Noise is the most common complaint in open-plan offices, and hybrid working has made it worse. Video calls that used to happen in meeting rooms are now taken at desks, and mid-week peaks concentrate everyone into the same days. The result is a floor that's hard to concentrate in and unpleasant to spend a day in.
McCreery supplies and installs acoustic solutions across Dublin and all of Ireland — panels, screens, ceiling rafts, pods and booths. Because we also design and deliver full fit-outs, we tend to look at the whole picture rather than selling you panels and hoping for the best.
Office Acoustics and Acoustic Panels
How office acoustics actually works
Three things reduce noise in an office, and most spaces need a combination.
Absorb
Soft, porous surfaces soak up sound instead of reflecting it, which cuts echo and reverberation. Acoustic wall panels, ceiling rafts and baffles, carpet and soft furnishings all do this. This is where most offices see the biggest improvement for the money.
Block
Physical barriers stop sound travelling between spaces — desk screens, freestanding screens, acoustic pods, and glazed or solid partitions between rooms.
Absorb and block together
Blocking without absorbing often just moves the problem. Panels alone in a hard-surfaced room with no barriers won't stop you hearing your neighbour's call. The two work together.
Gaber Diamente
Gaber Piuna
Gaber Tune
Gaber Stilly
Gaber Fono
Gaber Uniko
Gaber Madison
Acoustio - Silentum
Acoustio Jasper
Abstracta Lily - acoustic lighting
Abstracta Lily acoustic light
Abstracta Air - room dividers
Acoustic Air - room dividers
Abstracta Pillar - acoustic accessories
Abstracta Pillar acoustic accessories-v
What acoustic treatment can and can't do
Worth being straight about this. Acoustic panels reduce reverberation and take the edge off voices and general office noise — they make a space calmer and speech clearer. They are not soundproofing. They won't stop low-frequency noise from traffic or plant, and they won't make a meeting room confidential on their own. If you need genuine privacy, that's a partition and door specification question rather than a panel question, and we'll tell you so.
What we supply
Acoustic wall panels — in a wide range of colours, fabrics and shapes, from plain absorbers to feature walls that double as design elements.
Ceiling rafts and baffles — suspended absorption, useful where wall space is limited or ceilings are hard and high.
Desk and screen dividers— between and around workstations, absorbing sound at the source.
Freestanding acoustic screens — movable division for open-plan areas without permanent building work.
Acoustic pods and booths — enclosed spaces for calls, video meetings and focused work. See our pods and booths.
We work with acoustic manufacturers including Abstracta, alongside our own custom-built and upholstered solutions.
Where acoustics matters most
Open-plan floors, meeting rooms, work cafés and reception areas each have different problems. Open plan usually needs absorption plus barriers at desk level. Meeting rooms need containment so conversations stay inside. Work cafés and receptions are typically hard-surfaced and echoey, and benefit most from ceiling and wall absorption.
For more on designing around noise in a hybrid office, read our guide to hybrid office design.
See and hear it in our showroom
Fabric samples tell you about colour, not performance. Visit our 5,000 sq ft showroom in Kimmage, Dublin 12 to see the panel ranges, try the pods and talk through what would work in your space.
Sorting acoustics as part of a fit-out?
Acoustics is easiest and cheapest to solve when it's designed in rather than retrofitted. If you're refurbishing, reconfiguring or moving, we handle the whole project from one point of contact.
Talk to us about your noise problem
Tell us what the problem sounds like — echo, overheard calls, general hubbub — and where it's happening, and we'll come back with options and a quote. You'll deal directly with Gerard or John.