Humans experience a space through each of their five senses. Take, for example, a visit to the beach. If you were to recollect that memory, you would not just think about the visuals but also about the feeling of sand and breeze against your skin, the taste of salt in the air, the smell of tangy humidity, and the sound of waves hitting the shore.
When we think of healthcare design, our minds might immediately focus on efficient layouts, soothing colour schemes or clean lines. But there’s one invisible factor that often gets overlooked in these spaces: sound. Hospitals and healthcare facilities are full of noise. And this noise isn’t inconsequential; it shapes the experience of patients, staff and visitors in profound ways.
There’s something inherently enjoyable about the crashing of waves on a beach, the rhythmic patter of raindrops on leaves, the gurgling of a gentle stream or the rush of a cascading waterfall. The sounds of water are some of the most popular and powerful sounds in the world. But why? And how can we use biophilic design to harness that power to improve people’s health indoors?
GSK’s newly refurbished Melbourne headquarters has not only met but exceeded its ambitious goals for health and wellbeing. It is now one of only a handful of offices in the city to achieve Platinum WELL Certification, the highest recognition awarded by the International WELL Building Institute.
Join us for the first ever Biophilic Design Conference run by the Journal of Biophilic Design at the Barbican London on 12th November 2024. Moodsonic is delighted to be an official partner, and will be soundscaping the conference to create a supportive, biophilic experience throughout the day.
Supporting cultural awareness in the workplace can take many forms, but one powerful approach is to create multi-sensory experiences that connect employees to the local culture. Going beyond visual design to include soundscapes, scents, local art, and tactile elements brings cultural nuances to life in a way that’s immersive and memorable.
Have you ever thought about your own "sonotype"? The way each of us responds to sound is unique, and our needs and reactions can change moment to moment depending on what we're doing. Here are just a few pointers to get you thinking about how sound shapes your own experiences and the experiences of the people around you – particularly in buildings like workplaces and hospitals. We've collated three influences and three questions to help you understand your own sonotype a little better.
In the evolving landscape of workplace design, sound plays a pivotal yet often overlooked role. Historically perceived as a negative element, our presentation aims to redefine sound as a positive, transformative force in work environments. Anchored in the innovative concept of 'Biophilic Soundscaping', we'll explore how strategic sound design can significantly enhance wellbeing and cognitive performance, leading to more engaging and welcoming spaces.
Picture the scene: The sun is shining on a tranquil beach. The waves are lapping against the shore. People are happy and relaxed. Now, in your mind, layer that image with the ominous soundtrack from the movie Jaws. The serene beach, suddenly juxtaposed with those unsettling notes: Daa-dun. Daa-dun. Daa-dun. Daa-dun…The memories and emotions associated with this sound only take a split second to flip our perceptions of this scene on its head.
The Biophilia Summit is Living Future Europe’s annual international conference dedicated to advancing the theory, practice and future of biophilia. Moodsonic's Evan Benway is delivering a speech as part of the summit's agenda: "Biophilic Soundscaping at Scale: From Research to Responsive Buildings". Now in its fourth edition, the Summit brings together researchers, designers, architects, developers, manufacturers, educators, artists, policymakers and innovators who share a common ambition: strengthening the relationship between people and nature to create healthier, more resilient and regenerative futures.
We’re excited to be a part of Design Week Calgary. As part of this year’s program, DIALOG is hosting an in-studio panel exploring sound as a design material and its impact on wellbeing, focus, productivity, and inclusion in the workplace.
At WORKTECH26 Sydney, Marcus Rose, CEO of Valeo Technology, explores how adaptive soundscaping and sensory technology are reshaping workplace experience. In his session, Marcus will examine how intelligent sound environments respond in real time to support focus, collaboration and wellbeing. Drawing on projects across APAC, the session looks at the neuroscience of sound and why auditory experience may be one of the most overlooked dimensions of workplace design. Take a look at the full conference agenda to read more about this session & the wider programme.
TED2026 is live in Vancouver this week – with talks, the debates, and a renowned concentration of new ideas. The Listening Room is a dedicated space for restoration and decompression, created for attendees who need to step away and reset.
Join thought leaders from HOK, Visa, EY, and Moodsonic at this Infocomm 2026 session. As organizations strive to create environments that support all employees, designing for sensory processing and neuroinclusion has become critical. Technology, when thoughtfully applied, can transform workplaces and public spaces into environments that empower neurodiverse individuals to thrive. But there are downsides as well that we need to be aware of and address.
Moodsonic is heading to ISE 2026 to unveil the next chapter in intelligent soundscaping — and it’s our biggest launch to date.Join us at Booth CS503 (Innovation Park, Level 0) to experience our new integrated soundscaping platform alongside the debut of Moodsonic Powered by Bluesound Professional hardware solutions.
