Baker Greg ARSfinal

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Urban noise control began with New York Citys Bennett Act in 1907, prompting an erathat brought solutions such as Anti-Noise Police and special zoning to protect hospitals

from excessive noise disturbance. Compared to the attempts of New York Citys NoiseAbatement Commission to solve complex public noise problems, mass-production ofacoustic tiles for use in the private sector was logistically simple, but did not solve the

many negative externalities of urban sound excess.

The legacy of acoustic reform in America during the Thirties has left us with limited privatesolutions to a complex public problem. Masking, for example, is a noise byproduct of

roads and cities that disturbs communication patterns (such as dawn chorus). Humanssuffer from making as well, and also from the urban canyon effect that causes excessechoing because of the at vertical surfaces of skyscrapers lining city streets. These

issues require that the dominant receiver-oriented paradigm of acoustic tiles and noisebarriers be challenged. Signal-oriented planning and transondent architecture diffuse

the soundscapes of densely populated areas and trafc corridors, keeping the urban dinat nominal levels for background noise while mitigating any negative effects of masking.

TRANSONDENT ARCHITECTURE

SIGNAL-ORIENTED ACOUSTIC REFORM

GREG BAKER

Fig. 1 The cover of the ofcial guidelines for noise reform shows a juxtaposition opublic noise issues, such as trains, and private issues such as loud bells or music

U.S. Department of H.U.D. Noise Assessment Guidelines

Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Ofce, 1983

ARCHITECTURE RESEARCH THESIS SEMINAR - ABSTRACT, ARTICLE, SOURCES & STUDIO PROPOSAL

ABSTRACT


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Noise in cities functions as a by-product of architecture and urbanism within a larger

framework of sound as (spatial) territory, both public and private. Ideal communicationlevels are disturbed by noises with a frequency bandwidth that overlaps the peak

frequency of the desired signal. Known as masking, this phenomenon is what causespeople at the Standard Hotel Biergarten to shout over the dangerously high level of

reverberation in the High Line. A survey conducted by the New York Times, revealingan estimated one-third of bars, restaurants, shops and gyms to have dangerous soundlevels, found the Biergarten to reach a peak sound pressure level (SPL) of 96 decibels.

Exposure to SPL over 88 decibels for three and a half hours demands hearing protection

by government standards, and workers log up to ten-hour shifts (Buckley). The territorial-ization of sound, in this example, shows the friction between the public High Line and aprivately owned business results in the waitstaff bearing the brunt of a blameless problem

SOUND VS. NOISE

According to Paige Warren, bird calls increase in frequency and/or amplitude tocompensate for noise disturbance. Animals suffer from masking, a sonic externality of

roads and cities that disturbs communication patterns, such as avian dawn chorus. Theair at dawn propagates sound more easily than air heated by the sun, but morning rush

hour trafc hinders the travel of bird calls even in the rareed morning air. Humans sufferfrom making as well, and also from the urban canyon effect that causes excess echoing,known as reverberation, due to the at vertical surfaces of skyscrapers lining densely

populated urban streets. These new studies, however, were not understood at the timepeople become aware of the deleterious effects of noise pollution in industrialized cities.

Fig. 2 Two alterations of animal signals can mitigate the effects of maskingnoise: changes in amplitude and changes in frequency.

Warren, Paige, et al. Urban Bioacoustics: Its Not Just Noise.Animal Behaviou

71 (2006): 491-502. p492


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NOISE CONTROL

Noise abatement began in the United States with New York Citys Bennett Act in 1907,prompting solutions such as Anti-Noise Police and special zoning clauses to protect

hospitals from excessive disturbance. These zones spread from hospitals to schools andfrom New York City to national scale. The New York City Noise Abatement Commissionconducted public opinion surveys that were charted along with noise level (SPL) and

radial distance for over thirty different common urban sound sources, from airplanesto milkmen (Thompson 158). Trafc lights replaced trafc police blowing whistles, and

subway turnstiles were replaced with quieter models, but there were not many publicsolutions that could be executed by the Commission. Compared to the citys efforts in

the intractable public sphere, mass-production of acoustic tiles for the private sector waslogistically simple. Such tiles became popular during the Thirties under Taylorist acousticreform, proliferating private solutions to a public problem.

