Surface acoustic treatment (carpet, ceiling tiles) reduces ambient reverberation and improves general acoustic comfort on the open floor — a beneficial complement to pod deployment, but not a prerequisite. Pods provide independent certified acoustic enclosure regardless of the ambient open-floor noise level. The acoustic gradient the pods create — from the open-floor ambient level to the ≤35 dB inside the pod — is the core value proposition, and it is achieved by the pod structure itself, not by treating the surrounding floor.