At the beginning of human history, the built environment looked very different from how it does now. It consisted of caves, huts and temporary dwellings before more permanent structures began to be formed from materials like clay, mudbricks and stone.
Sensory sensitivity, activity, time of day, occupancy, noise level, visual design and more… How can offices support such wide array of people with so many variables at play? Evan Benway spoke with Jeff Frick about how soundscaping, science and AI can respond to the constantly changing demands of the workplace.
In 1984, Ulrich’s famous study found that patients whose windows faced a park recovered faster compared with those looked onto a brick wall. Since then, many thousands of pieces of research have demonstrated that nature can positively affect human health.
As architects and real estate professionals, your blueprint for an educational space can significantly impact learning, health, and overall wellbeing. This approach goes beyond mere aesthetics; it’s about understanding and designing for sound in spaces too. Let’s explore the potential for biophilic soundscaping in schools and universities.
I invite you to participate in a brief exercise. If nothing else, it will improve your mood. You are likely sitting indoors at a computer, but I want you to allow your imagination to transport you somewhere else, anywhere in the world. Imagine yourself in the place where you feel your optimal self. Envision a place of beauty, a place that makes you feel inspired, at peace, relaxed, fulfilled and full of a sense of wellbeing. What does it look like? What does it smell like? What does it sound like? Now, close your eyes and take a few moments to imagine yourself in this place.
We’ve all recently experienced a hype cycle. The Covid pandemic swept the world, sending us home to work from our bedrooms, spare rooms and kitchen tables. Although the experience of working from home was uneven, a consensus formed: working from home worked. Indeed, for many tasks, including cognitively demanding, focussed effort, the home appeared to work better. In the words of Tim Oldman, CEO of Leesman, whose survey captured over 280,000 responses from employees around the globe: “It doesn’t say much of the average office when a space designed for living can support an employee better than spaces designed specifically for working.” With offices closed and businesses still functioning, pundits and social media feeds thus reached the peak of the hype cycle: “The office is dead!”
Our love of nature, and its subsequent health benefits, is a scientifically established concept known as “biophilia”. Soundscaping systems can bring intelligent audio to the built environment to combat stress and boost feelings of wellness, safety, restoration, and motivation.
Soundscaping allows your building to operate fluidly and make best use of available space. Buildings have become increasingly multipurpose, flexible, and digitally aware. For example, global demand for flexible workspaces increased 50% from 2014-2019.1
Healthcare, hospitality, and corporate real estate are plagued by distracting noise pollution, resulting in billions of dollars lost annually. Biophilic soundscapes are a verified alternative to traditional sound masking. They reduce disruptive noise, improve speech privacy, and have even outperformed traditional masking sounds in terms of speech masking.
We’re proud to announce that our Medibank Wollongong project is a finalist for Best Corporate Facility at the Inavate 2026 Inavation Awards, representing the Asia-Pacific region globally. Delivered by Valeo Technology to create a responsive, biophilic environment that supports focus, recovery, and inclusion.
GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) has achieved a Platinum WELL Certification for its Melbourne headquarters, the highest level of recognition from the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI). Going ‘Platinum’ requires advanced initiatives in air and water quality, circadian lighting, biophilic design, and inclusive design that supports neurodiverse staff.One of the standout measures in this project was the deployment of Moodsonic generative soundscaping, represented exclusively in Australia by Valeo Technology.
Two Moodsonic projects were recognized at this year’s Inavate APAC Awards, which celebrate the region’s most innovative audio-visual installations.CBRE Singapore’s Marina Bay Financial Centre won Best Corporate Project, while Sheldon Interiors’ Sydney HQ was a finalist for Best Experience Centre.
Moodsonic, the global leader in generative soundscaping, and Bluesound Professional, a pioneer in networked audio solutions and part of the Lenbrook Group of companies, today announced a strategic partnership to accelerate the global adoption of responsive, intelligent soundscaping across the built environment.
GSK’s new global headquarters set out with the ambitious goal of creating "the world’s healthiest workplace", and we’re proud to have contributed to that. The project recently won Best Smart Building at Integrated Systems Europe (ISE).
GSK’s newly refurbished Melbourne headquarters has not only met but exceeded its ambitious goals for health and wellbeing. It is now one of only a handful of offices in the city to achieve Platinum WELL Certification, the highest recognition awarded by the International WELL Building Institute.
We connected with Moodsonic, winners in the Return to Office category of the 2022 Next Work Environment Competition, to see where their project has taken them!Moodsonic worked with Elevance Health to implement a sensory, experiential return to office strategy. Aimed at the pervasive problem of sound in the workplace, the project gave employees control to offer quality experiences that surpass work from home.
Designed by M Moser Associates, the headquarters was conceived as a dynamic “destination” workplace to support GSK’s hybrid teams and evolving business needs. The design brings together localized character with global brand standards, creating a flexible, inclusive, and data-driven environment that empowers collaboration, connection, and performance.
