# Video Conference Room Design: What to Decide Before Building

> Video conference room design starts with the room, not the equipment. Room shape, acoustics, light on faces, camera sightlines and display position decide whether calls work, and they are fixed once walls, ceilings and floor boxes are built. Cable routes, power, network points and equipment space must be settled with the fit-out, with the AV designer involved before the layout is frozen.

## Most video-call problems are built into the room

When video calls go badly, the usual response is to buy a better camera or a
better speaker bar. Sometimes that helps. More often the problems are built
into the room: a long, narrow shape that makes the far end of the table
unreadable on camera, a glass box that echoes into every microphone, a window
behind the chairs that turns every face into a silhouette, and a screen placed
where the only power and data happened to be.

None of these can be bought away after construction. They are decided when the
room's dimensions, finishes, lighting and services are drawn, which is why the
AV decisions belong in the fit-out design rather than in a purchase order at the
end. Getting it wrong costs twice: rooms people avoid for important calls, and
then rework through finished ceilings, joinery and floors to fix them.

## Room shape and seating set the camera

A camera sees the room from one point. Everything else should be arranged
around that.

- **Proportion.** Long, narrow rooms put the far-end participants far from the
  camera and the display. Wider, shallower rooms bring everyone closer to both.
- **Table shape.** A table that narrows toward the display keeps everyone's
  face in view. Square-ended boardroom tables put people at the far end side-on.
- **Camera at the display.** Participants look at the screen, so the camera
  should be with it, close to seated eye level, facing people rather than
  looking down from a corner.
- **Background.** A door, a busy corridor or a window behind the seating shows
  on every call. Glass behind participants usually needs frosting or a blind.
- **Display wall.** It needs space for the display, camera, speakers and any
  whiteboard without one blocking another, and solid backing in the partition.

The wider question of how many meeting rooms an office needs, and in what
sizes, is covered under
[meeting room design and sizing](/services/interior-fit-out/meeting-room-design-and-sizing).

## Acoustics matter more for the far end

People in a room adjust to its acoustics without noticing. Microphones do not.
A room with glass on two sides, a whiteboard wall, a hard ceiling and a tiled
floor reflects speech back into the microphones, and the remote participants
hear a hollow, distant voice. Echo cancellation in the equipment can only do so
much with a room that rings.

The measure is reverberation time, the time sound takes to die away, explained
under [reverberation time](/glossary/reverberation-time). It can be measured
in the finished room using the method in **ISO 3382-2**, and the target for a
video room is set by the acoustic designer. The usual treatments are an
absorptive ceiling, absorptive panels on at least one of each pair of parallel
walls, and soft flooring.

Two further sources of noise are often missed:

- **Building services.** Diffusers, fan coil units and ductwork above the
  ceiling are heard by microphones, especially ceiling microphones placed near
  them. Their positions need coordinating.
- **Neighbouring rooms.** Sound travels over partitions through the ceiling void
  and along services. This is [acoustic flanking](/glossary/acoustic-flanking),
  and it affects confidentiality as well as call quality.

Video rooms are also often closed and glazed, with several people inside for an
hour. Outdoor air has to be supplied for that occupancy; ventilation design is
commonly referenced to **ASHRAE 62.1**, and the MEP engineer must make sure the
supply is adequate and quiet.

## Display size and lighting for cameras

**Display size follows from distance.** The farthest seat, and what will be
shown on screen, set how large the image needs to be. AV design guidance relates
image size to viewing distance, and the AV designer applies it to the actual
room. The display height should suit seated viewing without neck strain, and a
second display may be needed where content and far-end faces are shown together.

**Light the faces, not just the table.** Cameras need light falling on faces
from the front. Downlights directly over seats light the tops of heads and cast
shadows under eyes; a room lit only for the table looks gloomy on screen.
Lighting should also avoid reflections on the display and glare into the camera.
Interior illumination practice is set out in **IS 3646 (Part 1)**, and a
dimmable scene for video calls, with blinds on any windows, makes the room
usable through the day.

## Infrastructure to decide before ceilings close

| Item | What to decide | Why it is hard to change later |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Floor box under the table | Position, power and data, matched to the table design | Finished floor must be cut and patched |
| Table-to-wall containment | Conduit or trunking from floor box to display or equipment, with spare capacity | Routes run under floors and inside walls |
| Display wall backing | Solid backing in the partition for display and camera mounts | Partitions must be opened up |
| Power | Outlets at display, equipment location, table and any ceiling devices | New circuits mean chasing finished walls |
| Network points | Data outlets at display, equipment, table and ceiling devices | Cables must be pulled through closed ceilings |
| Ceiling devices | Space and supports for microphones, speakers and cameras, clear of diffusers and lights | Ceiling layouts are fixed with other services |
| Equipment location | A ventilated, accessible place for equipment | Cupboards without airflow overheat |
| Controls | Touch panel at the table or door; room booking panel outside | Back boxes and cabling fixed in walls |

Cabling pathways and spaces are addressed in **TIA-569**, and they apply as much
to the conduit under a meeting table as to the riser. The network side is part
of [networking and structured cabling](/services/mep/networking-and-structured-cabling).

