11/05/2026
The question organizations used to ask about acoustics was "what product should we install?"
The question they are asking now is "how will this space actually perform?"
That shift is showing up in the data. Search interest in acoustic design has grown sharply over the past several years, and the numbers behind it reflect a problem that has been accumulating across workplaces, schools, and public environments for a long time.
112 million people across Europe are exposed to unhealthy environmental noise levels. In workplaces specifically, 55% of people working from home report negative impacts from noise, 45% identify co-workers on calls as a primary distraction, and 41% are affected by conversations in adjacent spaces. For neurodiverse employees, including those with ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and autism, the impact is more pronounced still, with rates of workplace noise disruption reported between 62% and 71% across conditions.
These are not comfort complaints. They are performance and retention issues.
ISO 22955, the international framework for acoustic quality in open-plan offices, is gaining traction for exactly this reason. It gives designers and facility teams a structured methodology for defining, targeting, and verifying acoustic performance rather than specifying products and hoping the result works.
The organizations getting ahead of this are the ones treating acoustic performance the same way they treat thermal comfort or air quality: as a measurable, manageable condition with defined targets and accountability.
That is the conversation Memtech is built for.
What does acoustic performance look like in the spaces you are currently designing or managing?
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Source: Acoustic Design by Pascal van Dort