Quick answer: Glass reflects almost all sound, so glass-walled meeting rooms ring and sound hollow on calls. You don't need to cover the glass: put acoustic panels on the solid walls and add a ceiling cloud or ceiling panels above the table. If the room also leaks sound to the office, seal the door and the gap above the glass, which is a separate soundproofing job.

Key takeaways

  • Leave the glass clear; treat the solid walls and the ceiling instead.
  • A ceiling cloud above the table is often the biggest single fix.
  • Leaking sound (not echo) needs door seals and a sealed ceiling void.

Why do glass meeting rooms echo so much?

Glass is hard and smooth, so it reflects sound almost completely. Most glass rooms also have a hard ceiling and a hard floor, and two glass walls facing each other create a strong flutter echo (a fast, ringing echo between two bare walls). The room sounds fine when you walk in alone, then becomes hard to talk in with four people on a call.

Can you put acoustic panels on glass?

Sometimes, but it's rarely the best option: mounting on glass raises landlord and maintenance concerns, and it blocks the light and openness the glass was there for. Treating the solid walls and ceiling around it is usually cleaner. Those surfaces take panels well and still cut the ring. More detail: can acoustic panels be installed on glass walls?.

Not sure what your room needs? Send us a photo on WhatsApp or request a free quote. We'll tell you how many panels, where they go and the price. See our office acoustic panels and recent projects.

Fix echo in a glass meeting room infographic

Where should panels go instead?

  1. The solid wall(s): often the wall behind the screen. Cover a good portion of it.
  2. The ceiling above the table: a cloud or ceiling panels. In glass rooms this is often the most effective spot.
  3. Frosting film or blinds: fabric blinds help a little; film doesn't soak up sound.

What if the room also leaks sound?

Panels will not fix that on their own. If people outside can hear the meeting, sound is getting out through the door gap or over the top of the glass into the ceiling void. Fix it with door seals, a drop-down seal and a partition built up to the slab. See meeting room sound leakage.

How many panels does a glass meeting room need?

Glass rooms usually need the higher end of the 20–40% coverage range, because so much of the room is reflective. A small glass room often needs 6–10 panels including a ceiling cloud. At S$185 per panel installed, that is about S$1,110–S$1,850. See how many panels a meeting room needs.

What we see on real jobs

In a glass huddle room, the glass is the problem but rarely the place for panels. At Capital Asia Investments in SBF Centre, we used wall and ceiling panels in three meeting rooms, which is the same approach: treat the solid walls and the ceiling.

Get a straight answer for your room

Send a photo of the meeting room or floor on WhatsApp (+65 8930 1905), with the rough size. We'll tell you how many panels, where they go and the price, and we can prepare documents for your building management.

WhatsApp us a photo · Request a free quote · See prices

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