- Punam Kalra, Creative Director, I’m the Centre for applied Arts
In the middle of all the hustle-bustle of the modern world, a home is looked upon as a peaceful abode—an escape from the urban uproar. But for most homes, the packed cityscape leaves only little room for noise-free spaces, making noise pollution a real-time issue. Technically-sound design and conscious details can zero down the annoyance of urban noise and make a home go back to being a peaceful abode. Here’s how:
Bring in the shades
The openings in a space are the route to noise pollution, which is why window shades matter the most. A thoughtful selection of shades in wood or bamboo can restrict the outdoor noise effectively, given the material properties such as thickness and density. On the other hand, light-hued or sheer linen variants can come out as options for low-lit spaces as they absorb sound restricting echoes and reverbrations, without restricting the daylight. Irrespective of the material choices, where kinetic louvres are known to offer partial insulation, while the roll down shutters offer better noise reduction bringing the focus to the role of enclosures in sound insulation.
Soften the floors
Floors that get the maximum footfall in a space become the major source of noise pollution in it. A luxuriant choice of carpet flooring can come out as an end-to-end solution that absorbs sounds at varying levels depending on its material selection—where vinyl floors offer a sound reduction of upto 20dB or those of woven fibre absorb almost all the sound. In more economical designs, these carpets can be incorporated as overlays such as rugs or selectively laid out in high-traffic zones along with surfaces such as hardwood and save it from the noise generated within a space.
Layer the walls
The social high-rise housing structures have made walls play a major role in noise pollution from the immediate surroundings. Wall coverings are introduced to add a layer of insulation to the spatial expanse—acoustic wall panels are the go-to choice for imperforate insulation. They can be as extensive as textured foam surfaces layering the entire wall or be a more appealing addition as a solid fabric panelling posing as a feature element on the wall. Greener options like a living wall or a vertical garden as also be opted for, to take up landscaping as an approach to insulation.
