Signal Architecture
This pattern is shaped by
Problem
When wireless connectivity is treated as an afterthought, some rooms have excellent signal and others have dead zones. As buildings become tighter and better insulated — foil-backed insulation, metal cladding, dense concrete — the same material choices that make good envelopes inadvertently create Faraday cages. The envelope and the signal are the same design problem.
Evidence and Discussion
A concrete floor slab attenuates signal by 15–20 dB. A foil-backed insulation layer can create a near-total barrier. Metal ductwork, wire mesh in plaster, even a fish tank can create dead zones. The principle is not maximum signal everywhere — that contradicts THE QUIET ZONE (9). It is *intentional* signal: strong where you work and communicate, absent where you rest and gather, and shaped by deliberate material choices rather than accidental ones.
Therefore
when designing a building, map the wireless coverage as deliberately as you map the natural light. Design the envelope and the signal together — choose insulation and cladding materials knowing their wireless properties. Place the router centrally in the working zone. Run ethernet to fixed workstations. Use the building's mass and material to attenuate signal toward sleeping and gathering spaces. Design for signal strength where people work and signal quiet where people rest.