Acoustic Ecology: Designing for the Ear

In your building designs, do you think of noise as a nuisance—something that always needs to be reduced? Instead, what if we thought of sound as an architectural “material” that can drive the creative process and enhance the way we experience and interact with our environment?

Think of a place where you spend a lot of time. Can you describe the sounds there? Or how those sounds affect you? What about the sounds you contribute to that place? The way in which you interact with that place based on the sounds you hear and the sounds you make is a primary focus of acoustic ecology.