Framery soundproof pods give Australian project teams a way to add private call and meeting space without building a permanent room. For architects, fit-out companies and facility managers, specifying pods rather than constructing rooms shifts cost from a sunk building expense to a movable asset, shortens the programme, and gives you a published acoustic figure — Class A, 30 DS,A dB under ISO 23351-1 — that you can write into a tender and verify on delivery.
When designing or refitting a commercial office space, managing acoustics is consistently one of the most challenging requirements. The shift towards open-plan environments has improved collaboration, but it has also created a critical shortage of private spaces for focused work, confidential calls and small meetings.
Historically, the solution was to build permanent, sound-insulated meeting rooms. Today, commercial property managers and corporate real estate teams increasingly specify modular pods instead. At Chair Dinkum we are an authorised Australian Framery dealer and supply Framery soundproof pods to projects across Australia. This guide covers what a specification needs to contain, and the three places pod specifications most often go wrong: the acoustic figure, the warranty conditions, and the approvals question.
The true cost of traditional meeting rooms vs Framery pods
For facility managers and fit-out companies, the financial argument for pods is straightforward. Building a traditional acoustic meeting room involves multiple trades: framing, plastering, specialised acoustic glazing, electrical work, HVAC integration and fire services.
That process is expensive and it is rigid. Once built, a meeting room is a sunk cost. If the company expands, downsizes or moves to a new lease, that investment is left behind.
Framery pods, such as the Framery Four Meeting Pod, shift the expenditure from a sunk construction cost to a movable asset. When an organisation relocates, its acoustic spaces move with it. That flexibility matters increasingly in a market where lease terms are shorter and organisational structures more fluid.
Acoustic performance: specify the standard, not a decibel number
Specifying acoustic performance in a built room is notoriously difficult. The final result depends entirely on the quality of the installation. A poorly sealed door or an unbaffled HVAC duct can ruin the acoustic integrity of an expensive room, and few built rooms are ever measured after handover.
A manufactured pod is a repeatable product tested as an assembly. Framery One, One Compact and Framery Four are all rated Class A, 30 DS,A dB speech level reduction under ISO 23351-1. The important part of that sentence is the standard. ISO 23351-1 measures the speech level reduction of the whole assembled enclosure — walls, glazing, door, seals and ventilation path — with an artificial mouth at the height of a real occupant. It is the basis of the Class A, B, C and D bands.
What it is not is a claim of silence. A Class A pod delivers speech privacy: a normal speaking voice inside is not intelligible outside. Write that into the specification in those terms, because "soundproof" is a marketing word that sets an expectation the product cannot meet, and because it protects you from a comparison trap. A competing quote showing a higher bare decibel figure with no standard named is almost always quoting Rw — a laboratory measurement of a single wall panel, tested flat with no door, hinge, lock or duct. The two numbers are not comparable and cannot be converted. Our guide to comparing acoustic pods honestly covers how to read a supplier's claim and the ten questions to put to every tenderer.
For architects and designers drafting tender documents, the practical instruction is short: require the ISO 23351-1 test report, with the laboratory name, the test date and the model number tested, and confirm the model tested is the model being quoted.
Smart workplace integration and utilisation data
Modern commercial fit-outs require intelligent systems. The current generation of Framery pods, including the Framery One Compact, feature Framery Smart technology. This integrates with the organisation's existing calendar systems, such as Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace.
Users can book a pod from the touchscreen panel or via their calendar. More importantly for facility managers, the pods collect anonymous utilisation data. That allows corporate real estate teams to see how spaces are actually used, identify peak times and decide whether more pods are needed, rather than relying on anecdotal feedback. For a connected product, add the corresponding questions to your procurement checklist: what data is collected, who can access it, how bookings work, how software updates are delivered, and what the support arrangement is.
Ventilation and user comfort
A common failure point in inferior pods is ventilation. A perfectly private box is useless if it becomes uncomfortably hot and stuffy within ten minutes, and passive-ventilation pods — vents with no fan — are the ones that fail this test.
Framery publishes airflow in litres per second, which is what makes it specifiable: a maximum of 36 L/s in the One Compact, 26 L/s in the One and 100 L/s in the Framery Four, with the fan boosting after use to refresh the space. Check any supplier's figure against AS 1668.2, which requires 10 litres per second per person for offices and meeting rooms: divide the published airflow by the number of seats and see whether it clears that. Ask at what fan setting the figure was measured, and whether the fan is gated behind a motion sensor — a fan that stops when the occupant sits still on a long video call is a comfort problem the datasheet will not show you.
One figure looks like an error and is not: on Framery's published data the One Compact moves more air than the full One, into a smaller internal volume. Ventilation is not the reason to step up from the Compact to the One; interior space and the sit-stand desk are.
