Neuroarchitecture. Neuroscience as a project tool

Neuroarchitecture

Neuroscience as a project tool

Bachelor’s Thesis - Spring 2020

Miguel Malato Agüera

NEUROARCHITECTURE

NEUROARCHITECTURE

Neuroscience as a project tool

Miguel Malato Agüera

English version (translated from Spanish)

Madrid, June 8, 2020

Exp No. 15282

Bachelor’s Thesis - Spring 2020

Department of “Proyectos Arquitectónicos”

Tutor: Enrique Colomés Montañés

Class 3

Coordinator: Antonio Juárez Chicote

Associate: Ángela Ruíz Plaza

Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

The context in which this Final Degree Project has been carried out has motivated a deep reflection on how the space that surrounds us affects our perceptual and psychological conditions. The need to adapt our room or our house not only to the new work or study circumstances, but also to our own need to feel in an open, bright and protective space, are proof of the impact that the built environment has on us and it should be reconsidered.

Resumen

Conocemos que el entorno es determinante en el desarrollo cognitivo y afecta directamente a nuestro sistema nervioso y a nuestras pautas de comportamiento a lo largo de toda la vida, por tanto, ¿cómo debe ser una arquitectura que tenga en cuenta nuestra anatomía neuronal?

La Neuroarquitectura se está consolidando como una nueva disciplina que promueve un diseño esencialmente definido por los avances en neurociencia, pero que no abandona el contexto cultural y simbólico propio de la discusión arquitectónica. En este trabajo se describe como una herramienta para superar la arquitectura sensorial del siglo XX y dar así respuesta a un funcionalismo utilitarista que no tendría en cuenta al usuario en su componente sensorial. Para ello, se analizan multitud de estudios neurocientíficos desarrollando una matriz teórica y de aplicación que permitiría al arquitecto adoptar decisiones que estimulen a los ocupantes desde el rigor científico.

La Neuroarquitectura debe plantear, en definitiva, un modelo integral y extensivo que permita mejorar las condiciones sensoriales y por tanto vitales de todos los seres humanos partiendo del conocimiento de nuestra anatomía sin perder la referencia cultural inherente a todas las sociedades.

Palabras clave: neuroarquitectura, neurociencia, cognición, función sensorial, espacio sensible, entorno

We know that the environment is decisive in cognitive development and directly affects our nervous system and our behavior patterns throughout life, therefore, how should an architecture that considers our neural anatomy be?

Neuroarchitecture is emerging as a new discipline that promotes a design essentially defined by advances in neuroscience, but that does not abandon the cultural and symbolic context of architectural discussion. In this work, it is described as a tool to overcome the sensory architecture of the 20th century and thus respond to a utilitarian functionalism that would not take the user into account in its sensory component. For this, a multitude of neuroscientific studies are analyzed, developing a theoretical and application matrix that would allow the architect to make decisions that stimulate the occupants from scientific rigor.

Neuroarchitecture must propose a comprehensive and extensive model that allows for the improvement of the sensory and therefore vital conditions of all human beings based on the knowledge of our anatomy without losing the inherent cultural reference to all societies.

Keywords: neuroarchitecture, neuroscience, cognition, sensory function, sensitive space, environment

Modified source: archdaily.com

Fig. 0.1 The matter of time, Richard Serra (2005)

resonancias, materialidad

Motivation

“The buildings of our time may arouse our curiosity with their boldness and inventiveness, but they hardly give us a clue to the meaning of our world or our very existence.”

(Pallasmaa, 2000: 448)

The notion of form and its parts have been subject to the limits of industrial manufacturing, obsessed with reducing costs and time, to the detriment of its main objective: living. This utilitarian functionalism has turned the city and its buildings into merchandise, consumer objects where the ideas of spatiality and architectural theory are conditioned by the rules of the market and production relations.

At the same time, and on too many occasions, the relevant architecture has been relegated to centers of accumulation of wealth, where its configuration is required as a status symbol. On the contrary, the banal floods the generality of the territory to accommodate the rest of the population, “which is subjected to wandering through reduced spaces and is pushed into containers without considering their biological, spiritual and human conditions” (Gustav T. Fechner 1984 ).

On the other hand, it is estimated that people spend on average more than 90% of their time in buildings (Gary Evans and Janetta Mitchelle, 1998) and it is known that the environment directly affects neuronal development throughout our lives. Why can’t architecture make these spaces really improve our physical and mental health? Why does the failed model based on overcrowding and the non-city continue to be repeated?

Paradoxically, the affirmation of function has been followed by the denial of habitable space, reducing rooms to the limit and filling them with consumer goods. As Pallasmaa states, “our technological, consumer, and media culture consists of increasing attempts to manipulate the human mind in the form of themed environments, commercial conditioning, and mind-numbing entertainment.” (Pallasmaa, 2016: 72)

Given this, why not advance in criticism proposing as a response an architecture based on the sensory? An architecture capable of stimulating cognitive abilities, made up of spaces that arise from movement, from materiality, from the knowledge of the physical and sensitive qualities of the user to place them at the center of debate and research. Thus, one can speak of a Neuroarchitecture that translates the profound needs of the person into truly habitable spaces.

Fig. 0.2 Watercolor, Steven Holl (2016)

Source: architectmagazine.com

Fig. 0.3 Representation of neurons, Ramón y Cajal (1852-1934)

What is Neuroarchitecture?

From this Bachelor’s Thesis, it is proposed to define the recent term Neuroarchitecture as the intersection between the fields of neuroscience, psychology and architecture, taking as a reference the thesis in this regard proposed by Christoph Metzger in 2018.

The main objective of this discipline would be the search for systematizable project mechanisms whose implementation is based on a better understanding of the nervous and cognitive system of the human being. It focuses on redefining the lexicon of architecture such as interior space, transitions, materials, proportion, light and color, among others that will be detailed in this work, in order to understand them on a neural scale.

Source: artsy.net

Source: bjorndesign.net

Fig. 0.5 Vals Baths, Peter Zumthor (1996)

Fig. 0.4 Earth Room, Walter de Maria (1977)

estímulo, naturaleza

materia, textura

Focus of the matter

This current aims to put the user at the center of design, not only as the recipient of the architectural project, but also as the starting point of the entire process. The user is not the end, but the origin of the entire project.

This means, first of all, overcoming the theoretical parameters that characterize the utilitarian and mechanistic functional architecture of the 20th century: the proportion, formal or compositional values are meaningless by themselves when they leave the cognitive reality of the person and turn architecture into a discipline that looks at itself. Talking about a direct relationship between form and function should not lead to excluding the inherent needs of the occupant of this architecture.

Secondly, it is also intended to advance and overcome the theoretical approach framed in the so-called architecture of the senses or sensory architecture. This current based on holistic perception rejects iconographic or compositional appeal as the central axis of the project, the essence of most contemporary design. However, beyond its achievements, it bases its proposals on reflections and individual sensitivities that can make it difficult to materialize.

Works of art and architecture of diverse origins and intentions such as the Vals Baths by P. Zumthor, the Matter of Time by R. Serra, the Giraldi House by Luis Barragán, the work Earthroom by W. de María, the Holocaust Memorial by P. Eisenman or Olafur Eliasson’s Room for One Color installation show the effectiveness of a spatiality that understands the sensory component it generates on the visitor. However, a scientific approach to the matter is necessary to extract values and parameters to produce this effect in a systematic way.

Faced with the intuitive mode of sensitive architecture and the exaggerated pragmatism of current design, it is proposed from this work that Neuroarchitecture establish a triaxial system ‘person, form and function’. This framework would seek to be the starting point to constitute a methodological alternative responding to functionalism; at the same time as being the trigger for research and essays that deepen the scientific knowledge of cognitive processes to overcome sensory architecture. The subject, defined by their cultural condition and specific perception, will model from their neural anatomy what the qualities and structure of the space that surrounds them should be.

Fig. 0.6 Giraldi House, Luis Barragán (1976)

Source: archdaily.mx

Fig. 0.7 Holocaust Memorial, Peter Eisenman (2004)

Source: own production

Source: archive.maltm.com

Fig. 0.8 Skyspace Lech, James Turrell (2018)

Hypothesis and objectives

The main objective of this Thesis is to show the potential of Neuroarchitecture and how it can be applied to the project development method. From this perspective, the architect must position themself as a mediator between the speculative theoretical discussion of their discipline and the quantitative results of studies in neuroscience about human behavior and their reactions to the built space. In this sense, it is intended to take a leap to overcome sensory or phenomenological architecture, since scientifically based knowledge would be directly introduced into project development.

This work seeks to raise and answer questions such as: how to integrate symbolic and experiential theory with all the advances in the field of neuroscience to make a Neuroarchitecture really feasible? How to translate the results of the investigations into the vocabulary and tools of architects? What parameters to study? Is it possible to quantify sensory architecture? And, above all, how to open the gaze of both fields to understand the collaboration between neurologists and architects as a vital need to continue advancing towards an integral and sensorially stimulating architecture?

