Archinect - News

The high psychological cost we pay for boring buildings

2016-04-12T20:24:00-04:00

Boring architecture may take an emotional toll on the people forced to live in and around it. A growing body of research in cognitive science illuminates the physical and mental toll bland cityscapes exact on residents. Generally, these researchers argue that humans are healthier when they live among variety — a cacophony of bars, bodegas, and independent shops — or work in well-designed, unique spaces, rather than unattractive, generic ones.

Smart buildings: Architects using brain science for design guidance

2015-02-26T12:14:00-05:00

The push is on to incorporate brain science into design and architecture... Hopefully, the days of windowless classrooms to prevent vandalism and distraction are over.

Science once agains confirms what we already know, and architects turn it into a marketing tool.

The Quest to Measure the Brain's Response to Urban Design

2014-05-07T12:13:00-04:00

We were participating in a little experiment trying to answer the question, “How does the brain respond to the city?” The headsets were recording second-by-second readings of our brain waves via Bluetooth to an app on the iPod. The resulting gigabyte of data, gathered from about 50 participants, will be aggregated into a visualization to be presented May 13 at Issue Project Room in Brooklyn. It’s part of the Van Alen Institute’s multiyear “Elsewhere: Escape and the Urban Landscape” project.