Project Overview
This 54,000 sq ft multi-building co-working campus in central Manchester combines open hotdesking zones, private office suites, podcast booths and event spaces. The operator’s post-occupancy surveys showed that poor speech privacy and excessive background noise were the top two reasons for member downgrades. The project required an acoustic solution that could adapt to frequent layout changes, while matching the campus’s industrial minimalist interior brand identity.
Key Acoustic Challenges
- Open plan layouts with glass partitions create high speech crosstalk, reducing focus productivity for members
- High member churn and frequent reconfigurations mean acoustic products must be reusable and repositionable
- Acoustic finishes must support the brand’s aesthetic while meeting UK building regulations for fire safety and indoor air quality
Solution Delivered
Workspace partition walls and feature walls were fitted with 100% recycled polyester acoustic panels in custom brand-neutral tones. The impact-resistant, E0 formaldehyde-free panels absorb mid-high frequency speech noise and can be reconfigured as layouts change. Open work zones and event spaces received suspended fabric wrapped acoustic baffles with high-density fiberglass cores, reducing overhead reflections and overall ambient reverberation without requiring a full suspended ceiling. All materials carry EN 13501 Class A fire certification and meet UK low-emission indoor air quality standards.
Measurable Outcomes
- Open area reverberation time reduced from 1.8s to 0.7–0.9s, in line with British Council for Offices best practice
- Cross-workstation speech crosstalk reduced by 39%, and meeting room speech privacy passed third-party testing
- Member satisfaction scores for “quiet focus environment” increased by 38% within 3 months post-completion
- 100% of wall panels were reused during a subsequent floor layout reconfiguration, reducing refit costs
Industry Impact
The project sets a benchmark for scalable, reconfigurable acoustics in flexible workspaces — proving acoustic investment directly correlates with higher member retention and premium pricing power.
