Room Within a Room: Acoustic Spaces That Adapt to Contemporary Needs

"In offices, cubicles and compartmentalized rooms have given way to open, collaborative layouts. In schools and universities, traditional classrooms with rigid layouts, blackboards, and rows of desks have been replaced by more dynamic, flexible, and interactive spaces. In both contexts, the goal was to encourage integration, creativity, and constant exchange. But this openness has also introduced new challenges: increased distractions, sensory overload, and the difficulty of finding moments of focus or introspection."

"This question resonates deeply with the Japanese concept of ma: the space between things, the silence between notes, the pause that gives rhythm to speech. In architectural terms, ma represents the interval as an active element that organizes and qualifies the environment. In interior projects, this idea can manifest in the creation of microenvironments that provide transitions, acoustic shelter, and diversity of uses."

Work and learning environments have shifted from compartmentalized rooms and rigid classrooms to open, collaborative, flexible spaces that encourage integration and creativity. Openness increases distractions, sensory overload, and difficulty finding focus or introspection. Removing barriers for fluidity and collaboration makes moments of quiet, intimacy, and sensory balance essential for self-regulation. The Japanese concept of ma emphasizes intervals and pauses as active elements that organize environments. In interiors, ma can be realized through microenvironments offering transitions, acoustic shelter, and varied uses. DAMPA Space is a modular, wall-mounted system that unfolds into niches, workstations, exhibition areas, or zones for introspection, supporting both connection and withdrawal.

Read at ArchDaily