Over a decade of decibels—Celebrating teaching architectural acoustics within an architecture curriculum to students with various majors and minors

Having grown up with a musically inclined father who inspired an early appreciation for acoustically related environments and studying under Gary Siebein at UF, the author bridges architecture and acoustics in both teaching and practice. Adjunct positions focused on environmental technologies and acoustic-based courses at UF and K-State led to the current position of Associate Professor of Architecture and OU Gibbs College of Architecture Research Fellow at The University of Oklahoma. Since beginning at OU in 2010, course assignments such as dedicated architectural acoustics electives, design studios, materials and environmental systems, and independent studies have integrated acoustics into curriculum objectives. With over 1300 students to date, majors include Architecture, Architectural Engineering, Environmental Design, Interior Design, and Pre-med with minors in Anthropology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Construction Management, Literature, Business Management, Geography, Foreign Languages, History, Mathematics, and Sociology. Opportunities for pedagogical applications include: hands on experiments; field measurements and data collection; study of musical instruments; precedent studies; laboratory and manufacturing facility tours; and material prototype fabrication with industry partners and other colleges. This presentation showcases how teaching broad spectrum acoustical topics resulted in acoustical integration within capstone projects, student coauthored publications and presentations, and student recognition.