Fig. 0.9 Serbian Pavilion Venice Biennale, Stefan Vasic, Ana Sulkic and Igor Sjeverac (2016)

Source: archiscene.net

Methodology and structure

This work has been carried out during the period running from February to June 2020 developing further a short essay written during an Erasmus stay at the Aarhus School of Architecture, Denmark (Aarch).

It starts from the interest in an architecture that manages to establish a sensitive spatiality with the user, but from a scientific basis that effectively tests the mechanisms used in the design. For this reason, the research carried out has focused on two main axes: the historical theory of sensitive, phenomenological and sensory architecture, on the one hand; and reading numerous articles and scientific references in the field of neuroscience that test different spatial parameters, collecting the reactions of volunteers from various studies.

In this work, an attempt has been made to balance the two mentioned branches, mostly finding coincidences in many of the hypotheses raised by sensory architecture. However, neuroscience is managing to go further with much more concrete contributions such as those that have been attempted to be reflected in this text.

The structure, beyond the state of affairs in both fields, aims to reflect this duality while integrating it and describing or enumerating from the architect’s perspective the different scales on which the practice of the discipline ends up focusing. The exposed project tools would follow an order that goes from the most general (global scale) to the most particular (material and immaterial scale), resembling the path that an architect would take when making decisions in the development of their work.

Fig. 0.10 Metodología

Fig. 1.1 Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Steven Holl (2007)

Source: stevenholl.com

two trajectories

From sensory to neuroscience

“We are still a long way from designing specific projects exclusively guided by the brains of future space users, but Neuroarchitecture research describes common behavior patterns when faced with certain stimuli”

(Oshin Vartanian, neurocientífico)

Neuroarchitecture as a discipline is in a premature stage of consolidation where references such as those that will be reported below are beginning to be positioned, while the first points of support and essential axioms are defined on which to build an increasingly more complex system. However, despite this youth, the potential of what it proposes can undoubtedly mean a change in the development of architecture itself, finally understanding the cognitive reality of the individual beyond their own consciousness.

Two trajectories can be distinguished and their convergence and compatibility are considered in this work: an investigation that is the result of experience, intuition and philosophy, where the relevance of the symbolic is studied from the field of the sensory; and a much more recent effort in the field of neuroscience, where new insights into brain function and neural relationships are applied to the quantification of architectural spaces. In no case should they be considered as contradictory paths, but rather they will be complemented by fusing the specific cultural component of each geographical context with the physiological reality of the human body. This second parameter will be extrapolated to all populations for the mere fact of being anatomically and neurologically similar, while the cultural context will address a more specific imaginary of each environment.

intuitive origin

It is essential to begin by analyzing the origin of the theoretical aspect of Neuroarchitecture, despite the fact that this term is much more recent than the authors who influence this field. Drawing a chronological line means looking for the existing referents in each generation until going back to the origin shared with rationalism, positivism or existentialism at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th. This starting point established the discussion about housing and contemporary architecture as an element that really satisfies the desires and needs of people. Consequently, this analysis has been carried out from the present to the past seeking a discursive coherence of key personalities without neglecting the specific contributions of other authors.

In 2018, “Neuroarchitektur” (Neuroarchitecture) was published by Christoph Metzger, a post-doctoral musicologist in architectural theory. The objective was to value the architecture of masters such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Peter Zumthor or Sou Fujimoto, among others, from their criticism of functionalism and their proposals for user-centered design.

This analysis makes it possible to extract parameters and elements that are repeated in their architectures, such as the interest in inducing movement, spatial orientation, the use of certain materials with tactile properties and stimulating textures or the culturally symbolic forms of their buildings, among others. With this, consensus can be established on

Christoph Metzger

Fig. 1.2 Nueroarchitecture, Christoph Metzger (2018)

Elements with a natural character (Browning, 2018)

Walking texture (Pallasmaa; Metzger, 2018)

Reverberation and noise (Nanda, 2018; Kirsh, 2018)

Color (Billmeyer and Saltzman, 1981)

Warm and cool colors (Nelson, Peleck, & Foster, 1984; Whitfield & Wiltshire, 1990; Crowley, 1993)

Color and gender (Putrevu, 2003)

Light and color (Panda, 2018)

the aspects and terms of architecture that must be treated to achieve a design based on sensory stimulation.

Red light (Anderson and Magan, 2018)

Light entry (Anderson and Magan, 2018)

Sound (Browning, 2018)

One of the most influential theoretical references in the argument of the German musicologist, along with architects, philosophers and writers such as Rudolf Steiner, Alvar Aalto or Martin Heidegger, is undoubtedly

Humidity and air quality (Lindberg, 2018)

Symbolism (Pallasmaa)

Building height (Mazumder, 2018)

Neurourbanism (Adli, Fingerhut, Brakemeier & Gomez-Carrillo, 2017)

Juhani Pallasmaa. This Finnish-born architect has focused his latest work on psychology, culture and phenomenology applied to understanding architecture as a tangible extension of the interior of the human being and his own doubts about existence and reality. We could talk about a clear generational reference for Metzger and a starting point for his own research and theoretical concerns.

Pallasmaa’s obsession with the importance of perception and the tactility of the world, the corporality of architecture and the impact of the built space on the user’s psyche, finds a reference in the work of the French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty, whom also references Metzger. Described as an existentialist, he defended that “our body is in the world as the heart is in the organism; it keeps the visible spectacle constantly alive, breathes life into it and sustains it internally, and with it forms a system.” (Maurice Merleau-Ponty).

Finally, in the search for the theoretical root we can establish that the resistance against the rational and the defense of existentialism and subjectivism goes back to Gaston Bachelard, and especially in his book “La poétique de l’espace” (The poetics of space), theoretical origin of sensory architectural discourse.

Juhani Pallasmaa

Maurice Merleau-Ponty

Christoph Metzger

Juhani Pallasmaa

M-P Gastelon Bachelard

Rudolf Steiner

F. Lloyd Wright

Alvar Aalto

Gaston Bachelard

Fig. 1.3 Theoretical references

Source: plataformaarquitectura.cl

Source: arquine.com

Fig. 1.5 Town of New Barris, Hassan Fathy (1967)

Fig. 1.4 House N, Sou Fujimoto (2008)

From the beginning of the 20th century to the present day we can distinguish architects and artists directly or indirectly linked to these ideas whose contributions are worth mentioning. Thus we find historical references such as the writer as well as Norwegian designer C. NorbergSchulz; the Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy, whose sensitivity to tradition is especially noteworthy; the American Steven Holl with more recent works such as the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, focused on internal routes and the spatial orientation of the user; the artist J. Turrell with works such as “Skyspace”, in Lech am Arlberg (Austria); and many others like A. Siza himself, J. Utzon, etc. Additionally, we can find current figures such as the Japanese architect and professor Sou Fujimoto with works such as the Final Wooden House or the N and NA houses where ideas of materiality, transparency or permeability are experimented with; the Vertical Forest project by the architect Stefano Boeri, which brings direct contact with nature to a block of flats in Milan; or the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne by the Bates Smart collective, where stimulating spaces are developed for children admitted to these medical facilities. The different approaches to the cognitive and sensory issue make this architecture a very varied field.

On the other hand, from the last third of the 20th century until today, we find the contributions of neuroscience as a scientific input on this field, many of which influenced the last mentioned examples.

First of all, it should be noted that, due to the premature nature of the research carried out in this field, the term Neuroarchitecture is yet to be consolidated. Thus, we find similar denominations such as “neuroscience applied to architecture” or “neuromorphic architecture”, all pointing in any case to the need to work together with architecture. To carry out this work, the use of the term Neuroarchitecture is chosen due to its greater extension and acceptance in both fields.

As a whole, neuroscience seeks to understand from different points of view the functioning of the nervous system and its elements, as well as the interaction between them, in order to find biological bases that explain the behavior and cognitive processes of the human being. The development of new techniques for evaluating brain activity has allowed this discipline to study the influence of the environment on neuronal plasticity and the behavioral changes it causes, constituting a specific field for neuroscientists. As previously mentioned, the human environment is mainly the built environment, so this branch is closely linked to design and architecture as a field of study and application.

Neuroscience as an independent discipline in favor of Neuroarchitecture takes on special importance as a result of the studies carried out by Dr. Fred Gage. Neuroscientist and director of the “Salk Institute for Biological Studies” in California, a complex designed by the architect Louis Kahn, discovered in 1998 that the brain continues to produce neurons during adulthood, contrary to previous theories that considered that this was

Fred Gage

exclusive to the childhood. This discovery leads us to consider that the anatomical configuration of the brain can vary depending on the vital experiences that the individual undergoes throughout his life (Gage, 1998). Mark Rosenzweig, a psychologist of North American origin, reached similar conclusions when studying this neuroplasticity in animals, corroborating what was established by Gage. It is crucial to understand the concept of neuroplasticity to grasp the possibilities it opens up in the field of architecture, thus discovering procedures that achieve a real and materializable impact on users.