ANTI-SPACE

Also at that time, Wallace Sabine and others were perfecting reverberation equations

that could be followed by concert hall acousticians in the design of performancespaces when the Taylorist efciency craze led to their adoption in many building typesfrom religious and civic auditoriums to ofce towers. Modern acoustics has produced an

anti-space in the words of Emily Thompson, devoid of reverberation and the psycho-

acoustic sense that gives us qualitative information about the kinds of spaces we inhabit(Thompson, 227). The spread of anti-space marks the origin of interior sound control.

Fig. 3 The New York City Noise Abatement Commission lasted from 1929-1932and focused on reforming the various sources of urban noise. The replacemen

of whitle-blowing police ofcers with silent electric trafc signals is one example

Brown, Edward et al. City Noise. New York: Department of Health, 1930


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SOUND CONTROL

The modern institution of ofce work demanded a new type of body, one that couldwithstand prolonged sitting while focusing on a repetitive task. Acoustic tiles eliminated

reverberation in the name of clear communication, thought to be synonymous withefcient communication. Designed to ll the anti-space, Muzak acted as a Foucauldiandisciplining mechanism, creating the docile workforce of wartime service sector growth.

The ability to keep workers heartrates from dropping by providing a backdrop ofsound that cycled through specic combinations of rhythm and instrumentation was

a particular form of individuation based on camouage. Speakers would be hiddenamongst large plants, thereby making the music seem to come out of nowhere and

lending it the name potted palm music. With the disappearance of any visible meansof sound production, Muzak exceeded the gramophones capacity to make soundautonomous. Sound camouage is with us still today, programmed by audio architects,

through atmospherics: when we recognize that we are in a particular retail environmentby the type of music that is playing, as just one example of how background music has

the power to make us blend in, like human chameleons, to the realm of social cuesand observation. Muzak delivered programming to the workplace, where it soothed

the minds of employees, enhancing their productivity while eliminating the distractionscaused by commercials, scripted programs, and other verbal content, as well as to NewYork City apartment buildings, where it was allowed as a service that enhanced the

quality of life (AUDC, 110). One knows one is home and either working or getting ready

to do so when NPR and the coffee maker are on simultaneously; or some can guess thebrand of car early in the commercial by the sound of the engine and the music.

Fig. 4 Its playlists were designed to regulate workers by providing a backdrop osound that cycled through specic combinations of rhythm and instrumentation

AUDC, Sumrell & Varnelis. The Stimulus Progression: Muzak and the Culture o

Horizontality. Verb: Conditioning. Barcelona: ACTAR, 2006


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Fig. 5 Articial intelligence prediction maps of acoustic comfort evaluation. Plan

Yu, Lei and Jian Kang. Modeling Subjective Evaluation of Soundscape Qualityin Urban Open Spaces: An Articial Neural Network Approach. Journal of the

Acoustical Society of America 126 (2009): 1173

SOUND QUALITY

Tolerance to sound depends on demographics of a particular site, particularly the age,income, occupation, and site preferences of the subjects. The papers of Jian Kang, both

on soundscapes with Mei Zhang and articial neural networks with Lei Yu, our ability topredict peoples acoustic preferences is stronger when looking at these demographicfactors rather than just looking at SPL. Although their research looks primarily at urban

open spaces, the ndings suggest that this may be true for a variety of spatial conditions.A soundscape, similar to a landscape, suggests that some elements are perceived as

background, others as middle ground, and intermittent foreground sounds pass by withrelatively faster movement. By understanding perceptual characteristics (such as loud,

sharp, rough, and uctuating) in combination with psychosomatic dichotomies suchas calming-agitating, interesting-boring, quiet-noisy, and sharp-at, the conclusion canbe drawn that a reduction of sound level does not necessarily lead to better acoustic

comfort in urban areas because the type of sound sources and characteristics of theusers must be simultaneously considered (Zhang). When programming articial neurons

to predict acoustic comfort, the importance of SPL is limited in comparison to factors ofthe sound quality (brightness) and reason for coming to the site or site preference (Yu).


