At the office of Ruskon Betoni Etelä Oy, the sound environment in three adjacent offices was creating challenges for everyday work. The rooms were reverberant, and sound carried from one office to another despite the sound-insulating doors. With Ewona’s acoustic solutions, the office sound environment was significantly improved – while the products also became a natural part of the interior design.
Camilla Kuntsi, HR Specialist at Ruskon Betoni Etelä Oy, explains that the need to improve the acoustics arose above all from sound travelling between the offices.
Sound carried from one office to another
The acoustic improvements were first planned for Kuntsi’s office. HR work involves handling personal data and other confidential matters, but conversations could be heard clearly from one office to another.
“It was practically impossible to carry out HR work normally at the office because the job involves handling personal data and other sensitive information. Even though the rooms have sound-insulating doors, speech could be heard very clearly from one office to another,” Kuntsi explains.
However, the noise problem also affected the other offices. In the adjacent room, a marketing employee works with images and video content, which inevitably involves sound during the working day. Creative work also requires the ability to concentrate in a peaceful environment.
In the third office, the phone rings frequently throughout the day. When sounds from all three offices mixed together, the result was easily a restless and distracting sound environment.
“The office could easily turn into quite a cacophony. The sounds disturbed both our own work and the people working in the neighbouring rooms.”
A Finnish manufacturer was an important criterion
The search for suitable acoustic solutions began on Google. One selection criterion was clear from the start: Ruskon Betoni wanted both the products and their manufacturer to be Finnish.
“We were specifically looking for a Finnish company with a factory in Finland. We are a Finnish family business ourselves, so that was important to us.”
In addition to Ewona’s Finnish manufacturing, Ruskon Betoni appreciated the opportunity to have an acoustic specialist visit the premises and assess which solutions would work best in their particular office.
Ewona’s Pirjo Kerttula was involved in planning the solutions and brought different material samples to the office for evaluation.
“Pirjo was an enormous help. It was important to find someone who could come and see the premises in person and work with us to determine how the rooms could be acoustically treated as effectively as possible.”
Different acoustic solutions for three offices
Instead of choosing the same solution for every room, the acoustic treatment was tailored according to each space and its intended use.
Three Ewona products were used in the project:
- AcuDesign acoustic slat panels, combining a reindeer-pattern acoustic panel with light grey slats
- 40 mm Acustica® Basic acoustic panels on the ceiling
- Acustica® Premium Max acoustic panels, installed on a chest of drawers
The AcuDesign acoustic slat panel combines sound absorption with a decorative surface. As Kuntsi is prone to migraines, particular attention was paid to the visual appearance of the panel. Initially, she was concerned that a strong contrast between the slats and the backing panel might make the surface visually restless and create a flickering effect.
When Ewona’s Pirjo brought different samples to the office, the alternatives could be evaluated in the actual environment. The final choice was light grey slats combined with a textured acoustic panel in the reindeer pattern.
“At first, I was concerned about the contrast in the slat panel because of my migraines. When Pirjo brought the samples for us to see, this option immediately felt calm. The slats are the same tone as the textured backing panel, so the panel doesn’t create a flickering effect.”
The structure of Ewona’s slat panels also contributes to the calm visual appearance. The spacing between the slats is wider than in many conventional slat panels. The wider spacing is designed primarily for acoustic performance, but it also creates a calmer visual rhythm.
The result is both an effective acoustic solution and an interior design element that complements the overall look of the office.
Easy installation
According to Kuntsi, installing the acoustic products was straightforward. During the first installations, Ewona’s Pirjo was available to provide advice on the best way to install the products.
“The installation was really easy. When we installed the products for the first time, Pirjo was very helpful and gave us advice on how to do it properly.”
“The cacophony in the office is gone”
The biggest difference can now be heard in the office itself.
Following the acoustic improvements, the sound environment in the three offices has become significantly calmer. Employees can now focus on their own work without being disturbed by sounds from the surrounding rooms to the same extent as before.
“The solutions have been absolutely fantastic. The cacophony in the office is gone, and the sound environment is now really calm. Everyone can work peacefully without being disturbed by sounds coming from the other rooms.”
The acoustic products have also proved successful from an interior design perspective. Rather than looking like separate technical additions, the products blend naturally into the overall design of the office.
Following the positive experience, acoustic improvements are also being planned for other areas of the office. A printed acoustic panel designed to complement the colour of the wall is being considered for the staircase, along with custom acoustic wall art featuring imagery related to the company’s business.
Acoustics make a tangible difference to everyday work
At Ruskon Betoni’s office, the benefits of improved acoustics can be seen – and heard – in everyday work. Confidential matters can be discussed with greater privacy, creative work can be carried out with fewer distractions, and phone calls and sounds from neighbouring offices no longer dominate the sound environment.
When Kuntsi is asked whether she would recommend Ewona’s acoustic solutions to others, her answer comes without hesitation:
“Yes, absolutely.”
Project details
Project: Ruskon Betoni Etelä Oy office
Interviewee: Camilla Kuntsi, HR Specialist
Acoustically treated spaces: Three offices
Acoustic solutions: AcuDesign acoustic slat panels with a reindeer pattern and light grey slats, Acustica® Basic 40 mm and Acustica® Premium Max.