Source: newswise.com

Source: laarquitectura.blogspot.com

Fig. 1.7 Salk Institute , Louis Kahn (1965)

Fig. 1.6 Fred Gage, neuroscientist

The interaction with the environment and the cognitive processes cause a constant alteration of the neuronal configuration, so that a greater neuroplasticity, that is, a greater adaptability of our brain, makes this process more effective. In addition, throughout our lives, those stimuli that become more repetitive or continuous strengthen the synaptic connections between the neurons that interpret them, while the neurons whose stimulus disappear, end up dying because they are not necessary, thus reducing our ability to adapt. Consequently, maintaining a high variety of stimuli favored by the environment makes it possible to preserve greater neuroplasticity for a longer time, having a positive impact on the person’s mental and cognitive well-being and on their ability to adapt to new vital conditions. Obviously, genetic predisposition plays a fundamental role in this entire process, but it has been shown that it is a characteristic of our neuronal system.

In the current scientific context we can talk about different referents for Neuroarchitecture from all over the world. The Salk Institute (USA) itself continues to concentrate a large part of the leadership due to the large volume of neuroscientists and studies that deal with this matter, but also research groups from other universities such as the “Neuroarchitecture Research Group LENI” of the Polytechnic University of Valencia ( Spain) or the University of Aalborg (Denmark) are dealing with this matter.

Undoubtedly, a turning point was the foundation in 2003 of “The Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture” in San Diego with the aim of “promoting and disseminating knowledge that links neuroscience research with a better understanding of human responses to built space”. Every two years this association organizes conferences that bring together architects and neuroscientists from all over the world to present the different advances and discoveries and thus reach common conclusions that can be translated into architecture. The results obtained in barely a decade, as will be detailed later, are truly encouraging, while maintaining an effort to unify and solidify a discipline that for a time was considered dispersed (Metzger, 2018: 8).

Despite this, neuroscience experts consider that “we are still a long way from designing specific projects guided exclusively by the brains of future space users, but Neuroarchitecture research describes common behavior patterns when faced with certain stimuli” (Oshin Vartanian, neuroscientist). The studies carried out do not focus on the specific individual for whom a certain project would be developed, but instead analyze repetitive responses to a stimulus in diverse population groups, establishing conclusions of general application. However, the intention is to achieve greater precision, which is why the new studies pose three questions to be resolved in order to begin to systematize the process: what element should we analyze? how to restrict the element to parse? And how to measure the impact of this element?

The starting point of many of the studies comes directly from the theory of architecture, from the lexicon used in this discipline to define

investigation groups

Fig 1.9 Eye-tracking device, Source: anfa.com

Fig 1.10 Electroencephalography (EEG) and virtual reality (VR) Source: michaelgaebler.com

Fig. 1.8 Electroencephalography (EEG) Source: circulaseguro.com

different elements. The objective is to find exactly which pieces stimulate the different parts of the brain and the range in which they act based on the intrinsic properties of each one. For example, we find a study from the University of Aalborg which outlines a first analysis of the impact of transitions on the behavior of users when crossing spaces of lesser or greater height and with variations in the opening of those transitions.

However, secondly, the problem arises when trying to isolate a certain parameter for study trying to prevent other variables from interacting and distorting the answers obtained. A conceptual contradiction is produced since in a certain way it seeks to understand not only the effect of an element, such as furniture, spatial proportion, lighting or materials; rather, it is known that the cognitive responses of the set differ from those recorded separately. The tests that are carried out should then search for increasing complexity until coordinated readings of all the variables are obtained, identifying how they are related to each other.

Third, new measurement systems such as electroencephalography (EEG) (Fig. 1.8, 1.10), eye-tracking systems or gaze tracking (Fig. 1.9), as well as the entire family of wireless devices measuring vital signs (metabolism, heart rate, sweating and skin conductivity, respiration, cortisol level, etc.) allow the subject to be removed from the testing laboratory. This prevents the volunteer from being influenced by the mere fact of being observed, and allows them to be exposed to much more precise and truthful physical or virtual reality environments to measure their reactions. Less and less invasive tools have been developed, which in turn are capable of collecting better information, partially leaving aside the questionnaires to which the study volunteers were offered on a subjective basis, since “physiological reactions to environmental stimuli can be undetectable by human consciousness or observation. Biofeedback instrumentation measures used in psychological studies can identify certain changes and conditions of body functions and well-being that may be outside the awareness of humans and therefore cannot be validly identified or assessed using only verbal and observational measures.” (Ulrich, 1986).

Despite all the unknowns still to be resolved, neuroscience continues to advance in its studies, reaffirming or responding to what is established by sensitive architecture.

Global approach “Movement”

Movement

Transitions

Spatial orientation and memory

Openings

Three-Dimensional Displacement - Stairs

Sheltered corner

Indoor-outdoor relationship

Interior height

Spatial approach “The corner”

Object approach “Furniture”

Material approach “Beyond the visual”

Outside nature

Gradual growth and contrast

Changes of perspective and views

Acute angles and straight shapes

Symbolism

Spatial reconfiguration

Abstract art and cognition

Wood, brick and ceramic

Elements with a natural character

Walking texture

Reverberation and noise

Color

Warm and cold colors

Color and gender

Light and color

Red light

Inmaterial approach “The intangible” Change of scale “Neurourbanism”

Light input

Sound

Humidity and air quality

Symbolism

Height of buildings

Neurourbanism

(Metzger, 2018) (Newman, 2018)

(Akil, 2018)

(Djebbara, 2018) (Metzger, 2018)

(Metzger, 2018; Bachelard, 1958)

(Akil, 2018)

(Joan Meyers-Levy y Rui Zhu, 2007)

(Chen-Yen Chang y Ping-Kun Chen, 2005) (Alex Coburn, 2018) (Nanda, 2018) (Ochoa, 2019)

(Pallasmaa) (Nanda, 2018) (Aviv, 2014; Freedborg y Gallese, 2007)

(Pallasmaa)

(Browning, 2018) (Pallasmaa; Metzger, 2018) (Nanda, 2018; Kirsh, 2018) (Billmeyer y Saltzman, 1981) (Nelson, 1984; Whitfield, 1990; Crowley, 1993) (Putrevu, 2003)

(Panda, 2018) (Anderson y Magan, 2018) (Anderson y Magan, 2018)

(Browning, 2018) Lindberg, 2018)

(Pallasmaa)

(Mazumder, 2018)

(Adli, Fingerhut, Brakemeier y Gomez-Carrillo, 2017)

Madera, ladrillo y cerámica

Elementos con carácter natural Textura al andar Reverberación y ruido Color

Colores cálidos y fríos Color y género

Enfoque material “Más allá de lo visual”

Fig. 2.1 References for the different project approaches from the notion of sensory function.

Project strategies from Neuroarchitecture

Sensory function

“A place to think generates intense co-sensing, in emotionally dynamic terms, and inaugurates the creative process because something in the surrounding built environment compels us to think; a process we stumble upon rather than being based on recognition”

(Marco Frascari)

Neuroarchitecture, as previously mentioned, is in a first phase of consolidation of referents and objectives. This moment is crucial for its own definition as a project strategy, so it is essential to define the theoretical axis on which future research and studies should be built.

In this work, the notion of sensory function of architecture is proposed as a theoretical framework and potential nexus for the deepening and linking of all efforts in this field. The first function of Neuroarchitecture would consist of providing the built space with the function of positively stimulating the user in order to improve their cognitive abilities, prolong them over time and thus maintain the health of their nervous system. Faced with this, one might ask: how do neuroscientists describe the cognitive processes linked to architecture and how should they be translated into the built environment?

Neuroscience establishes that the human being is predictable in its nature, and therefore in its neuronal behavior, being able to extrapolate conclusions from the study of a group to other people. Neuroscientists also affirm that our brain not only has certain capacities, but that it must put them into practice based on three essential functions to remain stable: it needs to control its own body, including its own nervous system, to carry out physical actions that involve changes of position in space or relative displacements; secondly, it needs to monitor the outside world both from the physical point of view and in its social context, that is, to receive information and interpret it through different cognitive means; and finally, you need to learn from experience to cope with the inherent complexity of the world (Akil, 2018).

Recent studies have shown that “after just fifteen minutes, test subjects buried in a coffin-shaped chest in warm water show life-threatening disturbances in hormonal balances. The reflex activity of the human sensory organs turns destructively against us, if we are not able to direct it outward. Therefore it is obvious that any form of monotony must have a deleterious effect on us. We find a smooth, white, hard plastic covering on the room’s wall, floor or ceiling, as unsettling as acoustically dead rooms or the denial of tasty food and drink. (...) The reduction of conversation, the lack of light, the lack of oxygen in public spaces and the fact of being forced to stay in a room, be it

in kindergarten, at school or in the home of an older person, can lead to self-injurious actions against the body” (Metzger, 2018: 140).

