Neuroscience Instills Human Response into the Built Environment

Tatiana Berger, associate professor, Graduate Architecture, of the NewSchool of Architecture and Design in San Diego, spoke recently at the Moscow Architecture School on the topic “Neuroscience in Architecture,” a relatively new science in the architecture field. Our interview with her encompasses some of the talking points of that presentation.

Carlo Scarpa. “The relationship between interior and exterior spaces and views to nature have a deep effect on how the brain perceives architectural settings.”

AECCafe Voice: What are some resources for learning more about humanistic architecture and neuroscience in architecture?

Tatiana Berger: This is a relatively new field. The NewSchool of Architecture and Design in San Diego is the first design school in the US to have a 4-course certificate program focusing on Neuroscience and Architecture. ANFA (Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture) was formed in San Diego in 2003. Its mission is to promote and advance knowledge that links neuroscience research to a growing understanding of human responses to the built environment. Many architects and neuroscientists around the world are engaged in ground-breaking research, and there are many publications that serve as resources to students of this new discipline – one that can help all of humanity.

AECCafe Voice: What are some ways in which you are teaching students to view and create buildings with an eye to all the senses and how we perceive space?

Tatiana Berger: I teach design studio, architectural theory, and neuroscience and architecture in the graduate architecture program at the NewSchool. I emphasize the importance of designing for all the senses in all of my courses. In the Neuroscience and Architecture course, which I teach together with Dr.Sergei Gepshtein from Salk Institute, we read lectures about how the brain perceives space and place, and the role that all of the senses play in our interaction with architecture. Students learn about the importance of auditory and haptic cues, for example, and the role that they play as we move through buildings in time. We explore the dimension of time in architecture, which is rarely done in the traditional design studio. One of our in-class exercises for students, for example, involves the design of a home for a blind artist. Students are encouraged to think about spaces and materials that would engage the senses of the blind, that could be shaped into comfortable spaces and improve “wayfinding” for the artist.

Peter Zumthor. “Architects will need to take into account the human body, the often basic needs of biology, and the loftier needs of the human soul.”

AECCafe Voice: What characteristics of a building do you think will help students learn better, say in schools and libraries, and people have a better healing experience in hospitals, for example?

Tatiana Berger: There have been countless studies about the positive effect of natural light on people and their behavior. Natural light has an especially important influence on people in schools and libraries, since it has been proven that we feel better and we learn better with natural, rather than artificial, light. The relationship between interior and exterior spaces and views to nature also have a deep effect on how the brain perceives architectural settings. Of course, exposure to natural light and views to nature are important in all types of buildings but are essential for faster healing and a sense of comfort in clinics and hospitals. It has been said that we shape architecture, but architecture also shapes us: our behavior, our interaction with others, our sense of well-being.

Luis Barragan. ‘Evidence-based design’ is something that should really be practiced in each and every architectural project.”

AECCafe Voice: We see the example of exploration of human emotion in memorials such as the Vietnam Memorial and the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. How do we bring that awareness to everyday living space examples?

Tatiana Berger: This is a very important question. Human emotion and memory have always played a role in great architecture. The problem is that current advancements in technology and rapid changes in the design process often do not allow the architect to slow down and emotion is lost in the translation from drawing to reality. Maya Lin’s Vietnam memorial is a beautiful piece, in the way that it engages with the earth and that the visitor interacts with the wall itself: its materiality, texture, and pattern. Its power lies in its simplicity and the immediacy of the tactile sense. In order to bring a similar awareness to everyday living spaces, architects will need to take into account the human body, the often basic needs of biology, and the loftier needs of the human soul. The sense of beauty leads to an emotional response. The debate about what leads to beauty in architecture has been going on for centuries.

AECCafe Voice: You mentioned aspects for the architect to be aware of via “evidence-based design,” such as being more aware of the brain, the dimension of time in addition to the dimension of space, including intuition. Can you expand on that or add other aspects?

Tatiana Berger: “Evidence-based design” is something that should really be practiced in each and every architectural project. This process requires that design decisions be based on specific evidence that will help to achieve the best possible outcomes for the user. This approach has become popular in healthcare to improve patient and staff well-being, patient healing, stress reduction and safety. It requires that designers collaborate with other disciplines, such as neuroscience, environmental psychology, and sociology. I believe that design, to be human-centered, must be interdisciplinary. Our discipline is changing every day and the role of the architect in society is evolving. There is a great deal to learn from cultural history, sociology, anthropology, psychology, and cognitive science that will enrich the way that architects work with people and communities.

AECCafe Voice: We talked about Leonardo da Vinci and his drawings of the human anatomy as well as his architectural drawings. How do you think we can bring awareness of the human anatomy into architecture in today’s world?

Tatiana Berger: Designers must, once again, think deeply about the relationship of the body to space. This has been lost in the design process, since priorities have gone elsewhere: sometimes, it is simply that the speed with which a design project must be accomplished does not allow careful attention to human anatomy and human needs. There must be a re-shifting of priorities in the design process. It is my hope that a new focus on neuroscience and architecture will provide evidence, if you will, of the importance of human-centered design. In addition, it is important for architects to draw. There is a proven and important connection between the hand and the brain, both when we design and when we experience architecture. In many countries it is still a requirement for students to draw very well by hand, before they can be admitted to a school of architecture. Digital drawing can also be a powerful tool to explore the relationship between the body and space.

AECCafe Voice: You said that the buildings should be more about the individual’s experience in the building, more about interiors than exteriors. Do you feel that the exterior should also reflect the individual?

Tatiana Berger: Yes, the exterior is certainly an important part of any building. I would not say that one is more important than the other, but the experience of architectural space, especially as it changes in time, has become an important topic in our explorations in neuroscience and architecture. Rather than viewing architecture as an “object” or a large-scale sculptural form, which can be very limiting,  it is important to address the human experience in architecture, where multiple perspectives and interpretations are possible. In this way, we might say that architecture is returned to the people. When people can engage with space in multiple ways, architecture becomes meaningful and connects with our emotions and memories.

AECCafe Voice: Were there specific issues that the Russian people in Moscow were concerned about for their area of the world that they would like to see embodied in their architecture from a humanistic viewpoint?

Tatiana Berger: This was not discussed during the lecture. The focus of the debate was about the great potential of architecture when linked to either neuroscience or cognitive science, around the world – both in how this may affect the design process and the results. The Russian architects have always maintained a very sensitive and human-centered approach to design, which is clearly visible in their design schools. Hand drawing, sculpture, and other arts are still very important in the training of an architect. In addition, the importance of history, culture, and place guide design thinking in the worlds of education and practice. There have certainly been moments in history, such as during the 1930’s or 1950’s, when Soviet architecture could not be called “humanistic,” but the impulse and the desire for human-centered design is always there. In part, this comes from the very close connection that most Russian people feel to nature and the environment.

AECCafe Voice: And your question that I think arose from that conference: Why do we need neuroscience to do successful architecture, when good architects will have intuition?

Tatiana Berger: It is quite rare for an architect to have perfect intuition every time, although we have certainly seen work from master architects that seems effortless. My belief is that an awareness about human-centered design will help to bring us closer to making healthier and more sustainable places for people and communities. There are no magic formulas that will come from neuroscience or the other sciences. However, knowing about the importance of natural light or the healing quality of certain natural materials, for example, will help all architects to create better buildings. The collaboration with scientists teaches us about the importance of human experience. We learn from the buildings that we inhabit. Architecture shapes our emotions and may change the way that we interact with one another. All of humanity can benefit from this.

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