Lower your voice due to better interiors

I sometimes search for restaurant reviews online. "Delicious food", I read and "Good service". Then I see something like "Just a shame about the bad acoustics". People don't like loud places with a lot of resonance. They associate this with canteens. The results is for them to start talking even louder. The question is about how to change that behaviour.

Also in hospitality the industrial style with bare walls and floors is popular. Such loud places create a lot of resonance time. If the duration of this resonance gets too long, people talk louder and louder to be understood.

Technical university Delft researched this. They noticed the following: If four people are sitting at one table, one person if often speaking and three people are listening. But if the sound absorption is inadequate, people start talking louder to be understood. The sound level reaches such heights groups split and people start talking one on one. Now there are twice as many sources of sound. In the meantime the decibels have doubled, having people talk even louder to make themselves comprehensible. The technical university calls this the Lombard effect, after the French researcher having publicated about this principle first in 1911. 

Wall panels and islands

No wonder restaurants and pubs are wondering how to improve this. To the acoustics of lunch spaces of offices is also being paid more attention. These spaces are increasingly being used during the day for informal conversations. Good acoustic are required.

Sometimes absorption foam is applied underneath the tables. But underneath the tables in general there is not that many sound being produced, you are talking across a table. Improvement can be achieved by the use of beautiful wall panels or an island covered in carpet above the table. Together with LEOXX I have developed these kinds of solutions before. Upholstered chair and curtains also add to this. In Brussels there still are authentic art nouveau pubs. The acoustics there are very pleasant due to the old, soft interior, the sound there is softer and more comfortable.

Psychological solution

The funny thing is, interior isn't just a technical, but also a psychological solution to acoustics. With a certain stage setting you get people to behave differently. In a diner with a hard floor, music and clattering cutlery people talk louder than they would in a restaurant with curtains and carpet. The environment affects your behaviour. In this way the interior architect can direct people's behaviour. That's the psychological effect of an interior. Good to think about.

Joke van Kerschaver - (interior) architect at Insuite. Together with LEOXX they developed the LEOXX Color Books, making collections easy to understand and apply. She also has a weblog about sustainability and design: greenyourhouse.nl.