0 The Role of Acoustics in Commercial Design

Meter to meaure acoustics of office space

Credit: Boston Globe

The average rentable square feet occupied per person has dropped as more companies offer an open work environments with break out rooms for meetings an personal calls.  This has resulted in a new market for sound engineers trying to create the delicate balance of sound mitigation.  Too many hard surfaces wont absorb sound so the engineers use technology to assist with this.

This is where a company like Acentech Inc. can help. A Cambridge acoustics consulting firm that was once part of the famed tech pioneer BBN Technologies, Acentech uses sophisticated computer-generated audio simulations called “auralizations” that make it possible to hear a building before workers ever break ground.

“Auralization is acoustic rendering,” said Matthew Azevedo, an Acentech engineer. “An architect would never tell a developer ‘Here’s the floor plan, just imagine what it’s going to look like.’ Well, we feel the same about acoustics.”

“Architects love these big, open spaces with lots of glass and exposed steel and all these wonderful hard surfaces,” Azevedo said. “Our job is to make it behave acoustically like a theater.”

You can read more about Acentech and acoustic engineering in Boston office development on the Boston Globe.

0 N2 Corridor Courting New England Israeli Business Council

office space outside of Boston at N2 Corridor

Credit: Boston Magazine

The town of Newton recently opened its doors to welcome the New England Israeli Business Council along with Governor Patrick, who had brought the council here to Newton.

Governor Patrick, along with the Israel Business Council and many members of the Newton business community attended an invite-only event to share what Boston’s Suburban innovation district, the N2 corridor, has to offer. With large companies such as CyberArck who have rooted their corporate offices in the heart of the N2 corridor in Newton, trust this move to be both critical and beneficial for their corporations.

The Newton/Needham area boasts convenience, lifestyle and most importantly, talent.

David Goodtree, a co-host of the event last week who represented the New England Israel Business Council, stated in Boston Magazine “businesses also want to be close to other talents, whether it’s engineers or sales people, or even other executives. They need more office space, and more affordable office space…that’s where the appeal of the N2 Corridor space comes in”, Goodtree argued. “It’s a prime destination for growth stage companies”.

Additional information on the N2 Corridor is available on the Boston Magazine.

0 Needham’s Real Estate Market Slowing

sign for the town of Needham MA

Credit: Pinterest

There is a growing concern amongst residential realtors that the real estate market in Needham is slowing down. Will this have a direct impact on office space throughout Needham and slow the growth for commercial real estate development in the area?

Wicked Local pointed to three key indicators of this trend:

The first clue is that days on market fell from an average of 59 days in February to a mere 24 days in April. But so far in May that number has crept up to 39.  Houses appear to be sitting a bit longer.

The second clue is that the number of houses that have gone under agreement fell from 38 in March to 32 in April.  So far this month the number is 13. Though we are only halfway through the month, even if you double that figure to 26, it still shows a downward trend.
Continue reading