Thinking through Noise, Building toward Silence: Creating a Sound Mind and Sound Architecture in the Premodern City

摘要

From the Mies van der Rohe building in which I live on Chicago's South Side, I cannot hear anything from the apartments around me, whose sounds are muted by the density and thickness of solid walls. From the front window, however, I can hear the constant noise of traffic on Lake Shore Drive, while from the back comes the steady drone of the ventilation systems that regulate the interior environment. These are noises I can filter out while working during the day but which can invade my thoughts and dreams while trying to sleep at night. Inside my apartment, the sounds of heating, cooling, water, and electronic networks can fade beneath these external aural intrusions.