Brain, Body, Building: Neuroarchitecture and Design
11 Oct 2023
Neuroarchitecture is a field that emerges at the intersection of neuroscience, technology, and architectural design. Vittoria Falchini, Workplace Consultant at Foster + Partners – who specialises in neuroarchitectural psychology – explains the frameworks it can provide, the observations it can make, and how neuroarchitecture can steer us towards more considerate design.
Defining Neuroarchitecture
This growing domain of neuroaesthetic research has been brought to an architectural context, resulting in the configuration termed neuroarchitecture. Architecture is an artform that exists in physical space, and our buildings, as the Finnish architect and academic Juhani Pallasmaa describes, provide us with ‘perceptual frames and horizons of understanding’ for the world. Neuroarchitecture asks how these external frames affect and are interpreted by our internal, neurological structures and, as a result, influence our moods and behaviours.
As Fred Gage, an American neuroscientist at the Salk Institute observed: ‘Neuroscience has reached a point in its understanding of the brain and how it is influenced by the environment [such] that neuroscientists can work with architects in their designs for environments that enable people to function at their fullest.’ Increasing attention on neurodiversity, accessibility, and wellbeing in relation to architecture can be reinforced by such research, which can guide us to build more supportive environments.
However, neuroarchitecture should not – and cannot – dictate our designs. As Italian cognitive neuroscientist, Vittorio Gallese, reminds:
I don’t think we can say anything interesting if what we say contradicts what we know about the function of the brain. But the brain, in itself, falls short of accounting for our diverse range of social and cultural activities.
Instead, neuroarchitecture might best be understood as a body of expertise, a tool, that designers can call upon and test their ideas with. As is the case with architectural design more generally, which integrates many disciplines at once, neuroarchitecture is part of a broader design ecology. It is an interdisciplinary strategy.
Full article: Brain, Body, Building, Neuroarchitecture and Design