A quiet spot in the office? An acoustic call box offers a solution
Open-plan offices bring many benefits. Colleagues find it easier to collaborate, discussions arise spontaneously and spaces can be arranged flexibly.
But there is also a downside. A phone call at your desk. An online meeting. A colleague trying to concentrate whilst discussions are taking place around them. These are familiar situations that cause disruption in many offices.
More and more organisations are therefore looking for ways to restore silence to the workplace. Not by putting up walls, but by introducing smart, flexible solutions. An acoustic phone booth is a good example of this.
Why silence is more important than ever
Since hybrid working has become the norm, the way we use offices has changed.
Staff are coming into the office more often to collaborate, hold meetings and socialise. At the same time, dozens of online meetings take place during a single working day.
This calls for a different layout.
An office must provide space for both collaboration and concentration. For meetings and for privacy.
It is precisely this balance that proves difficult to achieve in practice.
Noise pollution is one of the biggest annoyances in the office
Studies have shown for years that noise is one of the main causes of loss of concentration in the office.
A colleague on the phone doesn’t even need to speak loudly to distract others. Video meetings, spontaneous conversations or a busy walkway can also cause staff to lose their focus.
That doesn’t mean an open-plan office doesn’t work.
It does mean, however, that employees need places where they can retreat for a moment.
When is an acoustic call box a smart solution?
Not every office has space for extra meeting rooms.
An acoustic phone booth offers a solution in such cases.
You create an enclosed space without the need for major refurbishment. Ideal for:
- telephone calls;
- online meetings;
- video calls;
- concentrated work;
- confidential conversations.
Once finished, the employee simply steps back out onto the open-plan office.
More privacy without partitioning off the office
A call box is much more than just a place to make a quick call. In practice, we see organisations using them for all sorts of tasks where peace and quiet are important. Think of an HR interview, a job interview via Teams or an online presentation where background noise is a distraction.
This preserves the open feel of the office, whilst still giving staff a place where they can retreat for a moment.
Renting offers flexibility
Not every organisation knows straight away how many call boxes they’ll need. Perhaps an office is undergoing temporary refurbishment. Or a team is growing faster than expected. That’s precisely when renting becomes an attractive option. You can easily scale up or down as the situation changes, without having to invest straight away in a permanent solution.
Our acoustic call boxes
We see this in practice too
At Alvero, we’ve noticed that organisations are increasingly looking for flexible ways to adapt their offices.
Sometimes, just one extra quiet space is enough to make the working day more pleasant. In other situations, several phone booths are used, for example during refurbishment or when setting up a temporary office. Because every organisation works differently, we always look at the layout as a whole. What challenges do staff face? Which spaces are used frequently? And where exactly is there a need for more quiet?
Based on these questions, we advise on a solution that suits the way the organisation works.
Which solution is right for your office?
Not every organisation has the same need for a quiet workspace. That’s why we always look at how the space is used and how many people use it at the same time.
For one to four people, we often recommend a Silen chatbox. These compact acoustic units are ideal for phone calls, video calls, online meetings or focused work. They take up relatively little space and are easy to integrate into an existing office layout.
Do you need a larger space for four or more people? In that case, a Zipperwall is often a better solution. With this modular wall system, you can quickly create a private meeting room, project room or quiet workspace without the need for permanent alterations. This keeps the office layout flexible and allows the space to be easily adapted as the organisation changes.
Which solution is best suited depends on the available space, the number of users and the way you work. That’s why we’re happy to help you design a layout that suits your situation.
Frequently asked questions
- What is an acoustic phone booth?
An acoustic phone booth is an enclosed space where staff can make phone calls, video calls or work in concentration without disturbing others. - When is a call booth better than a meeting room?
For short phone calls or online meetings, a call booth is often more practical. Meeting rooms remain available for discussions with several colleagues. - Can I rent a call booth on a temporary basis?
Yes. At Alvero, you can rent an acoustic call booth for a period that suits your situation, for example during refurbishment, a project or a temporary expansion. - Is a call booth suitable for video meetings?
Yes. Call booths are frequently used specifically for Teams, Zoom or Google Meet calls. - How many phone booths does an office need?
That depends on the number of staff, the office layout and the way of working. We’d be happy to advise you on this.
Want to know more about acoustic call cells?
We'll take care of it! Riliënka is happy to help you out. Schedule a demo or ask all your questions without obligation.