Comparison: Framery vs built meeting rooms
| Feature | Framery pods | Built meeting rooms |
|---|---|---|
| Installation time | Hours to a day, no wet trades | Weeks, multiple trades required |
| Acoustic evidence | Class A, 30 DS,A dB, ISO 23351-1 test report on the assembled product | Variable, depends on construction quality; rarely measured after handover |
| Relocation | Movable asset (dismantle to Framery's method or the warranty is void) | Fixed sunk cost, cannot be moved |
| HVAC integration | Self-contained, independent ventilation | Requires connection to building systems |
| Utilisation tracking | Built-in anonymous occupancy sensing | Requires separate aftermarket sensors |
| Approvals | Contested — treated as building work in NSW since January 2025; open elsewhere | Unambiguously building work |
Approvals and fire services: the specification risk
Pods are frequently sold as furniture that needs no approval. In New South Wales that is no longer a safe assumption, and a specifier who repeats the old line is carrying the risk.
Building Commission NSW practice advice, issued 24 January 2025, states that office pods are rooms rather than furniture, and that their installation is to be treated as building work. The reasoning rests on the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act: a room is a space within a building separated by walls or partitions, and furniture is not intended for occupation. On that reading, approval runs through a construction certificate or complying development certificate, with an occupation certificate at completion. The advice names the clauses a certifier will look at: non-combustible construction and fire hazard properties of linings, access and egress and accessibility under AS 1428.1, fire services and equipment, internal room height, light and ventilation, and energy efficiency.
Two qualifications. First, several suppliers hold compliance letters concluding the opposite — that their product is joinery or furniture and needs no approval. Some predate the 2025 advice, and at least one widely cited assessment was issued by an overseas body under overseas rules. None of them binds an Australian certifier. A compliance letter is a document to hand your building surveyor, not a substitute for one. Second, this advice is New South Wales only. No other state has published an equivalent position, which means the question is open elsewhere rather than settled in the supplier's favour.
On sprinklers specifically, be careful with the numbers that circulate online. We could not find a published Australian rule keyed to pod footprint, ceiling clearance or open-top design that exempts a pod from internal sprinkler protection. AS 2118.1 contains a general requirement for clear space below sprinkler deflectors and a rule about sprinklers beneath wide ducts, and that duct figure is often repeated as though it were a pod rule. It is not. In practice most pod manufacturers design for internal sprinklering, with pre-drilled penetrations or ceiling knock-outs available, and the determination belongs to your fire engineer and certifier on the specific building.
One life-safety item is easy to miss and worth writing into the specification: have the pod tested with the door closed against the building's occupant warning system. A pod that achieves Class A speech privacy is also very good at muffling an alarm.
Warranty: the clause most pod specifications get wrong
Framery's warranty is widely quoted as a flat five years. It is not, and a specification that says "5-year warranty" will not survive contact with a claim. Cover is applied per component:
- 5 years — structure and standard parts
- 2 years — wear parts: gas lifts, levelling gliders, fabrics, felt, carpet, the door, door seals, hinges and locks
- 2 years — electronics: LED lighting, fans, power and USB chargers, wireless chargers, screens, motion sensors and motor-driven height adjustment
- 1 year — Framery Connect sensors
Two conditions decide whether that cover exists at all. The warranty must be activated by completing Framery's installation report form, and the pod must be installed by a Framery-trained installer. If either is missed, Framery is not obliged to remedy defects. Defects must be notified within 21 days of discovery. Normal wear and tear, textile pilling, non-approved third-party parts, unauthorised repairs or customisation, and pods moved or dismantled improperly are all excluded, and software is supplied without warranty of any kind.
For a fit-out, the consequence is that installation responsibility is a warranty question rather than just a cost line. If a builder or general furniture installer assembles the pod to save a few hundred dollars, the electronics and smart hardware inside a five-figure asset can be uncovered from the day it is switched on. Name the installer in the specification, and require the completed installation report as a handover deliverable alongside the O&M documentation. Do the same for any future relocation.
Chair Dinkum is an authorised Australian Framery dealer. Where we handle the installation we complete the installation report and use Framery-trained installers, so cover is live from handover. This warranty is in addition to your rights under the Australian Consumer Law.
Specifying Framery pods: a practical checklist for architects
Power. Each pod runs from a standard power outlet rather than being hardwired, with the cable running to a concealed connection point at the base. Confirm the outlet position, the cable route and whether your tenancy or electrical contractor requires a dedicated circuit, so the pod is not left tethered across a walkway.
Floor loading. These are heavy objects concentrated on a small footprint — the Framery Four occupies 3.04 m². Request the current assembled weight for the exact model and layout from Framery's product guide, and on a suspended slab have your structural engineer confirm the point loading rather than assuming a standard office allowance covers it.
