Imagine being alone in a remote, dark place. You don't hear any chatter or cars. No sound of wildlife. No sound of the wind blowing either. Nothing. There's dead silence. Seen in this light, silence is anything but golden.
Sound connects us to the world and to each other and provides a feeling of safety. However, we are surrounded today by huge amounts of noise pollution, to the point that quiet places need to be tracked down on 'tranquillity maps' in our pursuit for peaceful areas. But do noise-free environments equate to dead silent areas?
Noise, after all, is different from sound – and sound, generally, is not harmful. Perhaps what we are really craving is not the absence of sound, but a harmonious auditory experience that will help our communities recover and rejuvenate, be healthy, resilient and productive. It is not about deleting sounds but designing them.
As we move forward to a decarbonised and sustainable future, it is predicted that the world may become quieter as energy-efficient technology can potentially reduce noise and its impacts. If this is true, how will it change our tolerance for noise or sound in general? What would the future sound like?
Discovering new sounds: the future soundscape
During the COVID-19 lockdowns, studies showed that although environmental noise levels were much lower, there was a sharp increase in noise complaints, as other sound sources became more annoying even though their sound levels were unchanged. This is because while familiar noises are reduced, new types of sounds will be introduced. We'll hear new noise sources from new technology and uncover existing ones that were previously masked by others.
As this transformation happens, we have the opportunity to design what the future sounds like through soundscaping – the process of creating a specific sound atmosphere for a space. Similar to how car makers were pushed to think about the character of their cars' sounds when electric vehicles were required to become noisy for safety purposes, designers and engineers now have the chance to bring our cities' characters to life through soundscaping too.
Buildings, infrastructure, and cities all have unique sounds. Their design and location will impact their quality and intensity. From building HVAC equipment, road surfaces, high quality green spaces, new technologies and materials, to landscaping, building massing and other acoustic barriers, our cities can sound different and healthy if we use each part as an instrument to compose the 'music' that we want to hear. Are we up for this challenge?
Sonic diversity
The bigger question, however, is: who gets to say what sounds good and what doesn't? Each person has different preferences and needs, with some who are extremely sensitive to loud sounds and noise. And each family, culture, and city have their own unique sonic identity which shapes their perception and tolerance of different sounds.
How can we design the soundscape of our cities with sustainability and inclusivity in mind? We'll need acoustic complexity or sonic diversity. By creating zones and refuges with varying acoustic complexity to mask unwanted sounds, we can perhaps meet in the middle and let everyone enjoy the music. Biophilic design, in particular, offers a wonderful platform to engage all of our senses with nature and reap its well-documented benefits.
On an individual level, the future of sound may be highly customisable. New AI-assisted earbuds may afford the user 'semantic hearing', the ability to choose which sounds you want to focus on or ignore, in real-time, in real-life environments. With the pace of technology and AI nowadays, who's to say we can't customise the way we hear our surroundings if we needed to?
Achieving the perfect pitch
No doubt, the future will sound a lot different. It will change our expectations and tolerances and the way we design our spaces and infrastructure – not only through sound but in all touchpoints of sensory design.
If our soundscape has the power to impact our physical health, productivity and emotional state, just imagine how our communities could flourish and become more resilient if it's complimented by a holistic design that will give us a full sensory experience. In short, to achieve the perfect pitch, it has to be more than just about sound.
Sight, sound, smell, and touch are all interlinked and a disconnect between these will just create a strange sensory experience. The sensory elements of the design need to match up and to do this, we need to work closely with the design team to achieve the best outcome for the humans that will use or be affected by the space.
Our invisible, acoustic heritage is changing. But whatever it is going to sound like, no one wants life to play out as a silent movie. As acoustic designers, we will need to think less about just meeting regulatory requirements and more about how the resulting soundscape of our design will be experienced by those in the vicinity of the development. A more contextual approach will be needed to complement and balance the existing sources, not focus on noise level alone.
It is up to us to compose a brilliant soundtrack for this incredible story. If we have a blank piece of sheet music, why not?