The described experiment seeks to take the elimination of control over our body and the absence of stimuli to the extreme in order to obtain easily quantifiable results and reveal the basic functions of our nervous system. However, the effect that many of the current built spaces can cause in the long term is not too far from the consequences of the essay. We find ourselves submerged in a storm of disruptive stimuli that keep our nervous system in a constant state of stress and anxiety that can cause serious damage to our cognitive system.

Architecture must understand the complexity of this neural process in order to introduce into the project those elements that really represent a positive stimulus. One of the errors committed by the previously mentioned sensory architecture could be in speaking of the senses from

Source: plataformaarquitectura.cl

Fig. 2.2 Observation tower, EFFEKT (2019)

the Aristotelian concept of the term, since this supposes a reductionist simplification of the relationship between the human being and the reality that surrounds him. The five parameters by which it is governed are nothing more than a description of the organs that express their function towards the outside of the body, while cognitive reality goes further with sensations such as stability, movement itself, temperature, sense of consciousness, existence or language, among others (twelve according to the Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner, and up to thirty-four according to current considerations). This quantum leap must be linked to the estimates made by some scientists when they consider that “we are only aware of five percent of our cognitive function, while the remaining ninety-five percent goes beyond our reflective awareness and has a determining impact in our lives” even going so far as to affirm that “no matter what we do with our conscious mind, it is the unconscious that dominates our mental activity” (Muñoz 2018). The sensory reality is alien to the conscious perception of it, it is impossible to realize the total impact of our environment only from personal experience.

Thus, holistic sensory stimulation together with the autonomy of movement are essential for the development and cognitive maintenance of the person, coming to consider that “the environment and the stimuli that it generates cause a neuronal reconfiguration (and that) the complexity of the environment decreases behaviors caused by anxiety and increases neurogenesis” (Akil, 2018). Architecture needs to be able to become not only a physical shelter, but also a cognitive one from external reality. Architecture must be the mediator in our contact with the world and must evolve at the same time as our perception does throughout our lives. The pleasant space for the user will be one capable of transmitting security, but it will also provoke moments for meditation through the stimulation of the entire sensory spectrum.

Summarizing, we can establish that the sensory function of architecture must respond to three basic needs raised from neuroscience: movement, sensory stimuli and the multiplicity of experiences, all of them linked to cognition and directly related to the built environment. The multitude of discoveries that will be commented in the following sections are related to these three foundations, determining that the design must go beyond the optimal compliance with an established program: it must be configured based on the conscious and unconscious cognitive needs of the users to promote the thought and imagination from its anatomical reality.

holistic stimulation

Fig. 2.3 NA House, Sou Fujimoto (2010) Source: plataformaarquitectura.cl

a. Global approach - Movement

“Our perceptual field is composed of things and spaces between these things.’ Therefore, the distance between things acquires the status of a space that can be evaluated again.”

(Metzger, 2018: 65)

If the space in which we move has the same neurological relevance, be it the point of departure or arrival, or the journey itself, then the mechanistic position where these journeys are ignored and are intended to be reduced to the maximum does not make sense. As mentioned before, motor displacements should gain such importance that they are studied in design as crucial elements of architecture, and not as residual pieces between comparatively monumental spaces. We know that “if an individual is deprived of the possibility of movement, this leads to the degeneration of vital functions. The great reduction in stimulation resulting from the lack of movement leaves traces in the nervous system” (Metzger, 2018: 83). And this is not exclusively restricted to the architecture of the prison system, especially affected, in any case, but would be extensible to the city as a political and moral tool. If the restriction of movement in a prison seeks to penalize the prisoner by reducing their cognitive abilities to a minimum and thus dominate their body and mind, what does this same logic intend to achieve by optimizing movement on the urban and home scale if not reducing the capabilities of the individual as a whole to exercise control over their consciousness?

Regardless of the final intent of this fact, the answer should be based on building a stimulating environment that also encourages the movement of users within and through the different spaces. “The increase in the distance that people walk inside a building and around the site should always be judged as success” (Metzger, 2018: 174). It is about creating a building where distances are increased through connections, but also about blurring the architecture through the landscape and the environment, making users enter and leave the built rooms to access different programmatic activities. According to Winifred E. Newman, “the greater the number of transitions between different spaces, the greater the induced mental activity” (Newman, 2018). In addition, other studies have determined that the “hippocampus is responsible for spatial orientation, stress assessment and the first stages of memory” (Akil, 2018) so that further development of this part of the brain caused by movement and the increase in orientation capacity is closely related to a greater ability to remember. Thus, a direct relationship between movement and memory is established at an anatomical level.

The materialization of this design dynamic would lead, first of all, to the creation of corridors and other transition elements, both interior and exterior, seeking a wide variety of stimuli through perspective changes inside and outside the building, the sensation of depth or of closeness, narrowness or breadth, and the achievement of variable and reconfigurable routes that can be adapted to the physical capacities of its users, taking into account their vital stage. A study from the University of Aalborg, Denmark, has determined that “we move more slowly through smaller openings, compared to larger ones” (Djebbara, 2018) even when it is possible to pass through them in both cases with complete ease. This can help to understand not only the conceptual relevance of these spaces as symbolic elements, but also to understand them as pieces that really cause an involuntary reaction in individuals in order to make scientifically founded project decisions.

Secondly, having defined the horizontal plane of routes and transitions, it is necessary to intensify the diversity of stimuli by working with the third dimension. We can speak of a topographic architecture, an architecture that is not understood as a superposition of layers separated by the structure, but as a three-dimensional continuum where the built interior has a direct connection with the material reality of the exterior. The world is not the abstraction of Euclidean space where length, width and height are defined independently, but the complexity of reality would lead us

three-dimensional displacement

Fig. 2.4 Kunsthal Museum, Rem Koolhaas (1992)

Source: designboom.com

Fig. 2.5 Salk Institute, Louis Kahn (1965)

Source: flickriver.com

to consider a fluid movement where verticality is treated with the same intensity as the ground plane. Height changes related to the motor skills of the users must be introduced, trying to reinforce them in the case of the elderly, and to develop them in the youngest. This procedure may involve the appearance of ramps, sections of stairs, somewhat steeper level jumps or even overlapping of these elements on the same route to cover all the possibilities of the people who are going to use it.

“

Stairs are not necessarily a bad thing for connecting floors, but (they are) for moving, stopping, gathering, playing with the nature of the setting. (…) stairs provide complex series of movements and opportunities that are not only attractive to children. (...) Regarding the stairs: children find it difficult not to jump when walking. They also like to go up and down stairs. Most of their life is related to movement in three dimensions. But in schools, children are condemned to live on the ground. Schools must be made up halfway of stairs. Walking through rooms, as in the work of Akio Suzuki, Bruce Nauman, and Ulrich Eller, can be experienced as receiving various resonances that can occur in conversation. A variety of stimuli are needed to achieve and maintain physical and mental balance.” (Metzger, 2018: 77) The brain in its infant stage is eager to experience complex forms of displacement where it puts into practice the person’s motor skills to control themselves. Shrinking disables this ability and is a neural detriment that should be avoided.

Coinciding with Pallasmaa, architecture is not an object, it is an action, it must provoke the action. That is why the encouragement to movement for Neuroarchitecture is a fundamental element, and its application in sick people or people with cognitive deficiencies shows even more clearly the advantages for their recovery. “While healthy people show control over the body in the form of deliberate and intentional movements and courses of action, sick people lose control over the space around them through the loss of the ability to control their own body.” (Metzger, 2018: 68) Understanding that many of these disorders are shown to different degrees in the majority of the population, becomes essential to transfer these tools to all people. This could provoke an improvement in the quality of life through the built space as opposed to an architecture that compresses and limits intentional and deliberate movements.

“Physical experiences are always spatial experiences, which create a space through the active movement of the body. We are the space in which we move; spatial relationships are originally and existentially connected to us.” (Metzger, 2018: 180)

Source: archdaily.com

Fig. 2.6 Children’s Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center, Sou Fujimoto (2006)

b. Spatial approach - The corner

“The corner is a paradise that ensures us the things we value most: immobility. It is the safe place, the place next to my immobility. The corner is a kind of half box, part walls, part doors”

(Gaston Bachelard, 1958: 136)

Determined an overall structure that encourages movement through the building, what should the interior spaces be like to achieve the diversity of stimuli and contrasts that we need? Metzger affirms that “only in the protective corners of the house are we in a position to experience the safety of childhood” (Metzger, 2018: 147), and this is precisely the treatment that should be given to each room: look for a side that can be a place of protection and that can also stimulate the cognition of the occupant.

It is crucial to first understand the refuge space as one that is capable of reducing our level of anxiety and stress and hibernating our body’s defense systems to free our senses. According to geographer Jay Appleton, “we judge the aesthetic beauty of natural landscapes based on whether or not their conditions are favorable for our survival. The same idea has been extended to built environments that offer a sense of security. (...) Contemporary people’s preferences for spaces are due, in part, to the extent to which those spaces would have conferred an advantage on our ancestors in terms of survival” (Jay Appleton, geographer). Knowing the importance of the subconscious in our perception, these spaces must respond to forms and systems that allow the individual to control the whole in order to feel protected. Spaces that are “magic triangles, erotic zones, narrow spaces and blind alleys in houses (...) Man’s place in the world offers protection only in the form of a corner. This shape is synonymous with the peaked roof that is characteristic of every simple cabin and offers the same kind of protective space as an open book.” (Metzger, 2018: 146).