Access and delivery. Measure the loading dock, lifts, doorways, corners and any security or after-hours restrictions against the packed dimensions before the order is placed. This is the single most common cause of a pod arriving and not reaching its location.
Placement. Allow for the door swing, and keep the pod clear of pedestrian routes, accessible paths, fire equipment and emergency exits. Confirm minimum internal room height against a measured site dimension rather than a reflected ceiling plan that may not account for services. Position glazed pods away from direct sunlight to prevent glare on internal screens; a location adjacent to a structural column or internal wall usually gives the best combination of visual privacy and comfortable lighting.
Layout, for the Four. Identify the interior layout early. Base leaves room for project-specific furniture, Lite includes a full-sized table and two sofas, Essentials adds coat hooks and cushions, and Accessible uses folding furniture, a pull bar, an accessible threshold and a platform.
Pairing Framery with commercial furniture
When specifying pods for a large project, consider the surrounding environment. The pods serve as focused retreats, but the primary workspace must also support productivity.
We recommend pairing open-plan desk clusters with high-quality monitor arms to maximise desk space and ensure ergonomic alignment. For the seating outside the pods, standardising on premium task chairs such as the Herman Miller Aeron keeps support consistent across the floor.
In reception areas or executive lounges adjacent to the open-plan space, executive chairs or statement pieces like the Kyoto chair create a cohesive, premium aesthetic throughout the fit-out. For a model-by-model specification of the pods themselves, see our Framery specification guide for Australian offices.
Frequently asked questions
Are Framery pods difficult to install in existing offices?
Installation is fast and clean compared with construction: no wet trades, no connection to the building's HVAC, and a standard power outlet rather than hardwiring. A single-person pod typically takes a few hours and a meeting pod up to a day. The constraint is usually access — dock, lift and door dimensions — not the assembly itself. Note that Framery requires a trained installer for the warranty to apply.
Do office pods need building approval in Australia?
In New South Wales, Building Commission NSW practice advice issued 24 January 2025 states that office pods are rooms rather than furniture and that their installation is to be treated as building work, bringing construction and occupation certificates into play. No other state has published an equivalent position, so the question is open elsewhere. A supplier's compliance letter does not bind an Australian certifier — give it to your building surveyor and let them determine the pathway for your building.
Do the pods require internal sprinkler heads?
That is a determination for your fire engineer and certifier on the specific building, not something a supplier can answer generically. We could not find a published Australian rule keyed to pod footprint or ceiling clearance that exempts a pod from internal sprinkler protection, and the widely repeated figure taken from the AS 2118.1 rule about sprinklers beneath wide ducts is not a pod rule. Most manufacturers design for internal sprinklering, with penetrations or knock-outs available. Raise it during design rather than at handover.
How does the ventilation system work?
The pods draw air from the surrounding office, circulate it and expel it, through acoustically baffled paths so that airflow does not undo the acoustic performance. Framery publishes maximum airflow of 36 L/s for the One Compact, 26 L/s for the One and 100 L/s for the Four, with a boost after use. Check that against AS 1668.2's 10 litres per second per person, and ask at what fan setting the figure was measured.
What warranty applies, and what does a specification need to say about it?
Framery's cover is per component — 5 years structure and standard parts, 2 years wear parts, 2 years electronics, 1 year Framery Connect sensors — and it only exists if the warranty is activated via Framery's installation report form and the pod is installed by a Framery-trained installer. Defects must be notified within 21 days of discovery, and software carries no warranty. A specification should name the installer, require the completed installation report as a handover deliverable, and set out cover by component rather than as a flat term. This warranty is in addition to your rights under the Australian Consumer Law.
Can Framery pods be moved if we relocate to a new office?
Yes — they are designed to be disassembled, transported and reassembled, which is much of the financial argument for specifying them. Plan the relocation properly: improper dismantling is a warranty exclusion, and in New South Wales the certification question can arise again at the new site.
What is the lead time for large commercial orders?
Lead times vary with model, finish and quantity, and Framery pods ship from Finland. For accurate programme forecasting on a fit-out, contact our commercial team and get the lead time confirmed in writing before it goes into the construction programme.
Final thoughts for specifiers
For large-scale commercial fit-outs, the case for modular pods over built rooms is strong: a shorter programme, a movable asset, and a measured acoustic figure you can hold a supplier to. The three things that separate a good specification from a weak one are naming the standard rather than a bare decibel figure, naming the installer and the installation report so the warranty is live, and treating the approvals question as live rather than assuming the furniture answer.
If you are an architect, designer or facility manager working on a commercial project, Chair Dinkum can assist with specification details, CAD files and multi-pod deployment. Contact our team or call 02 9640 0642 to discuss your next fit-out.
