A growing number of designers are paying close attention to the acoustic properties of buildings, according to a BBC Future report.

With studies indicating that noisy work and home settings are linked to depression, anxiety, and reduced performance, architects are recognizing that buildings not only need to be functional and aesthetically pleasing, but also acoustically satisfying.

Up to now, mainstream architecture typically focused on a building’s acoustic properties only in the construction of concert halls and performance spaces.

New virtual reality systems using acoustic modeling software enable architects to listen to how the spaces they design might sound like through aural simulations of structures. One researcher is studying spaces with exemplary acoustic qualities to create an algorithm or a computational routine that architects can use when designing buildings.

It may be possible for structures to cancel out noise by exploiting the physics of sound interference. A sound wave at the right frequency and wavelength can counteract the sound waves of unwanted noises.