New research from Oscar Acoustics reveals why acoustic performance is often considered too late and how earlier intervention can improve building design and occupant wellbeing.
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SonaSpray K-13 acoustic ceiling spray in Hilson Moran’s Sownd Certified ‘Living Lab’. Credit to Gensler (photo: Ben Tynegate)
New research from Oscar Acoustics, based on a survey of 250 UK architects, shows that acoustic design is still being considered too late to influence key architectural decisions.
Architects clearly recognise the importance of acoustics. 69% of those surveyed rated acoustics as important or extremely important. Ask when acoustics actually enters a project, and the picture changes. Only 14% consider it at RIBA Stages 0-2. Two-thirds say acoustic design does not become a formal consideration until Stage 4 or later, and fewer than 1% look at it at Stage 0.
By Stage 4, the layout is largely fixed, materials have been selected and budgets are under pressure. The opportunity to design for acoustic performance has narrowed; the task becomes fitting acoustics around decisions that have already been made.
SonaSpray Eco+ in Sownd Certified Downstairs at dMFK (photo: Ed Reeve).
A design problem, not a lack of awareness
Oscar Acoustics’ research points to structural causes, not a lack of skill or care. Regulation is the single biggest trigger, cited by 51% of architects, suggesting that acoustics is often brought into the process in response to compliance rather than as part of early design thinking.
On design-and-build projects, a specification that sits apart from the design is an easy target for value engineering. In a parallel survey of 500 construction professionals, only 24% said acoustics is first raised at concept stage, despite ranking it above visual design, lighting and air quality.
SonaSpray Eco+ acoustic ceiling spray in Sownd Certified Downstairs at dMFK (photo: Ed Reeve).
How to embed acoustics earlier
Oscar Acoustics’ guide, Acoustic Comfort by Design, sets out four practical steps architects can take earlier in the design process.
1. Put acoustic performance in the brief
Define what the building needs to achieve for its users, alongside other core design requirements.
2. Get the layout right before choosing finishes
Consider adjacencies, quiet and active zones, circulation and privacy before turning to acoustic treatment.
3. Make acoustic intent visible at concept stage
An acoustic sensory overlay can show how different spaces are intended to sound while the plan can still change.
4. Make acoustic performance part of the visual design
When acoustic treatment contributes to the architectural language, performance and appearance can be resolved together rather than traded off later. Together, these moves bring acoustic performance into the project while there is still time to influence the design.
Oscar Elite acoustic plaster in Ottolenghi’s ROVI restaurant (photo: Adam Luszniak).
Designing for the 60%
Around 60% of UK adults are considered noise-sensitive, yet 55% of architects surveyed had no clear awareness of that figure. People rarely blame the acoustics. They just know they are tired, distracted or struggling to concentrate. The consequences of acoustic decisions are ultimately experienced by the people using the building.
Audio-inclusive design can support people with specific sensory needs while making spaces easier for everyone to hear, concentrate and communicate in. It belongs alongside the wider principles of inclusive design, including PAS 6463:2022 and the RIBA Inclusive Design Overlay.
SonaSpray white and light grey in Oscar Acoustics’ HQ and product showroom – The Oscar Innovation Centre. Tours available (photo: Antonia Stuart).
From intention to evidence
Turning intention into something measurable is where Sownd Certification comes in. Launched by Sownd Affects, it is the world’s first independent framework for audio-inclusive spaces, tested by the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research at the University of Southampton against BS 8233, BB93 and PAS 6463. It is designed for Stages 1 and 2, though completed projects can achieve it too. Bronze can be written into specifications; Silver and Gold are tenant-side commitments. For architects, it turns acoustics from an intention buried in the brief into something that can be specified, tested and evidenced.
SonaSpray K-13 acoustic ceiling spray in Henrietta House offices. Morey Smith, CBRE Offices London (photo: Hufton+Crow).
Design it earlier
Architects already know acoustics matters; the data shows a timing problem, not a conviction problem. By Stage 4, there is less to design and more to mitigate. Giving acoustics a line in the Stage 1 brief changes what follows. Good acoustic design should not be something added to architecture. It should be one of the things architecture is designed around.
Download the guide
Download Acoustic Comfort by Design: A practical guide for architects and specifiers, including the full survey findings, the contractor perspective and the four layers that make up good acoustic design.
Contact Details
To find out more about Sownd Certification, call 01474 854902, email, or visit the Oscar Acoustics website.
