Acoustic screens, partitions and room dividers

Yes, but only the direct sound path. A screen that absorbs on both faces shields the speech transfer between neighbouring workstations and reduces distraction. It does not replace ceiling absorption, though: in a reverberant room reflections travel over the screen. The most effective approach is a damped ceiling combined with well-placed screens.

The screen must break the line of sight between the heads of seated people, often from about 1.5 m of total height for people sitting opposite each other. A desk-mounted screen needs roughly 0.4 to 0.6 m above the desk edge. Place the screen as close to the sound source as possible, directly between the workstations, not in the middle of the room.

Acoustic screens are usually built to absorb on both faces, so they soak up sound from both neighbouring desks instead of reflecting it. The stated αw refers to the absorber surface. Pure visual dividers or screens faced only on one side perform worse, so it pays to check the construction and the measured value.

No. Screens damp the direct sound path between desks, not the sound reflected via ceiling and walls. Without a damped ceiling the room stays reverberant and the gain at the neighbouring desk is small. Treat the ceiling and large wall areas with broadband absorbers first, then use screens to shield speech transfer specifically.

Yes. Freestanding floor screens separate whole zones, mobile versions on castors can be repositioned at short notice, and desk-mounted screens damp speech right at the workstation. Choose the type by use: fixed zoning, flexible layout or bench desk. In the search you can filter for freestanding partitions and compare them by αw.

It depends on the building. In ordinary offices fire safety is rarely mandatory, but it is required in escape routes and certain public buildings. The decisive figure is the fire class (from non-combustible to easily flammable). You can filter by minimum fire class in the search.