‘Making Noise’ responds to ongoing discourse regarding the representation and consideration of acoustics in planning policy and design, specifically Policy D13 of the Draft New London Plan. London-based live-work schemes are perpetually difficult to achieve due to potential residents’ perception of noise pollution. Sited in Tottenham Hale, this live-work scheme is designed with acoustics at the helm. Desirable soundscapes are achieved through alternative noise mitigations which facilitate otherwise clashing uses to coexist.

The final outcome is an acoustically varied landscape, where the dense industrial ground floor is punctuated by greened courtyards that mitigate noise through dense vegetation and birdsong. The upper floor housing is traversed by public walkways. It has a landscape of acoustic lenses and waterfalls that reach the reservoirs beneath.

Referencing the socialist ideals of William Morris’ A Factory as It Might Be (1884), the project seeks to provide both ‘serious occupation’ and ‘amusing relaxation’. The physical outcome is a ‘beautiful’ landscape which, by combining light industry, mass housing and wetlands, becomes a microcosm of its surroundings.