Acoustic and Illumination Design of Conference Rooms

The conference room is one of the most important venues for corporations, governments, and schools. The conference room is the place where, among other things, designs are presented and sold, contracts are negotiated and signed, and executives hold meetings and develop corporate policy. While a properly designed conference room is rarely noticed, a poorly designed conference room is always noticed. Whether communication is truly hindered or occupants are merely distracted, a poorly designed conference room will have a negative impact on the business taking place in the room. Since the main form of communication in nearly all conference rooms is aural, the acoustic design of conference rooms is paramount and should not be considered less important than the overall aesthetic concept of the architect. Since the second most important form of communication comes in the form of visuals, proper illumination design is also important. The acoustic goals can usually be met by ensuring that the background noise level is below 38 dBA, the 1 kHz reverberation time is under 0.5 seconds and that reverberation times in other bands are controlled, that flutter echoes are avoided, and that the composite STC of the walls is at least 50. The lighting goals can usually be met by ensuring that the horizontal illuminance on the table is 60–100 fc, the vertical illuminance on the walls is 45–60 fc, the ratio of horizontal to vertical illuminance at the occupant position is about 1.6, and the maximum luminance is under 250 fL. In addition, all lighting systems should have dimming controls.