Consequently, the architectural theory could fall into the design of a space close to that of the hermit, where to move away from the relationship with a convulsive outside world for seclusion and meditation. However, studies in neuroscience have shown that, despite the fact that space should confer this sense of security, it should not suppress the entire relationship with the outside: a stay that causes prolonged isolation will cause damage to the brain, loss of orientation ability and loss of the sensation of depth perception, thus being blind for long distances (Akil, 2018).

Secondly, the space should ensure a wide variety of stimuli so that, although in many cases they are not consciously perceptible, they make our brain keep all its capacities active. Neuroscientists have carried out a

indoor-outdoor

multitude of studies focused on the impact of spatial configuration on the user, the essential conclusions of which will be detailed below, grouped into the concepts of spatial volumetry, interior-exterior relationship, and shape.

Studies related to the built interior volume have focused on the impact that the height of the space can have on user behavior. It has been proven that “relatively high ceilings can trigger thoughts related to freedom, while lower ceilings can trigger thoughts related to confinement” (Joan Meyers-Levy & Rui Zhu, 2007). More specifically, people located in a relatively high space have a higher success rate in activities that require a relational and creative process that involves discerning information from different sources and finding links between various ideas. On the contrary, spaces with comparatively lower ceilings induce greater ease in the development of more concrete and mechanical actions, which do not require making decisions, but executing simple orders.

Source: celia-hannes.tumblr.com

Fig. 2.7 Sun Tunnels, Nancy Holt (1976)

interior height

Besides, the relationship with the outside takes on special interest through openings that in some way emphasize or focus the landscape. Numerous studies confirm that, despite being inside a built environment, everything that evokes the sensation of controlled external nature causes a positive effect “in terms of aesthetic and affective response (Ulrich 1983), psychological wellbeing (Ulrich 1979 ), psychophysiological effects (Ulrich 1981) and stress recovery (Ulrich and Simons 1986)” (Chen-Yen Chang and Ping-Kun Chen, 2005).

Despite the proven effectiveness of this direct contact with the natural environment as opposed to the urban or human environment, more recent studies are questioning whether the origin of this response is the plant mass itself. According to Alex Coburn “The naturalness of architecture is not just about plants and shrubs, but rather the properties of architecture to develop in a more natural way. The greater contrast and gradual growth, the more natural (a space feels) without explicit nature” (Coburn, 2018). While nature develops incrementally and with great contrasts in shapes and materials, the built environment tends towards abrupt scale changes and monotony, properties considered artificial and unstimulating by this study.

In addition, the relative position of the user within the space must not be fixed, but changes that alter the internal perspective and also the external vision must be motivated. That is why having a variety of visual perspectives can contribute to cognitive performance. Therefore, sufficient space to allow changing the orientation of the seat and its views can be beneficial (Nanda, 2018).

Lastly and directly related to the natural properties mentioned above, “completely straight spaces and sharp angles also influence their users, perceiving them as threatening through a process in the amygdala that can trigger tension or aggressiveness” (Ochoa, 2019). The curved or sinuous shape, on the other hand, tends to reduce anxiety and brings benefits at the neurological level, although it is a field in which much work remains to be done to specify less general and more measurable formal parameters.

The tools offered by neuroscience to conceive a sensorially positive space present a first approximation that can help make crucial decisions in the project. However, the complexity of architecture makes more detailed studies necessary, dealing with elements such as visual harmony, order and entropy, the hierarchy of spaces, the two remaining dimensions beyond height, and all of them related with the function of each space and with the characteristics of the different user models.

acute angles and straight shapes

Source: architectureanddesign.com.au

Fig. 2.8 Melbourne Children’s Hospital, Bates Smart (2011)

c. Object approach - Furniture

“The home cannot be produced at once. It has a temporal dimension and continuity, and is a gradual product of the adaptation to the world of the family and the individual.”

(Pallasmaa, 2016: 18)

A stimulating architectural space is also made up of the objects that it contains and that significantly vary their perception. However, studies in neuroscience seem to have focused solely on formal or material qualities in a generic way, both for space and for its objects, as demonstrated by the research cited in the previous section regarding the naturalness of forms (Coburn , 2018) against sharp angles and visually sharp elements (Ochoa, 2019). This section will focus first on outlining the theoretical proposals of sensitive architecture, from where a series of elements are raised and whose symbolic component is of some interest; and, secondly, the opinion provided by neuroscientists on the decoration of spaces, and in particular on the importance of abstract art, will be presented.

First, “the meaning of objects in our remembering process is the reason why we like to have familiar or unique objects around us. They expand and reinforce the realm of memories (...) Few of the objects we possess are strictly necessary for utilitarian reasons: their function is psychological and social” (Pallasmaa, 2016: 22). Therefore, the space in which we live must be capable of housing all those objects that are an extension of our own consciousness and identity. The rooms through which we move should be in continuous evolution, adapting to the existential reality of each one, and therefore cannot be planned as finished and static elements. This need for personalization, related to the control that we unconsciously seek over our environment, is manifested more intensely in the presence of other people or in larger groups. Neuroscience considers essential the ability of spaces to be reconfigured and adapt their elements (Nanda, 2018), emphasizing that the furniture, whatever it is, must allow the change of position according to the feelings of each user. This “feeling” has a subconscious component that should be analyzed in future studies to find patterns that facilitate the design of the different pieces.

Pallasmaa, in turn, focuses the reflection on those elements that he considers essential from a symbolic perspective. He criticizes that the fireplace, culturally considered as a piece for the meeting, has become an aesthetic object that has rejected the fire itself.; for him, the door has disappeared as a border by becoming transparent, an object that “neither hides nor protects”; the bed, which could be considered the culmination of the protective space, a space of intimacy and seclusion, has become a

symbolism spatial reconfiguration

Source: palavracomum.com

Source:

Fig. 2.11 Gemälde Number 1, Jackson Pollock (1949)

artsy.net

Fig. 2.10 Mirror neurons, Freedberg y Gallese (2007)

Fig. 2.9 Ugolin et ses enfants, Auguste Rodin (1882)

mere stage, depriving the home of its ultimate place of refuge; and finally, the table, like the fireplace, has ceased to be the center of the house, the sacred place (Pallasmaa, 2016: 105). It would be necessary to analyze these elements from neuroscience to test and analyze their impact.

Secondly, neuroscience has shown that contemporary interest in abstract art goes beyond being just a fad. It has been discovered that when exposing ourselves to a representative work of art, our brain interprets the actions and spaces depicted with a certain degree of reality, thus activating the parts of the brain linked to it: if we find ourselves in front of a painting where a forest is represented , our brain interprets that we are in a certain way in a similar forest; in the same way that when seeing a sculpture where a certain movement is described (Fig. 2.9), the neural activity linked to the execution of this movement increases (Freedberg and Gallese, 2007). This is caused by the presence of mirror neurons in our nervous system, the origin of our ability to imitate and responsible for activating empathic processes in the face of observed actions. “Seeing images of a hand reaching to grasp an object or grasping it firmly activates the motor representation of grasping in the observer’s brain” (Freedberg and Gallese, 2007) (Fig. 2.10).

However, abstract art shows us, as is well known, a figurative distortion of reality, elements that in themselves we cannot directly relate to anything we are used to. Consequently, while the representation of a landscape, a portrait or a still life produces localized activity in a specific area of the brain, abstract art induces action in different regions in a kind of search for relationships with what is observed, that is, abstract art is not interpreted by a specialized area of the brain, but by a multitude of them with different functions. “If we extract the signal produced by abstract art from those generated by representational art of various kinds, we observe zero activity” (Aviv, 2014).

The great variety of stimuli that the brain receives from abstract art means that it does not respond in a predictable or stereotypical way, but rather new neural relationships and new synaptic pathways are established, activating parts of the nervous system that under normal conditions would not have interacted with each other. The impact that the presence of this type of pieces in the environment can have at a cognitive level must be studied from the sensory need posed by Neuroarchitecture, as an element of the project.

Fig. 2.12 Moss Wall, Olafur Eliasson (1994)

Source: nationalgeographic.co.uk

Fig. 2.13 Final wooden house, Sou Fujimoto (2008)

Source: dezeen.com

d. Material approach - Beyond the visual

“While the visual architecture of pure form tries to stop time, the multi-sensory and tactile architecture of matter makes the experience of time comforting, healing and pleasurable.”

(Pallasmaa, 2016: 55)

The current image culture considers everything that is attractive from a visual perspective to be positive and beautiful. The aesthetic value system would have been radically limited to a monosensory and reductionist perception, which denies the body’s ability to feel all the stimuli of reality.