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Fig. 6 Using bird calls as an example of a communication signal, we see fromthis sonogram that masking is caused by the close-range starting and subse

quent driving of an automobile. Neither the propeller plane nor the commerciajet plane are masking the bird calls in this example, however the frequency

bandwidth of the jet plane does border human speech. If the jet plane were

close enough it would have a great enough amplitude to impact speech

NOISE AND PUBLIC HEALTH

It is possible, through the ltering of ambient noise, to reproduce the effects of Muzakin order to stimulate a new kind of worker, desperately in need of public health spaces.

While many architects tend to celebrate the mobility of todays ofce worker and thereduced demands on ofce space, in reality the contemporary mobile worker consumesunprecedented rates of healthcare products and services, from medication to therapy.

For example, the Professionals in Crisis program at The Menninger Clinic in Houston,Texas, specializes in treating psychiatric disorders, addiction, and stress of professionals

and other high-achieving individuals. Filtered noise allows people to experience theirenvironment with the comfort of knowing they can be heard. To be in an urban space

where one cannot be heard undermines the basis for reciprocal human relationshipsand therefore a psychologically healthful urban environment. But to lter a citys din inservice of public health, one must identify sites and analyze their specic noises.

NOISE FILTERED AS SOUND

The constant ow of freeway trafc under the pedestrian bridge is common to many

overpass bridges. At the Aquatic Park in Berkeley, California, the pedestrian overpassis unique in its negotiation of sound among marina pedestrians, the adjacent animalshelters animals and volunteers, plus the neighborhoods low-middle income residents.

The early morning sound of barking dogs and crowing roosters are mitigated by city

noise ordinances, and normally an animal shelter would fall under the jurisdiction ofsuch legislative zoning. The proximity of the shelter to the freeway and its location in aresidential zone that already has a train track running through are factors that allow its

exception to noise ordinance enforcement. The sacrice here is the added stress of thefreeway on the animals and volunteers who must walk dogs in the neighborhood.

BIRD CALLS

PROPELLERPLANE

CAR ENGINESTARTING

HUMANSPEECH

JETPLANE


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The noise issues of an animal shelter and its dog walking community surrounded by train

tracks, a freeway, and its elevated off ramp, in the presence of an adaptable modularstructure that responded to varying site conditions to mitigate masking in the ranges

associated with animals in the shelter could be accomplished by using transondenttiles, porous and dematerialized surfaces, in generic assemblies or structural frames.Deployed parallel to the freeway along the routes commonly taken to walk dogs from

the animal shelter, as well as around the lot lines of the shelter that border noisy infra-structure, the transondent structure enables a more calm environment for distressed

animals.

The island of Alameda is a high-middle income neighborhood separated from themiddle and lower income neighborhoods of East Oakland and San Leandro by achannel and bay. The sports and convention arenas often have loud events, and on

September 29, 2012, an outdoor rave in the O.co coliseum caused thousands of phonecalls to city administrators of Oakland, San Leandro, and Alameda. The bulk of the calls

came from Alameda, totaling over 1,500 calls (or 2% of the citys total population). It wasthe low frequency bass rattling the windows that kept these taxpaying homeowners from

sleeping, who were upset about the misuse of Oaklands public property.

