Plants: The Ultimate Soundscape Solution
Soundscape Your Workplace, with Plants
Our tricks-of-the-trade, for a quieter, healthier workspace.
Workplace noise is a hot topic, and rightly so. Office sounds disorientate workers, causing a 66% drop in performance.[1] Even more dismaying is the report that 53% of employees overhear confidential conversations in their workplace. [2] With this challenge comes uninspiring design choices–like carpet tiles and acoustic panels–to reduce sounds echoing throughout interior spaces. Although well-intended, these remedies attract dust and produce unhealthy off-gassing chemicals.
“...53% of employees overhear confidential conversations in their workplace.”
Here’s the good news: There is a way to mitigate office noise while promoting workplace wellness: Indoor plants. Studies have shown that soundscaping with plants increases employee concentration, productivity, and creativity. [3]
Wondering how to soundscape your office with plants? Below is our tricks-of-the-trade, for a quieter, healthier workspace:
Plant Position: Strategic plant arrangement affects sound reduction. Group plants of assorted heights together in busy corridors, meeting rooms, and teamwork areas—anywhere collaboration naturally happens. A row of rectangle planters on countertops or short walls between two adjacent spaces diffuses the din of office equipment and phone calls. Design Trick: Create a partition using a line of floor containers with tall plants to muffle foot traffic and voices that readily carry in open-concept designs.
Plant Type: Different plants offer varying levels of noise absorption. A large-leafed aglaonema will soften echoes from hard surfaces, while the flexible foliage of a dracaena helps break up the sound waves. Other excellent choices are the fiddle leaf fig and bird of paradise, with their slightly cupped leaves which inherently absorb noise. Design Trick: Layering a variety of plants adds visual interest as well as improved acoustics.
Plant Size: The fact is larger plants offer more foliage, which goes further to soften the office clatter. Plus, bigger plants require more soil, another excellent sound absorber. Design trick: Choose containers made from fiberglass-blends, which provide sound insulation and have the added benefit of being more durable.
“...soundscaping with plants increases employee concentration, productivity, and creativity. ”
Plant Possibilities: If square footage on floors or counters is scarce, think vertically. Living Walls filled with an assortment of foliage are the ideal sound absorbing solution, while Moss Walls cushion noise in low-light areas. You can customize these space-savers for existing interior walls, without interrupting the workspace layout. Design Trick: Portable Living Walls and Moss Walls are versatile sound barriers, bringing privacy and noise reduction wherever needed.
By implementing these soundscaping plant strategies, you will create a visually appealing—and acoustically optimized—work environment for your employees.
Written by: Terri Bonstrom, biome horticulturist
1 "Stress and Open Office Noise" Journal of Applied Psychology; 2 “Sound: Its Effect on Employee Privacy, Productivity, and Health” OEC Works; 3 “The Economics of Biophilia” Green Plants for Green Buildings