Architecture is no stranger to its time and therefore also seeks the impressive and the visually novel. Consequently, “it has been emptied of all deep mental meaning; only the desire for aestheticization remains. In today’s obscenely materialistic world, the poetic essence of architecture is simultaneously threatened by two opposing processes: functionalization and aestheticization” (Pallasmaa, Habitar: 9). This has resulted in the use of materials under a purely retinal criterion or subject to assembly processes without taking into account the totality of perception considered essential by neuroscience. The material cannot be defined solely by its color, its shape, its tones. Rather, it is necessary to talk about its texture, its temperature to the touch, its aging, its resonance, even the fragrance it gives off. The materials that make up the architectural space must not only be chosen to be seen, but the designer must know their impact on the rest of the broad sensory spectrum mentioned above.

The perception created from the translation of all the elements into concrete could lead to the coldness of the space. The greyish color of this material can only imitate the formal appearance of more sensorially stimulating materials. Wood, brick and ceramics, with their imperfections resulting from more artisanal work, cannot be assimilated to their replacement in concrete and it has been shown that those elements with a greater natural character help cognitive development and especially recovery from medical procedures (Browing, 2018). The most relevant studies carried out to date in this regard have reflected three essential material qualities that have a direct cognitive impact: texture, noise dispersion or amplification, and color.

We maintain direct contact with the horizontal plane of the ground, and we know that texture changes when walking barefoot cause a direct stimulus to the cerebral cortex, responsible for thought (Metzger, 2018: 78). For this reason, the sensation produced by the materials when moving over each of them must be studied. At the same time, the roughness of

wood, brick and ceramic

elements with natural character

walking texture

Fig. 2.14 Rainbow Panorama, Olafur Eliasson (2011)

Source: producción propia

Fig. 2.15 Reality machines, Olafur Eliasson (2015)

Source: olafureliasson.net

the wall to the touch and its irregularities should be discussed, studying in particular those surfaces likely to come into contact with the user and establishing tactility criteria that ensure a wide variety of stimuli.

On the other hand, the acoustic properties of materials play a fundamental role in the perception of spaces. The reverberations on the other side of walls of different composition should achieve an “optimal noise level design: neither too high to cause anxiety, nor so low that it causes concern” (Nanda, 2018). According to neuroscientist David Kirsh, it would even be positive to achieve the sound effect of being inside a cathedral (Kirsh, 2018).

Third, the color of the surrounding materials can cause mood changes. “The human eye perceives color as a stimulus in the form of light and the brain processes that perception, evoking feelings and emotions” (Billmeyer and Saltzman, 1981). Neuroscience distinguishes three variables in the composition of color: hue, tone and chroma (Gelineau, 1981) and different empirical investigations have shown that cold colors (blues and greens) cause greater relaxation and a sensation of spatial amplitude; while colors with warm shades (reds and oranges) cause greater excitement or anxiety and make us perceive a smaller space (Nelson, Peleck and Foster, 1984; Whitfield and Wiltshire, 1990; Crowley, 1993). More recent studies have come to affirm that there is a relationship between the effect of color on our subconscious and gender, with the feminine being more susceptible (Putrevu, 2003: 47).

In short, the set of characteristics that make up the reality of the chosen materials must seek to establish contrasts and achieve a great diversity of stimuli that breaks with the monotony of the environment. “Architecture as a place of return, realization and departure can only appear as a space with sensory effect, if a variety of stimulating materials and surfaces come together” (Metzger, 2018: 142)

Fig. 2.16 Glasses that enhance red light, Andersen y Magan (2018)

Source: anfa.com

Fig. 2.17 Room for one colour, Olafur Eliasson (1997)

Source: guggenheim-bilbao.esu

e. Inmaterial approach - The intangible

“The most intense and pleasant home experience occurs when rain hits the roof during a strong storm, magnifying the feeling of warmth and protection.”

(Pallasmaa, 2016: 34)

The properties of space do not depend solely on the physical state of the objects that make it up or their materials, but are subject to environmental parameters that vary their qualities and have a direct effect on our perception. In this section, the impact generated by light, sound and relative humidity can be described through neuroscience.

Light, beyond its condition as a metaphorical element, is a physical magnitude that in architecture is determined by two parameters: color, and therefore its wavelength, and the origin and sifting to which it is submitted, that is, the intensity with which it affects the spaces. Light plays a central role in our circadian rhythm of activity and sleep, so designing spaces with this in mind will help alleviate stress and anxiety for its occupants. Light with low-intensity wavelengths (cold colors) activates the blue light detection protein responsible for keeping us awake and in a greater state of arousal, while high-intensity wavelengths (warm colors) typical of the candle or orange light help to fall asleep better than industrial lights (Panda, 2018). Other studies show that using chrome glass that increases the proportion of red light in daylight can reduce fatigue (Andersen and Magan, 2018) (Fig. 2.16). On the other hand, “irregularity in the entry of light is preferable” (Andersen and Magan, 2018), that is, instead of having only continuous windows that flood the space with direct light, elements should be placed that break up the incidence on surfaces, thus promoting changes in the position of the penumbra and light throughout the day, adding a new stimulus vector.

Secondly, in relation to acoustic stimuli, the architectural programs that need to encourage the concentration of their occupants, such as libraries, offices, educational spaces, etc. can take into account that “the sound of a stream flowing is the best way to hide the noise of the environment” (Browning, 2018). The curious reason proposed by the study that demonstrates this is the very evolutionary need to discern the sound made by a clean water source from the rest of the noise in the environment. Architecture can indistinctly pose the natural or artificial disposition of this sound in space.

Finally, the environmental control systems of a space must take into account that the optimum values of humidity are between thirty and sixty

light and color

Source: archdaily.com

Fig. 2.18 Riverbed, Olafur Eliasson (2014)

percent, as well as the concentration of carbon dioxide that must not vary between five hundred and fifty nine hundred and fifty parts per million (Lindberg, 2018).

Architecture must therefore be aware of the psychological implications of all the decisions that are adopted at the different scales of a project in order to position them for the benefit of its occupants.

Source: anfa.com

In order to control a single variable, the rest of the elements are simplified by eliminating the color and using the same neutral window module, varying only the height

Fig. 2.19 Building height study, Robin Mazumder (2018)

f. The change of scale - Neurourbanism

“A landscape wounded by the actions of man, the fragmentation of the urban landscape and the insensitive buildings are all external landmarks of an alienated and shattered interior space.”

(Pallasmaa, 2016: 71)

According to a 2010 study, city dwellers are at 38% higher risk of developing mental disorders (39% higher risk of affective disorders, 21% higher risk of anxiety disorders) than those in the rural areas, raising the risk of suffering from schizophrenia to more than double (Adli, Fingerhut, Brakemeier & Gomez-Carrillo, 2017). In this same study, the simultaneity of two processes is analyzed as the most probable cause: high population density and social isolation; both related to submitting to an uncontrollable environment full of stimuli that overwhelm our nervous system, subjecting it to a state of constant stress.

Neuroarchitecture should therefore propose a leap in scale to address the problems of the city as a whole. Most of the aforementioned studies focus on understanding our reactions to the interior of built spaces, within the buildings themselves. However, despite the fact that we spend less time outdoors, the urban environment would also require the implementation of principles in line with our cognitive capacity. The city should be understood as an encapsulated space, as a set of corridors and stairs that is part of the total built environment and not merely the consequence of accumulating buildings. Pallasmaa agrees on the need to promote the configuration of a complex city in its reading (Pallasmaa, 2016), and therefore full of contrasts and stimuli, as a response to an excessively functionalized city.

Canadian neuroscientist Robin Mazumder, who is especially interested in the urban issue, states that “tall buildings are oppressive, they freeze behavior and have a negative effect on the probability of recovery” (Mazumber, 2018) (Fig. 2.19), calling into question the contemporary urban model and especially the American model from which his analyzes are based. Virtual reality allowed him to create an immersive simulation where participants responded to diverse urban spaces. The variable that was modified in one context or another was the height of the buildings, causing different cerebral and metabolic reactions that were recorded by the measuring equipment and that allowed the aforementioned conclusions to be reached.

Another of the starting points of this branch can be the reinterpretation of the studies carried out around neuromarketing. This discipline focuses

neurourbanism

Fig. 2.20 Kid’s City Christianshavn, Cobe (2017)

Source: cobe.dk

on the impact of advertising, especially outdoor advertising, on pedestrians and techniques to reorient the consumption of specific products. This ability to alter behaviors could be used to generate a city that connects with citizens instead of distorting or manipulating their sensoriality for propaganda purposes.

The discoveries commented on the different lower scales may have a similar application in the context of the city, but Neuroarchitecture must take a qualitative leap to understand the new interrelationships that occur in a more open space. The mentioned study can be a methodological starting point for future experiments that can include, in addition to simulations, other tools such as eye-tracking, or gaze tracking system, to detect those points in the urban context that arouse the interest of our subconscious.

