Why are room acoustic solutions becoming increasingly important for consumers? And why do room acoustics tend to be better in educational institutions than in the restaurant industry? We interviewed Markus Bürgi, CEO of Akustik & Raum AG, who provided us with answers to these questions and also explained the benefits of working with his innovative Olten-based company.
Mr Bürgi, how important are room acoustics in your day-to-day life?
Markus Bürgi: Extremely important! I put my heart and soul into what I do and so, for me, every room serves as a reference point. When I go into a new room, I automatically start thinking about the room acoustics, and, if there’s anything that can be improved, I’ll notice immediately.
Was there a light-bulb moment for you where you realised the influence that optimal room acoustics can have on our well-being?
There was no single moment. My passion for room acoustics developed steadily. As a carpenter by trade, I was introduced to room acoustic solutions early on. The longer I spent working on acoustics, reverberation time and sound velocity, the more I became aware of the importance of these topics. And I’m still always thrilled when we receive positive reviews from customers who are happy with the acoustic solutions we’ve put in place.
In your opinion, has the importance of room acoustics changed over the last few years?
Since Akustik & Raum AG was founded in 2004, Switzerland has seen a lot of progress in this area. At the start, there were lots of architectural firms which were «only» interested in the design of their projects rather than how the space functioned. I've noticed a real change in this regard. Increasingly, architects now seem to be considering room acoustics when planning their projects.
As an international company, Akustik & Raum AG works on implementing a wide variety of room acoustic solutions. Are there differences between the various industries?
What’s interesting is that room acoustics play a much more important role in educational institutions than in other industries. The reason is obvious. It’s easier to achieve learning goals if the environment, including the acoustic environment, is right. In contrast, noise levels in the restaurant industry are still very high. Room acoustic solutions could help provide a much more comfortable atmosphere in restaurants, allowing guests to enjoy not only the food but the ambiance too.
Let’s stay with the restaurant industry. What services would restaurant owners benefit from if they contacted Akustik & Raum AG?
We offer our customers an exceptional service. Our strengths lie not only in selling acoustics products but in developing and manufacturing these within our own production facility. This means our employees have extensive know-how. Our advisers are able to address detailed architectural, acoustic and carpentry needs and have the skills to seamlessly integrate acoustic solutions within complex projects. Our experts know exactly what solutions are needed in order to achieve perfect room acoustics.
Can individual consumers benefit from room acoustic solutions too?
Absolutely. Although the majority of projects are worked on directly with architects and planners, individual consumers can also take action to improve the acoustics within their own four walls. Today’s construction methods with large room units, hard materials and a great amount of glass mean that room acoustic solutions are particularly important.
What innovative ideas can we expect to see at Akustik & Raum in the future?
We’ve achieved a lot but we're not stopping here. Constantly monitoring the market and developing new innovations are among our key principles. This is why we're continuing to develop our fire-protection solution FeinMikro Secure. We successfully launched this product last year and it has now been certified as «non-combustible» under EN standards. We're hoping various covering layers will allow the product to be certified as «flame retardant» which will open up new doors both in Switzerland and Europe.
Background
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