Oakland responded by claiming that it would ensure the coliseum would hold such

events indoors, but the future of the situation remains uncertain. A sonogram of the area

reveals constant low frequency ambient noise at relatively high levels. The problem isthat at night, this background noise disappears and a pulsing sound causes high contrast

Fig. 7 A barrier of sandblasted ceramic tiles would absorb low frequencynoise caused by an outdoor rave held at Oaklands O.co Coliseum. The signal

oriented approach to noise abatement upholds the public issues related tosound by focusing on the specic frequencies of sound that inhibit citizens rights

related to noise pollution


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between the quiet night and the amplied music. A solution oriented toward maskingthe signal given off by the music utilizing community noise would mean the outdoor rave

would simply blend into the background. By challenging the dominant receiver-orientedparadigm, signal-oriented planning and transondent architecture diffuse the sound-

scapes of densely populated areas and trafc corridors, mitigating negative effects ofmasking while keeping ambient noise nominal.

Using thickness as the primary variable, transondent facings are capable of controllingwhich frequencies are absorbed by a sound wall. These facings could be further

developed by testing custom acoustic tiles of sandblasted clay. By working with acombination of tile thickness and hole size and orientation, new transondent tiles would

be modules in a generic structural frame that would absorb unwanted frequencies.These strategies will allow planning to be compatible to architecture, which will benetfrom opening up its spaces to the sound of the environment without interfering with

wanted communication signals. Architectural transondency thus reclaims anti-space.

NOISE AND SOCIETY

The seed for the idea of Muzak in anti-space may be said to have its roots in theworksong. This global human tradition has only been obscured by industry, and still existsin places where development has not masked this ancient part of society. Other ancien

traditions, such as reading all texts out loud, are now all but completely eradicated.

One day humans may return to these traditions, as principles and tactics of transondentarchitecture become commonplace. The public health promoted by restoring soundto the public realm, allowing sound control to signify the process by which people have

immediate control over the soundscape of the city, will one day allow us to read aloudand sing as we labor. Cities, programmed according to relationships between activitiesand sound qualities, will feed their excess noise back into the hands of their creators.

SOUND QUALITY ACTIVITY: SUPPORTS DENIES

Volatile / Varying / Intermittent Creativity Sleep / Focus

Rhythmic / Pulsing / Dynamic Labor Sleep

Steady / Stable / Constant Sleep / Focus Creativity / Labor

The large scale reconguration of urban space according to such relationships, throughthe use of transondent facings, allows for a permanent infrastructure that negotiates

the predictable contingencies associated with noise from transportation networks,military activities, and construction processes. Inexpensive transondent facings canbe manufactured locally, such as with sandblasted ceramic tiles, revolutionizing the

economic and political transparency of noise abatement through their architecturalaggregation.

CONCLUSION

Noise is a public health concern affecting almost everyone. The issues at stake are

environmental justice, sleep depravation, and reduced altruism. The receiver-orientedacoustic ceiling tile and sound wall are solutions that will always ignore externalities.Some noise may represent mechanical inefciency, but steady noise can be benecial

for repetitive tasks and menial labor. Transondency allows for connection to naturalsounds, conquering anti-space without sacricing signal delity. The urban impact

lightens the ecological footprint of densely populated areas, yet issues of a transondentlifestyle may ultimately require a regression to older social norms such as reading aloud.


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AUDC, Sumrell & Varnelis. The Stimulus Progression: Muzak and the Culture of Horizon-tality. Verb: Conditioning. Barcelona: ACTAR, 2006.

Brewster, Michael. Geneva By-Pass. Pamphlet Architecture 16: Architecture as a Trans-

lation of Music. Princeton, 1994.

Buckley, Cara. Dangerous Decibels: Working or Playing Indoors, New Yorkers Face an

Unabated Roar. New York Times. July 19, 2012.

Thompson, Emily. The Soundscape of Modernity: Architectural Acoustics and the Cultureof Listening in America, 1900-1933. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2002.

Warren, Paige, et al. Urban Bioacoustics: Its Not Just Noise.Animal Behaviour71(2006): 491-502.

Yu, Lei and Jian Kang. Modeling Subjective Evaluation of Soundscape Quality in Urban

Open Spaces: An Articial Neural Network Approach.Journal of the AcousticalSociety of America 126 (2009): 1163-1174.

