5 Ways High-Performance Plastics are Redefining Manufacturing

Acoustock creates quieter, more productive workplaces by combining acoustic performance with contemporary office design.

Open-plan offices are acoustically one of the most challenging environments in commercial property. Not because the acoustic problem is complicated — it isn’t — but because every design decision that makes the space look good tends to make the acoustics worse.

Hard floors. Exposed ceilings. Glass partitions. Polished concrete. These are the defining aesthetic choices of the modern commercial office. They are also, collectively, the reason that conversations carry across the room, that call quality is poor, and that concentration is broken by ambient noise throughout the working day.

The Productivity Case for Acoustic Treatment

The connection between acoustic environment and workplace productivity is well established. Excess reverberation — sound bouncing between hard surfaces — reduces speech intelligibility, increases cognitive load and directly affects the ability to concentrate on focused work.

Studies consistently show that noise is the single most cited workplace distraction. Not temperature. Not lighting. Not desk ergonomics. Noise. And in open-plan offices, a significant proportion of that noise is reflected, amplified and distributed by the surfaces of the space itself.

Acoustic treatment doesn’t eliminate noise. It controls reverberation — the component of noise that the room itself is responsible for. Get that right and the acoustic environment becomes markedly more comfortable, even at the same source noise level.

Acoustic treatment reduces reverberation, improving speech clarity and creating a more comfortable working environment

What NRC 0.80 Means in an Office Context

Acoustock 9mm achieves NRC 0.80 — meaning 80% of sound energy in the speech-critical frequency range (250–2000 Hz) is absorbed by the panel rather than reflected back into the space. At 500 Hz — the core of the human voice range — the absorption coefficient reaches 1.00, meaning effectively complete absorption.

In practical terms: Acoustock panels applied to the primary reflective surfaces of an open-plan office — walls, ceiling soffits, acoustic baffles — will meaningfully reduce reverberation time and improve speech privacy. Coverage area matters: the more surface area treated, the greater the effect.

For offices being designed to WELL Building Standard acoustic performance criteria or undergoing a fit-out requiring an acoustic consultant’s sign-off, NRC 0.80 provides a strong starting point for calculations.

Acoustic Treatment as Brand Expression

Acoustock's extensive colour range allows acoustic treatment to reinforce workplace branding, zoning and interior design

One of the underused opportunities in office acoustic specification is colour. Acoustock’s 53-colour stock range means that acoustic panels don’t have to be grey or neutral — they can be brand-aligned, zonal, directional.

Corporate brand colours used as acoustic wall features. Wayfinding identifiers in different colours for different departments. Feature walls in meeting rooms that double as acoustic treatment. All of this is achievable, in stock, available for next-day despatch.

For workplace designers and interior architects, this opens up a design language for acoustic treatment that goes beyond “grey panel on a wall” and becomes part of the considered interior scheme.

Where to Install Acoustic Panels in an Office

Ceiling baffles and acoustic rafts — treating the ceiling plane is typically the highest-return intervention in an open-plan office. Acoustock at 1.9 kg/m² is well within the load range of standard suspension hardware.
Main wall returns — the walls running perpendicular to the primary work area. These generate the most significant early reflections in a typical open-plan layout.
Meeting room walls — where speech privacy and controlled reverberation are critical for both call quality and confidentiality.
Breakout and collaboration spaces — where harder acoustic conditions reduce the usability of the space at higher occupancy.
Reception and lobby areas — where first impressions and acoustic comfort are both relevant.

Acoustock panels can be installed by site operatives using standard contact adhesive (permanent wall applications), mechanical fixings, framed systems or suspension hardware for ceiling baffles. Cut-to-size panels are available from Plastock via digital cutting table, typically within two weeks of final design sign-off — arriving on site ready to install.

Fire Rating and Specification

Acoustock is rated B-s1,d0 to EN 13501-1:2018 — meeting the requirements of most commercial office fit-out specifications. Environmental credentials include 50%+ recycled PET content, E0 formaldehyde classification (Not Detected) and zero carbon/waste manufacturing. ISO 9001:2015 registered supply chain. Full technical data sheet available on request.

Order, Sample, or Get a Quote

All 53 Acoustock colours are available to order now, individual samples are available at a modest charge. The full 53-colour sample box is available for contractors presenting options to clients.

For more details on all things Acoustock dive into our Acoustock PET Acoustic Felt Complete Buyer's, Specifier's and Installer's Guide.

For commercial volume pricing, material datasheets, and direct technical advice,
contact our procurement support team directly.