The guide
Which treatment for your space?
Not every office is treated the same way. The logic, though, is the same everywhere: spot the hard surfaces that bounce sound back, then set against them just enough absorption, in the right place. Here is how we reason, room by room.
Open-plan office. The classic playing field. We load the ceiling with baffles or tiles for the mass of absorption, add screens between rows of workstations, and a few wall surfaces on the large glazed or concrete spans. Goal: break both the overall din and the direct voice between neighbours.
Meeting room. Small volume, hard surfaces, often a large table and a screen wall. Sound bounces and the video call becomes painful. A few well-placed wall panels at the reflection points are enough to make speech clear, on both sides of the camera.
Private offices and call booths. Here the need leans towards a bit of privacy. An absorbent wall panel and a partition or screen reduce the echo and the boxed-in feeling, especially in glazed phone booths that ring.
Acoustic booth, phone booth, alcove: do you need furniture? Acoustic furniture has its logic: a booth isolates a confidential call, an alcove offers a refuge for two. But a phone booth treats about 1 m² and costs several thousand euros apiece. Panels and absorbent partitions cost far less and treat the whole room, not a bubble. The two approaches complement each other: furniture for occasional privacy, acoustic treatment for the whole floor. And if you are unsure where to start, the meeting or video-call room remains the first project for most of our clients: small volume, big stakes, immediate effect.
Reception, cafeteria, circulation zones. Large volumes, sometimes high ceilings, plenty of hard surfaces. Ceiling baffles work wonders here, and a printed signature wall sets the tone from the entrance. We combine sound comfort and brand image in the same place.
The ACOUSTELIO difference
Your offices in your image, not grey panels.
Most office acoustic solutions come down to neutral tiles you try to forget. We take the problem the other way round. Your logo, your brand guidelines, a mural or a mood visual print directly onto the felt, without losing any absorption. The space gains in quiet and identity, in a single move.
Ideal for a head office, a filmed room or a client area. See how printed made-to-measure works.
The budget
How much does treating an office cost?
A fair question, and too often drowned in vagueness. Let's be concrete. A made-to-measure acoustic panel starts at around 49 € depending on the format and the printing. A project's budget depends mainly on the absorbing area to install, so on the volume to treat and the level of comfort you aim for.
To set an order of magnitude: a meeting room is often treated for a few hundred euros, a full open-plan office for a few thousand. Rather than a per-square-metre rate disconnected from the result, we price a layout that targets a specific acoustic goal (the famous RT). You pay for the effect, not a pile of panels.
The quote is free and arrives within 48 h. It details the treated area, the formats, the printing and the lead time. No hidden cost on delivery either: everything ships DDP, duties and taxes included.
How it works
From study to installation, in 4 steps.
01
Floor study
Volume, hard surfaces, comfort and reverberation goals.
02
Layout & proof
Layout plan, approved printed visual, clear quote within 48 h.
03
Certified production
Made-to-measure, fire-classified and documented for absorption.
04
Delivery & installation
Delivered DDP, ready to install, within 10 to 15 days.
Frequently asked questions
Office acoustics: your questions.
Is open-plan noise really a problem?
Yes, and it is measurable. Noise ranks top among the nuisances employees cite in open-plan offices. The real issue is not raw volume but distracting intelligibility: you understand the conversation next to you, so your brain listens to it despite itself. As a result, you lose focus. Gloria Mark's work on attention points to around twenty minutes to refocus after an interruption. Multiply that by the number of interruptions in a day. Treating reverberation lowers this background sound level and restores concentration, without transforming the premises.
Should you treat the acoustics or soundproof the offices?
The two answer different needs. Soundproofing stops sound passing between two rooms: that means heavy partitions, doors, building work. Acoustic treatment tackles the echo inside a single volume with absorbent materials. In 90% of open-plan offices the problem is reverberation, not sound leaking between rooms. So you treat before you soundproof. It is faster, reversible and far cheaper. We detail the difference in our article on acoustic treatment versus soundproofing, worth reading before you launch any works.
How many panels are needed and how much absorbing area?
It depends on the volume, the number of workstations and the hard surfaces (glass, concrete, smooth floor). In practice, treating 15 to 30% of the walls or ceiling with absorbing area already changes the feel clearly. There is no need to cover everything: placing them well counts more than fitting a lot. We start from your floor plan or a few photos, estimate the useful area aiming at a target reverberation time, then price a layout. You know exactly what you are buying and the effect to expect, not a panel count pulled from a catalogue.
Ceiling, wall or screen: where to start?
The ceiling first, almost always. It is the largest bare surface and the best return on a large volume, via suspended baffles or tiles. Wall panels come next to treat the side reflections and dress the walls. Screens between workstations (bench) cut the direct voice between immediate neighbours. The right answer combines all three depending on your floor: high ceiling, load the ceiling; low, dense floor, focus on walls and screens. We weigh it up with you according to budget.
What is the NF S 31-080 standard?
It is the French reference standard for office acoustics. It classifies spaces into three performance levels (standard, high, very high) on measurable criteria: reverberation time, the decay of sound level across the space, background noise. For an open-plan office, aiming for the high level generally means a reverberation time of around 0.5 to 0.8 second. It is a useful benchmark for setting a numeric goal rather than a vague "less noise". We use it to size the amount of absorbing area.
Can we print our logo or brand?
Yes, it is our speciality. We print your logo, your brand guidelines or a high-definition visual directly onto the felt, without losing any absorption. Your offices display an identity instead of anonymous grey panels. You approve a proof before production, so zero surprise. It is a real plus for a head office, a client area or a room filmed on video calls: the background becomes clean and on-brand, and the sound comfort follows.
Is it compliant for offices open to the public?
Yes. Our panels are fire-classified EN 13501-1, level B-s1,d0, the level expected in public-access buildings. The classification report comes with the order, ready for a safety file or an inspection body. Many commercial buildings, lobbies and reception areas are concerned. We check this point before starting manufacturing, to avoid the gorgeous panel rejected by the commission. Compliance is part of the quote, not an option to tick at the end of the process.
How long to equip our offices?
Allow 48 h for the quote after we receive your floor plan, then 10 to 15 working days once the proof is approved, manufacturing and delivery included. Delivery is DDP across Europe, duties and taxes included, with no bad surprise on arrival. Installation is simple, wall-mounted or suspended, and many teams fit it themselves in half a day. For a multi-site rollout or a works schedule, we align deliveries with your dates. You stay in control of the timeline.
Office noise is not solved by lowering your voice. It is solved by absorbing reverberation, where it is born: on the hard surfaces.
The principle we apply on every floor, from a twenty-desk studio to the executive level.
Your offices deserve better than the din.
Send us your floor plan or a few photos, and we come back with a priced layout and a quote within 48 h.
Request my free quote