The need for comfort and quietness in offices is becoming more and more important. Unpleasant sounds, or noise, at the workplace are increasingly perceived as stressful. On the other hand, there are the current trends in the design and building physics of modern office building architecture which make it much more difficult to create appropriate acoustic conditions in a room. The use of materials such as concrete ceiling, for example requires a new approach to the positioning of acoustically effective elements in the room. Office furniture and products with sound absorbing properties often proves to be a useful tool in designing the acoustics of modern office working environment.

Whether certain rooms are acoustically suitable for particular uses, is influenced by many factors. In addition to the acoustic characteristic of the boundary surface of a room, furnishings can also have a major influence on the speech and listening conditions in the room.

Finally, office acoustic design is a predictable activity with an outcome which can be precisely measured and ideally, an acoustic quality is achieved which suits the use of the room and office, which makes us feel comfortable and allows us to communicate without any effort, and which we do not perceive as too loud or too quiet.