Zhang, Mei and Jian Kang. Towards the Evaluation, Description, and Creation of Sound-scapes in Urban Open Spaces. Environment and Planning B: Planning and

Design 34 (2007): 68-86.

Sounda

bsorbtion

coefficient()

Frequency (Hz)

Thin facing

Thick facing

Fig. 7 The primary variable controlling the frequency absorbed by a transonden

facing is thickness. Other variables include the size and orientation of the voids in

the mass, as well as the material reectance and porosity of the mass itself

SOURCES


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Noise abatement, which can be dened as a set of strategies to reduce noise pollution,was initiated in 1907 by a law prohibiting boat chatter by horn-blowing in New York

Citys harbors. The excessive horn-blowing was disturbing the sleep of the citys hospitalpatients, thereby making it a public health concern. This model of legislating againstthe source of a disturbing noise I have designated as source-oriented planning. This

paradigm had to be expanded as sound insulation technology developed rapidly during

the twentieth century, forcing legislation to require the use of such technology to requireits use in shielding the person hearing excess noise. This new paradigm I have designatedas receiver-oriented, contains the source-oriented model rmly rooted within it.

By challenging the dominant receiver-oriented paradigm, signal-oriented planningand transondent architecture diffuse the soundscapes of densely populated areas and

trafc corridors, mitigating negative effects of excess noise while keeping ambient noisenominal. Using thickness as the primary variable, transondent facings are capable of

controlling which frequencies are absorbed by a sound wall. These facings could befurther developed by testing custom acoustic tiles of sandblasted ceramics. By working

with a combination of tile thickness and hole size and orientation, new transondenttiles would be modules in a generic structural frame that would absorb unwantedfrequencies. Porosity and dematerialization will also be explored, not only as tectonic

material qualities, but as urban strategies that allow new programmatic adjacencies.

These material and urban operations will allow architecture to be compatible withplanning, which will benet from opening up its spaces to the sound of the environment

without masking wanted communication signals. New program congurations come asa result of the adding of subtraction: larger scale interventions that lter unusable signalsArchitectural transondency thus reclaims anti-space, a name for the soundproofed

interiors of modern buildings.

1 JAN 21 - JAN 25DESIGN CHARETTE: 1:1 SCALE - CERAMIC TILE WALL

2 JAN 28 - FEB 1DESIGN CHARETTE: 1:1 SCALE - CERAMIC TILE WALL

3 FEB 4 - FEB 8REVISIT GAME EXERCISE FROM ARL TO FINE TUNE SOURCE-BARRIER SIMULATION

4 FEB 11 - FEB 15

APPLY PROGRAMMATIC ADJACENCIES USING SIMULATION5 FEB 18 - FEB 22

DESIGN A PROJECT TESTING ADJACENCIES ON SITE 1: BERKELEY ANIMAL SHELTER6 FEB 25 - MAR 1

DESIGN ANOTHER PROJECT ON SITE 2: MLK REGIONAL SHORELINE / EASTSHORE PARK

7 MAR 4 - MAR 8REVISIT SIMULATION USING SPECIFIC INFORMATION FROM EACH PROJECT (MIDREVIEW)

8 MAR 11 - MAR 15PROPOSE TWO TRANSONDENT ARCHITECTURAL ASSEMBLIES, ONE FOR EACH PROJECT

9 MAR 18 - MAR 22FIELD TESTING: POTENTIAL OF BUILDING SYSTEM TO SUPPORT NEW PROGRAM

10 MAR 25 - MAR 29SPRING BREAK (REFINE FIELD TESTS AND TRANSONDENT ASSEMBLIES)

11 APR 1 - APR 5

REVIEW #2 (THESIS DEFENSE)12 APR 8 - APR 12

REVISIT SCRIPT/TRAILER/NARRATIVE EXERCISE FROM ARS13-15 APR 15 - MAY 3

PRODUCTION16 MAY 6

FINAL THESIS TALKS

PROPOSAL/CALENDAR

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