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with those design elements could result in flutter echo or reverberation in occupied spaces depending on materiality, layered arrangements, and cubic volume. Students begin to understand the connections among surface articulation, proportions, and density relating to acoustical reflection, diffusion, and absorption. I also try to find common ground, like relating architecture to the bass and treble controls on their car radio (or a 31-band equalizer for the audiophile), to the hue and contrast adjustments on pho- tographs, or to how architecture might alter wave-based forms of sound and light depending on material qualities and spatial form (Figure 1). Architecture becomes the interactive element that can support or deter from true reference, both aesthetically and aurally. Although I have coordinated and instructed several BArch and MArch program courses, the integrated/comprehensive capstone studio has been a constant throughout the years. Students are required to integrate mechanical, electrical, plumbing, acoustical, fire resistance, thermal properties, site conditions, community engagement, and overall sustainable and resilient design concepts into individual projects. The process includes research of precedent studies, code analy- sis, data collection, project development through detailed drawings, and feedback from practicing design profession- als. Systems courses integrated into design studios allow a deeper understanding of mechanical, electrical, and plumb- ing (MEP) systems including associated noise. It’s one thing to tell students heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems produce noise, but it helps the learning process to go the extra step and show them through real-time analysis (RTA) graphs the span of frequencies associated with the air handling unit, ductwork, and vents/diffusers, for example. Those measured and understood values then contribute to air handling unit locations, ductwork shapes, distribution distances, and wall and floor assembly layers to achieve desired NC ratings. I tell students hard parallel walls that are not articu- lated will likely provide a flutter echo. It also helps to tell them what might appear to be wasted space by splaying or creating odd-shaped cavities between adjacent spaces provide opportunities for mechanical systems or stor- age areas. It’s surprising to most students when I suggest designing spaces without equal or multiples of dimen- sions to avoid resonant frequencies and then proceed to sound out the woo woo sounds associated with standing waves. We have become sound machines when describ- ing typical acoustical deficiencies. Students go around whooping, clapping, and shouting “reverberation is the persistence of sound” in most spaces they enter, immedi- ately activating the space and yielding responses. We take a lot of field trips. I have taken students to acous- tics labs, consultant offices, music stores, parks, art districts, recording studios, and music halls. I direct attention to MEP system locations and how they relate to or are con- cealed in floors, walls, or ceilings (Figure 2). We discuss sound-isolation techniques, system integration, power- conditioning requirements, and how spaces are shaped to promote accurate audio referencing. Some design projects challenge students to jump scales and translate function and interaction beyond the typical scaled Figure 2. On a field trip, students’ attention was drawn upward to the vertical sound baffles concealing mechanical systems (left) and a colorful absorbent wall finish flanking a large open staircase (right). Students asked questions and connected discussions in class with inhabitable space. Summer 2022 • Acoustics Today 27