Archinect - News

How do our homes influence the relationships we nurture within them?

2019-09-24T13:05:00-04:00

The rise of micro-homes and micro-apartments has created debate over how much space is needed to live comfortably and happily. A recent report conducted by researchers from Brigham Young University explores how individuals perceive space in their homes and how that influences personal and family functioning. According to work published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, the study is an examination of "ways in which actual (e.g., density) and perceived (e.g., crowding and distance) elements of the spatial home environment act as predictors of family functioning."

Peter Rubinstein of the BBC dives into the subject of how space inside a family home affects domestic preferences and perceptions. Rubinstein highlights individuals who are learning how to discover their "environmental autobiography," a term developed from design psychologist Dr. Toby Isreal.

When this form of design psychology is incorporated into housing design, it's compelling to think about how space might be ...

The Salone del Mobile installation exploring design's impact on human biology

2019-03-26T10:31:00-04:00

The installation is called A Space for Being: Exploring Design’s Impact On Our Biology, and it digs into the topic of neuroaesthetics–basically, the study of how beauty affects your brain. It’s three rooms that will be set up in Spazio Maiocchi, built in conjunction with architect Suchi Reddy. They’re not exactly identical, but each room decorated with the same furniture line from Muuto...

In 2018 Google debuted its first home installation at the Milan Furniture Fair, aka Salone del Mobile. Although the company's debut of its domestic software was not something new or revolutionary, it allowed for the multi-billion dollar company to enter the realm of spatial design through their industrial design products. For this year's Salone de Mobile, Google has teamed with Suchi Reddy, founder of Reddymade Architecture, Muuto's Design Director Christian Grosen, and the team from the International Arts + Mind Lab at Johns Hopkins University to create an immersive design installation which addresses the topic of neuroaesthetics.

Google makes its debut at Salone del Mobile 2018 with a special exhibition at Rosanna Orlandi’s iconic gallery in Milan. Image courtesy of Google

Google has already established itself as a front runner in enhanci...

As Brutalism gains new popularity, what are the mental health consequences of concrete architecture?

2019-03-06T16:17:00-05:00

Antipathy to the “concrete jungle” is rooted in the assumption that concrete-heavy environments are by nature detrimental to psychological health. One study of more than 4 million Swedes, published in 2004 in the British Journal of Psychiatry, seemed to suggest that moving from a rural to an urban environment had a detrimental effect on individuals’ mental health.

"Has the material been made a bogeyman for the urban environment – assumed to be harsh and unforgiving, rather than liberating and inclusive – when many of the problems it seems to embody are more directly related to how inequality and segregation manifest in cities?," writes Lynsey Hanley for the excellent Guardian concrete week series.

Putting entire cities on the psychiatrist's couch

2015-07-01T12:59:00-04:00

Rule No. 1 for long life: Stay active, keep the blood flowing. Rule No. 1 for urban planning: Never close an artery.

It's well known that strong social ties can benefit an individual's mental health. Investment in a community can help people to cope with the stress of traumatic events, physical disability, aging, and simply the everyday banal. Cities, the natural biomes of most humans, then become a strong influencer of community and individual psychologies.

This fascinating New York Times piece looks at the career of Mindy Thompson Fullilove, a psychiatrist whose work with entire cities imagines them as a functioning body – one that needs all its parts to remain connected and coordinated in order to thrive.

For more on the psychology of urban environments: