Open-concept floor plans have definitely hit it big in recent years. Homes and businesses are saying no to walls and yes to open-concept. If you’re a builder or architect in the Manhattan, NY area, you’ve likely already adjusted your building plans to accommodate this trend, but have you put plenty of thought into the result?

The result of open-concept layouts is, simply put, noise. Without walls to muffle sound, the noise from electronics, footsteps and most importantly, speech, are all amplified within the space.

So what can builders and architects do to deliver home and office building designs that your customers will love for years to come? Incorporate acoustics into construction (in this case, sound masking in particular).