“There will come a day – very soon perhaps – when it will be recognized what our great cities lack: silent, vast and spacious places for meditation; places with long glazed galleries for rainy and sunny days, where the noise of cars and the cry of merchants do not reach, and where a more subtle etiquette would even prohibit the priest from praying aloud; buildings and constructions that as a whole they will express what is sublime about meditation and the distance from the world. (...) We want to translate ourselves into stones and plants, we want to walk by ourselves when we walk through those galleries and those gardens” (Nietzsche, Friedrich 1882)

A new perspective

Neuroarchitecture could constitute an evolutionary step in architecture by understanding that the scientific advances of our time will allow us to understand the user in his deepest essence. If we know that the built space is decisive in the development of human beings, how can we ignore the disastrous consequences of a design that looks the other way instead of focusing on people?

Neuroscience can revolutionize architectural theory and the practice of the discipline at all levels. The study of form, light, spatial organization, interior routes, transitions between spaces, matter, hierarchy, perspective, vision changes, etc. is leading to conclusions to take into account as those presented in the work. However, there are still many aspects to be studied and, especially, the interrelationships between the different parameters mentioned. How the shape affects the color, or the texture of the material under specific lighting conditions, including the height of the space in relation to its lighting or the simultaneity of materials and visual perspectives. The entire lexicon of architecture as a whole should be reassessed, questioned and reformulated based on the anatomy of the human body, valuing the scientific perspective and, ultimately, allowing neuroscience to intervene in the architectural discussion.

However, one of the problems that this current is causing is the dispersion of content and the lack of cohesion in the results obtained, an objective addressed in this work. The establishment of a broad theoretical framework could not be considered a success if procedures are not developed that allow the systematization of the studies and their translation into architectural practice. However, looking for a strictly pragmatic method, or that only finds the answers in the studies carried out, can lead to turning Neuroarchitecture into a new approach to functionalism. For this reason, architects should attend to the discoveries of neuroscientists, but without ever losing the global perspective of the physical context, the sociocultural features of the place or other symbolic components that could be excluded from the purely neurological field.

Consequently, one of the essential questions that this work has sought to answer has been how to introduce neuroscientific discoveries in the field of architectural projects. In response, a cascade model has been proposed, such as the one described in the second chapter, where the different findings are embedded in the different phases or design approaches. Finally, a matrix of decisions would be progressively built that can be

adopted by architects as scientific progress is made in the knowledge of the behavior and reactions of the human body.

On the other hand, and despite the fact that the studies are positive, it could be interesting to establish an ethical debate based on the conclusions reached. The possibility should be considered that this knowledge ends up being applied to repress people’s cognitive abilities and, consequently,

subjecting them to deterioration and a psychological control reinforced by the environment itself. The clearest example of this model was the panopticon devised by Jeremy Bentham in the 18th century, where the inmates were deprived of any kind of privacy, eliminating the refuge space defended in this work. Prisons in general are the best example of this cognitive repression for the control of individuals, so a greater knowledge of neural responses can lead to a hardening of the conditions in these places. However, these tools used in a negative way could be transferred to the city model and buildings in a subliminary way, directly affecting our subconscious and limiting the physical and mental capacities of citizens.

In short, Neuroarchitecture must propose a comprehensive and extensive model that makes it possible to improve the sensory and therefore vital conditions of all human beings based on knowledge of our anatomy without losing the cultural reference inherent to all societies.

Fig. 3.1 Desarrollo proyectual

REFERENCES

Bibliography

bachelard, Gaston. La poétique de l’espace. Paris: Les Presses universitaires de France, 1958; 215 pages. English version: The poetics of space. Boston: Beacon Press, 1969; 288 pages; translated by John R. Stilgoe.

Reference that could be considered anecdotal for the final materialization of this work, but that brings up reflections on space and cognition that have been present throughout the 20th century. Despite the absence of scientific studies typical of current neuroscience, he shows great lucidity in detecting essential elements on which work has continued to be done subsequently, such as the protective space.

frascari, Marco; edited by Federica Goffi. Marco Frascari´s dream house New York: Routledge, 2017; 238 pages.

This work compiles the ideas of Marco Frascari, an Italian architect who worked with Carlo Scarpa, focusing the interest of his practice on creating spaces that encourage thought and reflection. Despite the fact that he does not establish specific mechanisms to define this stimulating environment, his theoretical discussion in defense of an architecture of the sensorial was an advance in the criticism of functionalism of his time.

holl, Steven. Cuestiones de percepción. Fenomenología de la arquitectura. Barcelona: Editorial Gustavo Gili, S.L., 2018; 69 pages.

This brief compilation of Steven Holl’s opinions has served to extract examples of his own architecture and provide another vision of sensitive architecture defended by other authors. It undoubtedly allows to have a first contact with the architect to approach his work later.

metzger, Christoph. Neuroarchitecture. European Union: Jovis, 2018; 224 pages.

The trigger for all the research carried out, this book can be considered the first compendium of theoretical references for Neuroarchitecture whose postulates have begun to lay the foundations of the discipline. In addition, it gives some first hints of the impact that neuroscience could have to understand the built space and its relationship with cognitive and behavioral processes in people. It addresses themes such as the home, the need to encourage movement and organic architecture with works by Alvar Aalto, Frank Lloyd Wright and the

personal contributions of Juhani Pallasmaa, among others.

muzquiz, Mercedes (2017). La experiencia sensorial de la arquitectura (Bachelor’s Thesis). Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura, Madrid.

This work has served to extract a multitude of references from the theoretical vision of sensory architecture, thus complementing artists such as Richard Serra or James Turrell, and architects such as L. Barragán and P. Eisenman.

pallasmaa, Juhani. Habitar. Barcelona: Editorial Gustavo Gili, S.L., 2016; 128 pages.

This book compiles five essays that revolve around the idea of inhabiting from the author’s own phenomenological and sensory vision. In a similar way to the author’s other book, Esencias (2016), it has served as a reference to understand the contributions of sensory architecture and especially the symbolic nature of the elements that make it up.

― Esencias. Barcelona: Editorial Gustavo Gili, S.L., 2016; 124 pages.

Juhani Pallasmaa presents the conceptual bases of architecture summarized in this compendium of four essays. The author rejects the design focused on the visual and addresses conceptual project strategies to form a sensory architecture. Along with the other book, Habitar (2016), he has brought the symbolic component of sensory architecture to the work.

― “The geometry of feeling – A look at the phenomenology of architecture”. En Nesbitt, Kate (Ed.) (2000) Theorizing a New Agenda for Architecture: Anthology of Architectural Theory 1965-1995. Hudson, NY: Princeton Architectural Press (pp 448-453).

Pallasmaa shows the need to go beyond an architecture of form and the visual to achieve a design based on the phenomenology of the sensory, describing a series of experiences typical of this current.

rodríguez de torres, Raúl (2013). Del papel en blanco al blanco del papel (Thesis). Universidad de Alcalá, Madrid.

This thesis focuses on project teaching methods, based on scientific bases and studies in cognitive neurobiology that allow current procedures to be varied. The contributions for this work have been mainly the definitions of elements of the nervous system and specific vocabulary present in the annexes.

Videography

The content of the videography focuses on the international congress convened by the “Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture ANFA” (Neuroscience Academy for Architecture) in 2018. The objective of this biennial congress (2012, 2014, 2016, 2018) is to put highlight new research and advances in the field of neuroscience by bringing together neuroscientists and architects from around the world. Its visualization has been essential to capture a multitude of scientific references, whose arrangement and relationship is shown in the second chapter, leaving the work open for future contributions and clarifications.

AHN, Kyuho. [Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture]. (2018, 19th October) Theoretical Paradigm Adapted for School Design for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder [Video file]. Recovered from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mW9nhoc7WfE

AKIL, Huda. [Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture]. (2018, 19th October) Thinking about solitary confinement [Video file]. Recovered from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WvIOqGDag0

BROWNING, William. [Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture]. (2018, 19th October) Neuroscience for Biophilic Design [Video file]. Recovered from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRvivytrFjA

COBURN, Alex. [Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture]. (2018, 19th October) Psychological Responses to Natural Patterns in Architecture [Video file]. Recovered from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnmB3cITKg

COLLATZ, Jana; CUEVAS, Erin; ETCOFF, Nancy. [Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture]. (2018, 19th October) Architecture of Effortless Attention [Video file]. Recovered from https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=5H8fQtcfVXU

DJEBBARA, Zakaria. [Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture]. (2018, 19th October) Incentive Architecture: Neural Correlates of Spatial Affordances During Transition in Architectural Settings [Video file]. Recovered from https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=kDs7H8NxzD0

FICH, Lars. [Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture]. (2018, 19th October) Does Views to Nature and the Design of Spacses Matter?

