The Effects of the Hanging Absorber Ceiling Shapes on the Acoustics Condition in an Open Plan Office

The open plan office provides efficiency in energy consumption, spaces, and flexibility in communication between staff. However, it causes a higher disruption for the work environment, both for visual and audial. The application of sound absorber has become the main part to achieve a better acoustics condition. In a large room, applying ceiling absorber has its own advantages because it is near to the whole room area especially workstations. While the walls are quite a distance from the middle area or the walls are façade glasses, thus it is not possible to put absorber on it. This paper discusses the effects of absorber ceiling shapes on the room acoustics. This research is simulated with CATT-Acoustic v9 and refers to ISO 3382-3:2012. There are 3 shapes simulated: flat, zig-zag, and folded panel. The absorbers are hanged on the main ceiling with the same coverage amount. The results show that the different absorber's shapes have a minor impact on the reverberation time and distraction distance. However, each shape has an impact on the sound pressure level distribution. Zig-zag and folded shape give an improvement in reducing the sound propagation between the workstation groups.