When he designed and built his home sweet home, one thing mattered most for the Turkish architect Onurcan Cakir: quiet. But it wasn\u2019t solely because he craved blissful silence.<\/p>\n
His house, located in southwestern Turkey, is made from dense materials that block noise from outside. Double doors and heavy windows are sealed tightly, preventing gaps that could admit sound. One of the three bedrooms \u2014 a kind of \u201cpanic room\u201d for times when outside noise is especially jarring \u2014 has extra-thick walls.<\/p>\n
Such principles would work for anyone seeking unbothered tranquility. Cakir, however, created his house as a case study not just for those who crave an acoustic paradise \u2014 but for those seeking quiet as a medical necessity, as he does, for a rare auditory disorder.<\/p>\n
The home, in Turkey, wasn\u2019t built just to look stylish \u2014 but engineered to prevent any noise from entering. Onurcan Cakir<\/p>\n
Its 39-year-old architect and owner, Onurkan Cakir, suffers from a rare hearing disorder.<\/p>\n
When the house was finished 10 years ago, Cakir received some recognition in architectural and design publications \u2014 both for his home\u2019s natural materials and for its unique acoustic qualities. Now, in a recent paper published in \u201cCivil Engineering and Architecture,\u201d Cakir describes a \u201cSilent House Typology<\/a>\u201d \u2014 architectural principles to create a home as quiet as possible. <\/p>\n One aim, he said, was to delineate guidelines that could benefit others who must also control their sound environment.<\/p>\n In 2009, as a music student working with high volumes through headphones, Cakir suffered a noise injury, sometimes called acoustic trauma. He ended up with tinnitus, or ringing ears, as well as the sound sensitivity known as hyperacusis<\/a>, where ordinary sounds are perceived as agonizingly loud.<\/p>\n \u201cSince that time, I have had to protect myself against daily sounds,\u201d he told The Post. \u201cPeople do not understand how hard it is to have pain because of sound. I don\u2019t leave the house without earplugs.\u201d<\/p>\n Back then, Cakir\u2019s severe form of hyperacusis was so little known that there wasn\u2019t even a term for it.<\/p>\n But within the past few years, that severe form has been distinguished as pain hyperacusis, sometimes called noxacusis<\/a>, where everyday sounds cause stabbing, burning, lingering ear pain. Cakir\u2019s greatest difficulty comes from digital, electronic or artificially amplified sound.<\/p>\n Over time, with the help of the internet, he learned that \u201cthere are people around the world having almost the same problems and feeling almost the same things as me, which made me feel more confident about my condition and made me feel not so lonely,\u201d he told The Post.<\/p>\n Among the necessary inclusions: dense exterior walls that measure nearly 2 feet thick. Ersen Corekci<\/p>\n The left-hand side of the floorplan shows the extra padding of walls around Cakir\u2019s bedroom for additional protection.<\/p>\n Unwanted sound is an annoyance for so many and a health risk for some, with negative effects on cardiovascular function as well as on hearing, said Steven Barad, a retired medical doctor and president of the nonprofit Hyperacusis Research<\/a>, which funds research into noise-induced pain.<\/p>\n \u201cHome should be a sanctuary, but a home is generally not quiet unless someone makes it quiet,\u201d he told The Post. \u201cWe hear from people who move multiple times seeking quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, they generally trade one uncontrolled noise for another. \u201cIn suburbia, even people without hearing problems suffer so much from motorized lawn equipment that some municipalities are restricting leaf blowers,\u201d he said. \u201cIn apartment buildings, with shared walls, noise from surrounding neighbors is a major source of conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n Layers of insulation went into the home\u2019s construction.<\/p>\n Highly thoughtful in its design, blending style with medical needs, the residence appears as a typical dwelling. Onurcan Cakir<\/p>\n Cakir resides here with his family \u2014 and beyond his need for silence, they also enjoy a light-filled layout with space for modern furnishings.<\/p>\n They also enjoy an open kitchen.<\/p>\n But Barad contests the notion that the world\u2019s quietest house is in Turkey. It may be in northern California, occupied by his 34-year-old son, who as a teenager had a severe acoustic injury from loud music.<\/p>\n \u201cMy son\u2019s house is in a remote location, with soundproof windows,\u201d he said. \u201cEven so, it is impossible to block all noise.\u201d His son still must endure distant traffic, crowing roosters and drumming woodpeckers.<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, not everyone with pain hyperacusis can afford to live in a sufficiently quiet environment,\u201d Barad said, \u201cand they must control the surrounding noise the best they can.\u201d<\/p>\n Cakir found that his native Istanbul \u2014 Europe\u2019s largest city with a population of roughly 16 million \u2014 was unlivably noisy. Airplanes droning overhead made it hard to sleep. Low bass, which is especially hard to block, bled through his apartment walls, where neighbors were either partying students or hard-of-hearing seniors with blaring televisions. \u201cEveryone watches TV and it is considered normal to leave the TV on during the day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n So he moved to a small village called Barbaros, near Izmir on the Aegean Sea. He now works as an associate professor at Izmir Democracy University, specializing in architectural acoustics.<\/p>\n Cakir\u2019s native Istanbul is the largest city in Europe by population \u2014 meaning lots of ambient noise. tawatchai1990 \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n To limit sound injuries, Cakir moved to a small village near Izmir. Onurcan Cakir<\/p>\n Some types of buildings take acoustics into account \u2014 concert halls being a prime example \u2014 but acoustic comfort is routinely neglected when it comes to homes. Residential building codes rarely account for noise transmission.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is generally easier to start from scratch instead of trying to find and correct all the problematic parts of an existing building,\u201d Cakir said.<\/p>\n To block outdoor noise, his detached house, just 900 square feet, has dense exterior walls \u2014 20 inches thick \u2014 made of stone, brick and insulation. The panic room is reinforced with concrete and layered with air cavities and mineral wool, often called rockwool. It includes double doors and triple-paned windows with layers of air between the panes, which dull sound transmission.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe there is a misunderstanding about soundproofing even by architects,\u201d Cakir said. Flexible connections between building elements are needed to avoid transferring vibration. Windows and doors must be airtight, without even the tiniest gap.<\/p>\n Just as water can seep through any gap, so can sound. \u201cWhen there\u2019s a small gap, most of the extensive insulation you\u2019ve done goes to waste,\u201d Cakir said.<\/p>\n Indoors, however, echo can be easily reduced with soft furnishings and rugs, which absorb sound and reduce reverberation time.<\/p>\n Cakir\u2019s use of natural materials in the design blends well with the surrounding landscape.<\/p>\n Like any other home, indoor\/outdoor living is easy.<\/p>\n Even in Cakir\u2019s small village, with little street traffic and a population of 400, wedding celebrations take place within earshot.<\/p>\n Turkish weddings often happen in a village square. \u201cEveryone knows one another and villagers enjoy celebrating together,\u201d Cakir said. So he stays in his silent bedroom for the duration, with doors and windows shut.<\/p>\n