A Pain Stress Experiment [Video file]. Recovered from https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=rhCMnf04Ed4

HALBLAUB, Marianne; USTINOVA, Maria. [Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture]. (2018, 19th October) “I spy with my little eye” A child-led Assessment of the School Built Environment [Video file]. Recovered from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CjuX5AvL24

KIRSH, David. [Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture]. (2018, 19th October) Measuring neuropsychological properties of architectural shape [Video file]. Recovered from https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=Vkre3J1F4NE

LINDBERG, Casey M. [Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture]. (2018, 19th October) Wellbuilt for Wellbeing: Using sensors and surveys to explore the indoor environment and health [Video file]. Recovered from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uENTPooVKPA

MAGAN, Victoria; ANDERSEN, Marilyne; SIMON, Forrest. [Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture]. (2018, 19th October) Transparency as an environmental factor that influences cognitive visuo-locomotive experience in large-scale buildings [Video file]. Recovered from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2l6JVjxAQg

MAZUMDER, Robin. [Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture]. (2018, 19th October) The Space Between: An Exploration Into How Urban Environments Influence Affect and Distance Perception [Video file]. Recovered from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LerzslpH-Y0

MCNICHOLAS, Elizabeth; MCNICHOLAS, Matthew. [Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture]. (2018, 19th October) Legibility, Orientation and the Mantle of the ‘Other’ [Video file]. Recovered from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HbX8rcUzKA

MUÑOZ, Ricardo; SPECK, Larry. [Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture]. (2018, 19th October) Physical Environment and Brain Health [Video file]. Recovered from https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=iFOttTCZX64

NEWMAN, Winifred E. [Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture]. (2018, 19th October) Home as Health Intervention [Video file]. Recovered from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZO9sznp3xs

PANDA, Satchidananda. [Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture]. (2018, 19th October) Light-Dark Cycle in the Built Environment [Video file]. Recovered from https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=hTQrtBEzxXw

PARK, Stephanie. [Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture].

(2018, 19th October) Impact of Face-to-Face Social Interaction on Performance in the Workplace [Video file]. Recovered from https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HK7Yc1LW1A

UPALI, Nanda; ESSARY, Jonathan. [Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture]. (2018, 19th October) Studying the brain and building with real life settings [Video file]. Recovered from https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=zq9iECz_vQ0

VECCHIATO, Giovanni. [Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture]. (2018, 19th October) Neuroimaging tolls to study the aesthetic experience of architectural environments: the predictive power of the EEG [Video file]. Recovered from https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=crSKkOfTV-s

REFERENCES

Articles

Together with the videography, the different articles analyzed have been crucial to understand the approaches of neuroscience.

adli, Mazda.; fingerhut, Joerg; brakemeier, Eva-Lotta, gomez-carrillo, Ana. “Neurourbanism: towards a new discipline”. ReserarchGate, March 2017, pages 183-185.

aviv, Vered. “What does the brain tell us about abstract art”. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience , volumen 8, article 85, February 2014, pages 1-4.

breva franch, Eva; mut camacho, Magdalena. “El Desarrollo de las ciudades desde la publicidad exterior y las neurociencias”. Universidad de Zulia (Maracaibo) year 32, No especial 7, 2016, pages 231-247.

chen-yen, Chang; ping-kun, Chen. “Human Response to Window Views and Indoor Plants in the Workplace”. HortScience (Chicago) volumen 40, number 5, August 2005, pages 1354-1359.

coburn, Alex.; vartanian, Ossin; chatterjee, Anjan. “Buildings, Beauty, and the Brain: A Neuroscience of Architectural Experience”. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 11 May 2017, pages 1-11.

evans, Gary W.; mitchell, Janetta. “When buildings don’t work: the role of architecture in human health”. Journal of Environmental Psychology, number 18, 1998, pages 85-94.

freedberg, David; gallese, Vittorio. “Motion, emotion and empathy in esthetic experience”. ScienceDirect, volumen 11, number 5, 2007, pages 197-203.

meyers-levy, Joan; juliet zhu, Rui. “The Influence of Ceiling Height: The Effect of Priming on the Type of Processing”. Journal of Consumer Research (Chicago), August 2007, pages 174-186.

yildrim, Kemal; ozkan, Aysen; lutfi hidayetoglu, Mehmet. “Effects of interior colors on mood and preference: Comparisons of two living rooms”. ResearchGate, April 2011, pages 509-524.

anfa, The Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture (2003). Recovered from: < http://www.anfarch.org/> [Access 2nd March 2020].

Connections By Finsa (2020). Neuroarchitecture: Intelligently Designed Buildings. Recovered from: <https://www.connectionsbyfinsa.com/ neuroarchitecture/?lang=en> [Access 17th April 2020].

de paiva, Andréa (2019). Neuroau: Principles of Neuroarchitecture And Neurourbanism. Recovered from: < https://www.neuroau.com/ post/principles-of-neuroarchitecture> [Access 17th April 2020].

de paiva, Andréa (2019). Neuroau: What NeuroUrbanism Teaches us About our Cities. Recovered from: < https://www.neuroau.com/ post/what-neurourbanism-teach-us-about-our-cities> [Access 29th May 2020].

de paiva, Andréa (2019). Neuroau: What NeuroUrbanism Teaches us About our Cities. Recovered from: < https://www.neuroau.com/ post/what-neurourbanism-teach-us-about-our-cities> [Access 29th May 2020].

fairley, Julia (2018). Roca Gallery: Neuroarchitecture: The New Frontier in Architecture. Recovered from: <http://www.rocagallery.com/thebuilt-environments-new-frontier> [Access 17th April 2020].

REFERENCES

Origin of the images

Introduction

Fig. 0.1 The matter of time, Richard Serra (2005). Modified source: archdaily.com

Fig. 0.2 Watercolor, Steven Holl (2016). Source: architectmagazine.com

Fig. 0.3 Representation of neurons, Ramón y Cajal (1852-1934)

Fig. 0.4 Earth Room, Walter de Maria (1977). Source: artsy.net

Fig. 0.5 Vals Baths, Peter Zumthor (1996). Source: bjorndesign.net

Fig. 0.6 Gilardi House, Luis Barragán (1976). Source: archdaily.mx

Fig. 0.7 Berlin Holocaust Memorial, Peter Eisenman (2004). Source: own production

Fig. 0.8 Skyspace Lech, James Turrell (2018). Source: archive.maltm.com

Fig. 0.9 Serbian Pavilion Venice Biennale, Stefan Vasic, Ana Sulkic and Igor Sjeverac (2016). Source: archiscene.net

Fig. 0.10 Methodology

First chapter

Fig. 1.1 Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Steven Holl (2007). Source: stevenholl.com

Fig. 1.2 Nueroarchitecture, Christoph Metzger (2018)

Fig. 1.3 Theoretical references

Fig. 1.4 House N, Sou Fujimoto (2008). Source: plataformaarquitectura.cl

Fig. 1.5 Town of New Barris, Hassan Fathy (1967). Source: arquine.com

Fig. 1.6 Fred Gage, neuroscientist. Source: newswise.com

Fig. 1.7 Salk Institute , Louis Kahn (1965). Source: laarquitectura. blogspot.com

Fig. 1.8 Electroencephalography (EEG). Source: circulaseguro.com

Fig 1.9 Eye-tracking device. Source: anfa.com

Fig 1.10 Electroencephalography (EEG) and virtual reality (VR). Source: michaelgaebler.com

Second chapter

Fig. 2.1 References for the different project approaches from the notion of sensory function.

Fig. 2.2 Observation tower, EFFEKT (2019). Source: plataformaarquitectura.cl

Fig. 2.3 NA House, Sou Fujimoto (2010). Source: plataformaarquitectura. cl

Fig. 2.4 Kunsthal Museum, Rem Koolhaas (1992). Source: designboom. com

Fig. 2.5 Salk Institute, Louis Kahn (1965). Source: flickriver.com

Fig. 2.6 Children’s Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center, Sou Fujimoto (2006). Source: archdaily.com

Fig. 2.7 Sun Tunnels, Nancy Holt (1976). Source: celia-hannes.tumblr.com

Fig. 2.8 Melbourne Children’s Hospital, Bates Smart (2011). Source: architectureanddesign.com.au

Fig. 2.9 Ugolin et ses enfants, Auguste Rodin (1882). Source: palavracomum.com

Fig. 2.10 Mirror neurons, Freedberg y Gallese (2007)

Fig. 2.11 Gemälde Number 1, Jackson Pollock (1949). Source: artsy.net

Fig. 2.12 Moss Wall, Olafur Eliasson (1994). Source: nationalgeographic. co.uk

Fig. 2.13 Final wooden house, Sou Fujimoto (2008). Source: dezeen.com

Fig. 2.14 Rainbow Panorama, Olafur Eliasson (2011). Source: own production

Fig. 2.15 Reality machines, Olafur Eliasson (2015). Source: olafureliasson. net

Fig. 2.16 Glasses that enhance red light, Andersen y Magan (2018). Source: anfa.com

Fig. 2.17 Room for one colour, Olafur Eliasson (1997). Source: guggenheimbilbao.esu

Fig. 2.18 Riverbed, Olafur Eliasson (2014). Source: archdaily.com

Fig. 2.19 Building height study, Robin Mazumder (2018). Source: anfa.com

Fig. 2.20 Kid’s City Christianshavn, Cobe (2017). Source: cobe.dk

Conclusions

Fig. 3.1 Project development