Sound Gradient
This pattern is shaped by
Problem
When every room in a dwelling has similar acoustic properties — same wall thickness, same door weight, same floor construction — there is no acoustic variety. The bedroom is as noisy as the kitchen. The study is as reverberant as the living room. Acoustic monotony is as deadening as visual monotony.
Evidence and Discussion
The most livable dwellings have an acoustic gradient: loud, social spaces (kitchen, living room) with hard surfaces and lively acoustics; transitional spaces (hallways, stairwells) with moderate absorption; and quiet, private spaces (bedrooms, study) with heavy construction and soft absorption. The gradient should be continuous — you can hear the acoustic quality change as you move through the house.
Therefore
design the dwelling as a gradient from acoustically lively to acoustically quiet. Kitchen and living areas: hard floors, open connections, lively reverberation. Transitional spaces: carpeted or cork floors, partial doors, moderate absorption. Bedrooms and study: heavy walls (DEEP WALLS, 46), solid doors, soft floors, low reverberation. The acoustic quality of each room should match its social function — lively where people gather, quiet where they retreat.