As many organizations bring employees back (or partially back) to offices, they face a paradox: in some cases, real estate footprints have been downsized or consolidated during the remote-work era, leaving fewer square feet to serve hybrid teams. At the same time, hybrid work means more ad hoc interaction, video calls, and switching between focused and collaborative modes.
The solution is not simply “go back to how it was,” but to repurpose existing underperforming spaces, enabling more flexibility, more experiences, and more acoustic control. The Steelcase “Reinventing Five Essential Spaces: Before + After” framework is a powerful guide for this shift.
EzoBord’s acoustic wall and ceiling treatments, screens, and divider systems are especially well positioned to support this transformation, whether converting an underutilized boardroom into micro-zones, reinforcing open benching with acoustic privacy, or creating quieter “video zones” within open landscapes.
Repurposing space and layering in acoustic solutions can help companies reconfigure their offices for the hybrid, video-enabled future.
Let’s firstly examine the Steelcase framework.
Steelcase designers examined five types of underperforming spaces and recast them to support flexibility, community, and spatial equity. Below is a summary of their approach and the opportunity for acoustic surfaces in each:
| Space | The Problem (Before) | Reimagined (After) | Role of Acoustics/Surface Treatments |
| Conference/ Large Boardroom | Big, formal rooms that sit idle much of the day | Break into multiple zones: huddle rooms, asset-sharing enclaves, creative spaces, debrief corners | Acoustic partitioning, sound-absorptive wall treatments, modular screens to subdivide without heavy construction |
| Open Bench (Overexposed Bench) | Rows of desks with poor acoustic shielding, visual distraction, many people taking video calls | Add shielded zones, acoustic boundaries, directional orientation, nearby privacy rooms | Desk-mounted acoustic panels, overhead absorbing baffles, divider walls behind monitors, “soft” materials to absorb ambient noise |
| Lounge / Social / Informal Spaces | Beautiful but underutilized that lack focus, power, and privacy | Add performance elements: power, screens, privacy, upright posture options | Sound-absorbing lounge walls, acoustic ceiling clouds, free-standing absorber screens to reduce bleed between adjacent seating areas |
| Meeting Rooms (Inflexible Rooms) | Fixed furniture, static layout, poor engagement for hybrid participants | Equip rooms with modular, mobile furniture, writable surfaces, digital integration | Acoustic wall panels, interior acoustic ceilings, modular partitions (e.g. sliding panels) to adjust room size and acoustics dynamically |
| Team / Neighborhood Zones | Monotonous arrangements of desks, limited diversity of settings | Mix open, enclosed, shielded spaces; offer multiple work modalities (quiet, collaboration, social) | Use acoustic treatments in ceiling, walls, dividing screens to define zones and reduce crosstalk; ensure that transitions between modes don’t degrade acoustic privacy |
Steelcase encourages us to view each underused zone as latent real estate that can be repurposed into a more human-centric, flexible network of micro-experiences. Acoustic surfaces are one of the key enablers that make these transformations viable without massive buildouts.
Below are example use cases and how EzoBord can be integrated into a repurposing strategy:
1. Subdividing the Big Boardroom Without Drywall
Scenario: You have a large conference/boardroom that is rarely fully booked.
Approach: Transform it into 2–4 adjacent “neighborhoods” – a small huddle room, a teaming zone, a breakout enclave – with partial separators rather than full walls.
Acoustic role:
2. Containing Noise in Open Bench Environments
Scenario: Teams work in open benching, but many are taking video calls at their desks, causing transference of speech noise across the room. Steelcase notes that up to 50% of video calls occur at one’s desk, increasing distraction for nearby colleagues.
Approach:
3. Hybrid Video Zones & Focus Pods
Scenario: In partially open areas, you want designated zones where people can take video calls without disturbing neighbors.
Approach:
4. Acoustic Enhancement in Social / Lounge Settings
Scenario: A lounge area meant for informal gatherings sits quiet and underutilized because sound carries and conversations conflict with adjacent work areas.
Approach:
5. Flexible Meeting Rooms for Mixed Presence
Scenario: Teams often switch between collaborative whiteboarding and remote hybrid sessions in the same meeting.
Approach:
To ensure that repurposing plus acoustic layering actually delivers what a hybrid office needs, consider these guidelines:
Before retrofitting, collect data (room bookings, sensor bookings, heat maps) to identify true underutilized zones. Steelcase’s design approach is grounded in real behavior, not theory.
Video-call zones, bench perimeters, and meeting room boundaries are “pain points” worth tackling first.
People crave both connection and privacy. Steelcase emphasizes designers should think of more enclosed “me” zones and open “we” zones.
Acoustic systems (like EzoBord) should be easy to move or redeploy as team sizes and layouts evolve. Avoid permanent build walls when possible.
Use walls, ceilings, dividers, and screens in concert, not just one surface type, to fully control reflections and bleed.
Acoustic surfaces should not feel stifling. Use partial transparency, perforations, or carefully graded heights to maintain sense of openness.
No matter how good the acoustic performance, if people don’t like the look, or if the layout doesn’t support workflows, the space will be underutilized.
When repurposing space for hybrid work, companies need flexible, modular, and effective acoustic tools. EzoBord offers a range of solutions designed to support exactly this kind of transformation:
Together, these and other EzoBord solutions give organizations the flexibility to reconfigure spaces, improve privacy, and support both collaboration and focus as teams transition back to the office.
The return-to-office movement is not about reversion; it’s an opportunity. Rather than walking back to rigid layouts, organizations can recast their space: reclaim underused rooms, subdivide oversized areas, and intersperse acoustic zones where needed. Steelcase’s “Reinventing Five Essential Spaces” provides a research-backed blueprint for how to do this thoughtfully.
EzoBord’s acoustic solutions (walls, dividers, baffles, screens) are natural partners in this shift. By layering acoustic control into a reimagined spatial layout, companies can support hybrid work, elevate meeting equity, and foster both connection and focus, all without expanding their real estate footprint.
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