You can build windows that have sound attenuation greater than common wall construction. My office at home has a series of 62"x80" windows effectively forming

You can build windows that have sound attenuation greater than common wall construction. My office at home has a series of 62"x80" windows effectively forming the walls on two sides of four sides, and smaller windows covering on one side. I had the windows built as 3/16"-PVB_laminate-1/4"-1/2"_gap-1/4". The lamination and the different thicknesses detune the panes, and the large mass provides a lot of attenuation. You can hardly hear someone standing outside yelling. People often comment how quiet it is after they step inside and close the door. [It also helps that I don't have any computers in the room-- just display/keyboard and long fiber displayport cables to a rack in another room.] These windows aren't particularly exotic... basically just the minimum you might to do design for a lot of attenuation. Here is a comparison chart (from a quick google): http://girardglass.com/uploads/stc_rating_chart.pdf http://girardglass.com/uploads/stc_rating_chart.pdf Similarly for thermal insulating properties. Modern coatings can reject an enormous amount of heat-- enough that in some designs its preferable to us less effective coatings because the windows face the morning sun and the heat gain is beneficial.