A proposed soundscape design method to evaluate acoustical impacts of planning and building projects on the surrounding community as a way to work toward net zero noise impacts is summarized. The concept of net zero impacts is borrowed from ecological planning where buildings are designed to produce as much energy as they use. The idea of a net zero noise impact is one where a building or planning project does not increase the existing ambient noise level during its use. The first step in this process is to define the nature of the existing ambient soundscape in the vicinity of the project. The method includes long term acoustical measurements of ambient sounds, short term detailed measurements of specific acoustic events, focus group meetings with residents and stakeholders to identify and evaluate acoustical issues, methods to map qualitative aspects of the soundscape, computer modeling of various types to assist in developing design alternatives, evaluation of possible weather effects, qualitative and quantitative assessments of calibrated aural simulations of design alternatives, and postconstruction verification methods. Examples from multiple case studies of large scale infrastructure and building projects are used to document strengths and weaknesses of the proposed method.

The basis for conceptual thinking in architecture is simultaneously aesthetic, humanistic, and scientific. An architectural theory was developed that includes philosophical, aesthetic, and technical thinking about acoustics as generative ideas for form. This theory has its roots in defining an acoustic landscape or soundscape: both interior and exterior, where the soundscape is formed by the architectural ideas and the soundscape reciprocally defines the architecture. The ensuing dialogical exploration of form, space, material, occupation, and phenomenological qualities provides a basis for the mutual expression or poesis of architectural and acoustic designers. The theory was used as the basis for graduate studio design classes at the University of Florida and is presented through the work of several students.

A series of studies were conducted that used augmented environmental noise analysis techniques. Impulse response analysis and digital processing techniques were applied to both previously recorded sound samples and binaural recordings found on a target site. To provide a representation of the character of a given space, recordings of individual sounds on the site were used to construct digitally composed auralizations of the objects and spaces that were representative of the target space over time. By treating the spatial environment and the individual sounds as separate elements, this technique allowed existing soundscape studies to be used as base models for new soundscapes. This technique was implemented in a number of studies in various natural and manmade locations, all of which demonstrated that sound could be used as part of an integrated design process that allows the designer to treat sound as a material rather than as an unwanted substance (noise).

A study of a state park situated along a spring fed river was conducted to try to understand the nature of the soundscape of a park intended to be used by people for recreational purposes as well as to preserve the qualities of the natural ecosystems in the area. The study explores the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the ambient sound as composed of a series of specific acoustic events related to natural sounds of wildlife, water flows and weather, human use of the park, maintenance operations by park staff, and off-site noise intrusions from adjoining land uses. The acoustic “rooms” of the site are identified by the characteristics of their impulse responses. The rooms are linked by acoustic itineraries related to each of the user groups. Modeling of animal, weather, and human sounds is used to construct the acoustic rhythms of the site from limited, practical data acquisition of existing sounds. Recordings of real and simulated sound fields from the park were evaluated by listeners to determine qualitative and quantitative relationships of real and modeled sounds.