Fig. 1: Acoustic comfort is rarely the first line in a design brief. It is usually the first thing people complain about afterwards.
The quick answer
Office acoustics affect concentration, call quality and fatigue more than most fit-out decisions. Treat the ceiling and the largest wall surfaces first, add soft flooring in dense zones, and use dividers tall enough to break line of sight. Decorative panels on a single reception wall look purposeful but change very little.
Whether you are running a global head office or working from a home study, sound shapes how well you think. Poor acoustics are not simply an irritation. They have measurable effects on cognitive performance, stress and the quality of every conversation in the building. Research by Ipsos and the Steelcase Workspace Futures team, surveying more than 10,000 workers across 14 countries, found employees losing as much as 86 minutes a day to distraction.
That awareness is why organisations such as Google, Microsoft and Deloitte now treat acoustic planning as part of workplace design rather than an afterthought. The aim is not silence. It is a room where teams can concentrate, hear each other properly, and finish the day without auditory fatigue.
01 /Five problems, and what actually solves them
| Problem | What is happening | What fixes it |
|---|---|---|
| Ambient chatter, phones, keyboards | No absorptive surface anywhere in the room | Wall panels plus ceiling baffles in open plan |
| Echo and reverb | Glass, concrete and hard flooring reflecting almost everything | Felt wall panels with ceiling clouds |
| No privacy in open layouts | Direct line of sight between seated speakers | Screens and dividers, high enough to block the path |
| Footfall and chair scrape | Impact noise on hard floors | Acoustic carpet tiles in dense zones |
| Room sounds lifeless | Overtreated with absorption and nothing else | Balance absorption with grooved or shaped panels |
02 /What the panels are made of
Echsorbix panels are non-woven polyester felt made from recycled PET, with a minimum 60 per cent recycled content. Manufacturing runs to ISO 9001 standards in solar-powered facilities that convert plastic waste into PET fibre.
- Class A fire rating to ASTM E84, flame spread index d-0, smoke developed index S-1.
- Acoustic testing to ASTM C423 and ISO 354, carried out by ARAI.
- VOC free, odourless, antimicrobial and water resistant, with VOC at or below 0.5 mg per cubic metre.
- Fully recyclable, with colourfastness tested to ISO 105-B02.
03 /The range, and where each one belongs
| Product | Thickness | NRC | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| ColourMute Solid | 9mm, 12mm | 0.45 to 0.70 | Large wall areas, colour-led interiors |
| Mirage Grooved | 9mm, 12mm | 0.45 to 0.70 | Feature walls needing pattern and depth |
| Sequence double-layer | 9mm, 18mm | 0.55 to 0.80 | Two-tone cut-out designs, highest absorption |
| Screens | 9mm | 0.45 | Partitioning without losing daylight |
| Canvas | 9mm | 0.45 | Printed art and branded graphics |
| Baffles and Clouds | 9mm, 12mm, 18mm, 24mm | 0.45 | Open plan ceilings, exposed services |
Fig. 2: Baffles absorb on both faces, which is why they suit ceilings where a continuous surface is not available.
04 /In practice: WeWork coworking spaces
WeWork needed acoustically effective interiors across its India locations without compromising a very particular design language. Meeting rooms, cabins, lounges and corridors all suffered from echo, poor speech clarity and footstep noise.
The treatment used Echsorbix felt panels on walls, baffles and clouds at ceiling level, and acoustic carpet tiles on floors. Panels were installed with SR Adhesive and modular fittings, so the work did not require structural change. The result was controlled reverberation, clearer speech and reduced impact noise across multiple sites.
05 /Installing without renovating
- Wall panels. Mount with SR Adhesive, double-sided tape or nails onto a wooden framework. Surfaces must be clean and dry.
- Ceiling baffles and clouds. Hang from suspended systems, wires or hooks. Attachments are ordered separately.
- Carpet tiles. Lay over a smooth, dry floor in the zones where footfall is heaviest.
- Add backing where you need more. Where absorption has to go further, back the felt with 20mm BassBloc rather than simply adding more panels.
Related reading: office soundproofing for Indian workplaces, and reducing reverb and echo in a conference room.
06 /Frequently asked questions
Can acoustic panels be added without renovating?
Yes. Wall panels are surface mounted with adhesive, tape or nails, and ceiling baffles and clouds hang from wires or suspended systems. No structural change is needed, which is why most offices can be treated while still occupied.
Are felt acoustic panels safe for offices?
Echsorbix panels carry a Class A fire rating under ASTM E84, with a flame spread index of d-0 and smoke developed index of S-1. They are VOC free at or below 0.5 mg per cubic metre, odourless, antimicrobial and water resistant.
Do they improve video and conference calls?
Yes, and noticeably. Most call quality complaints come from reverberation rather than the microphone. Absorbing reflections shortens the decay in the room, so speech reaches the mic once rather than several times over.
How do these compare to local foam or fabric?
The difference is documentation. Echsorbix panels are tested to ASTM C423 and ISO 354 by ARAI and fire rated to ASTM E84. Untested foam or fabric may absorb very little and often has no fire classification at all, which matters in a commercial fit-out.
Can I get custom branding or shapes?
Yes. The Canvas range takes digitally printed artwork or brand graphics, Sequence allows two shades from the ColourMute palette in five geometric cut-outs, and Mirage and Screens both offer custom patterns and sizing.
Can felt panels fully isolate a room?
No, and this distinction matters. Felt panels absorb sound inside a room. Blocking sound between rooms needs mass, which means a build-up of MLV and BassBloc with the felt as the finish layer on top. Absorption alone will not stop a conversation travelling through a wall.
Sonit writes about practical acoustics for Indian workplaces and homes, focusing on what delivers measurable results at sensible cost rather than what simply looks the part.
