CHALLENGE

Every urban plan structures the sonic environment of sites and landscapes, informing the quality of their Sonic Habitats and the Lived Sonic UX of those who inhabit, move through, and use them. When sound is framed as noise, it becomes a problem to reduce. When framed as a quality, it becomes a planning and design variable. PLAN_AS_SCORE brings sound into planning and design as an urban spatial quality.

APPROACH

PLAN_AS_SCORE proceeds from score to decision. Planning scenarios are evaluated according to the sonic environments they produce, using Sonic UX and DEAR scores from the LUW Scoreboard. On this evaluation, sonic habitat and Sonic UX strategies are developed and aligned with design concepts. Sonic spatial motifs become design variables that can be explored, evaluated, and designed, bringing sonic strategies into material form.

APPLICATIONS

Urban Planning: securing Sonic Habitats in the plan and evaluating planning scenarios.

Urban Design: developing sonic strategies with interdisciplinary teams, from spatial concept to materialisation.

Policy and Participation: integrating Sonic Habitats into planning frameworks and giving communities a way to articulate and inform the sonic future of their environment.

OUTCOME

The effects of spatial decisions on Lived Sonic UX and Sonic Habitat Quality become explicit. Sonic Habitats are defined and secured in the plan, sonic spatial motifs are identified as planning and design variables, and proposed scenarios can be compared and evaluated, enabling decisions grounded in the sonic qualities a plan produces.

DELIVERABLES

A Scenario Note: the comparative evaluation of planning scenarios, with their effects on Lived Sonic UX and Sonic Habitat Quality.

A Sonic Planning and Design Brief: the translation into sonic qualities, spatial conditions, and design principles, from planning framework to material intervention.

Duration and fees are defined by the project scope and planning process, and are available on request. An example Scenario Note is available on this page.

MODULAR WORKFLOW

PLAN_AS_SCORE can operate as a stand-alone atelier or as part of a wider LUW process. It can be combined with a SOUND_WALK for engagement and discovery, and a LUW_SCORE atelier for UX profiling on existing sites. Modules can be combined according to the needs and stage of the project.