## Who designs the AV

AV is usually designed by an AV consultant or integrator. The fit-out builds the
room it goes into. Between them sit the interior designer, the electrical
engineer, the IT team and the acoustic designer, and every interface on the
table above belongs to more than one of them.

The practical safeguard is a **responsibility matrix**: for each item, who
designs it, who supplies it, who installs it and who tests it. AV is often
procured with the other systems covered under
[low voltage and ELV](/services/mep/low-voltage-and-elv), and it needs the same
coordination with the ceiling and containment. A design-and-build contractor
should ask for the AV requirements before the layout is frozen, not after the
ceiling is closed.

## Common mistakes

- **Buying equipment before the room is designed.** The kit is chosen for a
  room that does not suit it.
- **Glass on every side.** Good for visibility, poor for echo and camera
  backgrounds unless treated.
- **No floor box, or the wrong position.** Cables run across the floor to a
  wall outlet for the life of the room.
- **No backing in the display wall.** Mounting a display on plain board needs
  the partition opened up.
- **Downlights only.** Faces are shadowed on every call.
- **Equipment in a sealed cupboard.** It overheats and fails intermittently.
- **AV left out of the ceiling coordination.** Microphones end up next to
  diffusers.

## What to ask your designer or contractor

- Who is designing the AV, and when will they be involved?
- Where will the camera and display be, and does every seat face them?
- What reverberation target is set for this room, and will it be measured?
- Where are the floor box, containment, backing, power and data shown?
- Where does the equipment live, and how is it ventilated and reached?
- How will lighting work on camera, and is there a video-call scene?
- Who tests the finished room with a real call before handover?

## Standards referenced

Measurement of reverberation time in **ISO 3382-2**; interior illumination
practice in **IS 3646 (Part 1)**; telecommunications pathways and spaces in
**TIA-569**; ventilation commonly referenced to **ASHRAE 62.1**. Acoustic
targets, lighting levels, ventilation rates and AV performance for a specific
room must be set by the project's acoustic, lighting, MEP and AV designers.

## Frequently asked questions

### Why do people on the call hear echo when the room sounds fine to us?

Because the microphone hears the room differently from the people in it. Hard surfaces such as glass, whiteboards, hard ceilings and tiled floors reflect speech back into the microphone, and the remote side hears a hollow, distant voice. People in the room adapt without noticing. Absorptive ceilings, wall treatment and soft flooring reduce it, and an acoustic designer can set and measure a target.

### Where should the camera go in a meeting room?

Usually at the display, close to eye level for seated participants, facing people rather than looking down on them from a corner. The table, seating and display wall are then arranged so everyone faces the camera. That means the camera position is a layout decision, which is why it has to be made before the room is built.

### How big should the display be?

The display size follows from the distance to the farthest seat and from what will be shown, such as faces or detailed spreadsheets. AV design guidance relates image size to viewing distance, and the AV designer applies it to the actual room. Buying the largest screen that fits the wall does not fix a room that is too long for its display.

### What needs to be in the floor under the meeting table?

Typically a floor box with power and data, and a containment route from that box to the display wall or equipment location, sized with spare capacity for future cables. Its position depends on the table design, so the table and the floor box should be drawn together. Moving a floor box after the floor is finished is disruptive and visible.

### Who should design the AV in an office fit-out?

An AV designer or integrator, working with the interior designer, electrical engineer, IT team and acoustic designer. The AV designer sets equipment and performance; the fit-out builds the room, backing, containment, power and data it needs. The risk lies between them, so a written responsibility matrix for every interface is worth more than any single product choice.

### Do glass-walled meeting rooms work for video calls?

They can, but glass is acoustically hard and visually busy. Glass behind participants shows movement in the corridor on camera, and glass on several sides reflects speech into the microphones. Manifestation, frosting or blinds behind seating positions, and acoustic treatment on the ceiling and solid walls, usually make a glass room workable.

## Sources

- [ISO 3382-2](https://www.iso.org/standards.html) — Measurement of room acoustic parameters - reverberation time in ordinary rooms
- [IS 3646 (Part 1)](https://standards.bis.gov.in/website/published-standards/department-wise) — Interior illumination - general requirements and recommendations for working interiors
- [TIA-569](https://tiaonline.org/) — Telecommunications pathways and spaces
- [ASHRAE 62.1](https://www.ashrae.org/technical-resources/bookstore/standards-62-1-62-2) — Ventilation and acceptable indoor air quality

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Source: https://hagerstone.com/blog/meeting-room-av-and-video-conferencing