Calgary, Canada (December 8, 2021)—Masks are a fact of life these days, but usually they’re on people. In the case of Brookfield Place, Calgary’s tallest building, there’s a lot of masking of a different sort going on…as 40 of its 56 floors have been outfitted with advanced sound masking technology. Vibra-Sonic Control custom-designed, engineered, and calibrated speech privacy solutions for the new offices, boardrooms and meeting spaces of five vastly different clients using 4,000 sound masking speakers and 160 sound masking controllers from AtlasIED.
Although each customer’s business differed—from banking to oil production—they all required the same level of sound masking for speech confidentiality and acoustical comfort. “AtlasIED’s M1000 sound masking speakers paired with ASP-MG2240 amplified sound masking controllers were the obvious choice,” says Vibra-Sonic regional manager Paul Kamoh.
After analyzing the infrastructure, acoustical characteristics, and sound masking needs of each office space, Vibra-Sonic created a blueprint indicating speaker and controller locations to ensure optimal performance. The plan rolled out as Brookfield Place was under construction, allowing the electrical contractors at Western Electric to tuck the equipment above the ceiling for a clean, unobtrusive installation.
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“Speech privacy and employee productivity may be the main reasons to implement sound masking; attractive aesthetics help seal the deal,” Kamoh says. “It’s important for productivity and comfort that employees aren’t distracted by speakers and that the noise generated by the system becomes a natural part of the environment.”
Construction of the four-year-old Brookfield Place is ongoing, with new tenants routinely added to the building. So far, Vibra-Sonic has equipped most tenants with AtlasIED’s square, black, plenum-rated M1000 speakers for a hidden sound masking solution, adding an occasional black and white, round M1000 speaker in spaces with open ceilings.
Kamoh notes, “Brookfield uses sound masking as a selling feature of the property—a value-added amenity akin to the building’s LEED Gold Standard rating and spectacular architecture. Sound masking systems are built into each tenant’s lease, and if anyone needs convincing, Brookfield uses its own office on Floor 12 to demonstrate to prospective clients its acoustical benefits.”
