Case Study: Electronic Arts Vancouver Aurora
About This Project
Electronic Arts (EA) Vancouver, one of the region’s largest and oldest video game studios, required a rapid expansion solution after outgrowing its Burnaby headquarters. The project required a fast, flexible design solution capable of supporting both focused work and highly collaborative game-development activities. This need for additional office space in late 2020 led to the development of the EA Aurora facility. The project represents a strategic response to accommodate growing teams while enhancing workplace functionality and acoustic comfort. The facility supports a dynamic work environment, including open office areas, collaborative zones, meeting rooms, and specialized spaces such as game lounges, all requiring a sophisticated acoustic design to balance focus and collaboration.
Scope of Services
As the acoustical consultant for EA Vancouver Aurora, BKL was engaged to address significant acoustic challenges within the open office and collaborative environments. The scope focused on creating a balanced acoustic landscape that supports both focused work and interactive collaboration. BKL’s comprehensive services included:
- Sound isolation: Developing performance criteria for walls, doors, and floor/ceiling assemblies to control noise transfer. Recommendations targeted STCc ratings of 50 for rooms requiring speech privacy, 45 for less sensitive spaces, and enhanced ratings for high-noise areas.
- Room acoustics: Advising on sound absorption strategies to manage reverberation, targeting 0.8 seconds or less in open spaces and 0.6 seconds or less in meeting rooms and private offices per LEED acoustic targets.
- Open office shielding: Proposing design interventions such as high partitions (min. 6 ft), screens, and acoustic panels to interrupt line-of-sight and reduce direct sound propagation between collaborative and quiet work areas.
- Building noise control: Establishing background noise level criteria for HVAC systems, targeting NC 30 for enclosed offices and small meeting rooms, NC 25 to 30 for larger or AV-enabled meeting rooms, and allowing NC 40 to 45 for open workspaces and corridors. BKL also recommended a dedicated sound masking system to create a consistent background sound level, improving speech privacy in open office areas.
BKL collaborated closely with the design team to integrate these acoustic solutions early in the process, providing detailed recommendations tailored to the diverse functional needs of a modern game development studio.
Project Benefits
BKL’s acoustic design directly supported EA’s operational and cultural needs by:
- Ensuring Confidentiality: High-performance sound isolation in private offices and meeting rooms kept sensitive conversations private, supporting both focused work and confidential discussions.
- Minimizing Distractions: Strategic sound absorption and physical shielding in open areas reduced noise intrusion from collaborative and recreational zones, helping to maintain focus and productivity.
- Supporting Functional Versatility: Carefully controlled reverberation times and background noise levels allowed spaces to function effectively for both quiet, focused work and lively, collaborative activities.
- Providing a Future-Ready Foundation: The comprehensive acoustic strategy created a flexible and high-quality baseline environment, capable of adapting to evolving team structures and work styles.
BKL’s acoustic consulting helped transform EA Vancouver Aurora into a functional, comfortable, and acoustically sophisticated workplace, aligning with Electronic Arts’ vision for a high-performance studio environment that supports both creativity and productivity.
Project Name:
Electronic Arts Vancouver Aurora, Burnaby, BC
Year Completed:
2024