Banner by Alisa Zhang

Neuroarchitecture: The Building of Your Mind 

By Dhara Patel

On a Monday morning, I wake up in my simple South Oakland apartment and walk through the construction-filled streets to Chevron Science Center. After sitting in a dull brown room for a seemingly never ending 50 minutes, I make my way to Hillman Library to spend a significant chunk of my day on the multicolored, warmly lit ground floor.  Despite spending the vast majority of my life immersed in the various buildings and streets around me, I hardly stop to think about how these surrounding spaces affect me. If we think about how we might feel sitting in a dull, gray classroom or walking through a loud, messy construction zone, we can begin to understand the unrealized impact that our environment may have on our thoughts, experiences, and emotions. Neuroarchitecture combines neuroscience, environmental psychology, and architecture to understand human brain dynamics when interacting with the built environment.

Though the neuroarchitecture field was not established until the 1900s, the psychological effects of architecture have been analyzed since ancient times. Thinking about ancient churches, temples, or other cultural buildings, we can see the importance of aesthetics in indoor and outdoor design. We can see these design intentions in ancient Egyptian architecture, which prioritized utility, strength, and beauty. For example, temples built to honor the gods were intricately created with detailed engravings, modulated pillars, and an overall symmetry in the building. Inspired by the Egyptians, Greek architects followed a similar style, trying to create a beautifully ethereal, ‘afterworld-like’ experience (Wang). With the Nationality Rooms in the Cathedral of Learning designed to honor different cultures, visiting some of these rooms allows us to travel back in time to bask in the glory of various architectural styles. Spaces such as the Greek, Hungarian, and Turkish rooms feature intricate patterned tiled ceilings and a diverse color palette, which add to the aesthetic allure of the design, drawing our eyes upwards as we walk into the rooms. The Chinese, Italian, and Yugoslav rooms use wall engravings and artwork to reflect the symbolism of the culture, underlining how cultural inclusions make each room unique while simultaneously creating elegance and beauty in their designs. Walking through these rooms, you can see that the architects were considering how someone would feel when they were inside the space. With the intention of human experience in mind, inhabiting spaces built with ancient architectural styles creates an experience distinct from that of modern day architecture. 

At the end of the 19th century, the era of modernism in architecture shifted the focus of design towards function instead of experience. In contrast to the beauty-oriented forms of ancient architecture, designers began to incorporate more functional forms, such as large open spaces for office buildings and sizable windows for natural light. While ancient architects more heavily prioritized the emotional effect of a space, modern designers more-so considered how people could efficiently function in a space. While this new purpose has its benefits, it shifted the focus away from how someone would feel when they walk into a room, which had psychological and behavioral impacts. 

The impacts of architectural forms and spaces have been analyzed in previous studies in neuroarchitecture. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is an area of the brain involved in motor control, cognition, pleasure, and arousal. Researchers have attributed this area of the brain to beauty judgements, pleasure, and artistic experiences. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or fMRI spectroscopy, can be used to measure activity in different areas of the mind when prompted by specific stimuli. Using virtual reality, researchers created a series of rooms to measure brain activity when experiencing different architectural forms. It was found that rooms containing more linear geometries evoked less activity in the ACC than rooms with more curvature geometries, meaning that linear forms were less pleasurable or beautiful to the participants compared to curved forms (Banei). While many modern day rooms are square or rectangular, the use of curved tables or chairs, such as those found in the study rooms of Posvar Hall, Hillman Library, and David Lawrence Hall, enhance spaces and appeal to the beauty perceptions observed in this study. We can also apply this finding to the first floor lecture room in the Frick Fine Arts building, which not only is designed with curved decor, but is also an almost circular room. These spaces contrast with the lecture rooms in Clapp Hall and Chevron Science Center, which feel like linear boxes with rigid walls and steps. 

The study also found that rooms with higher ceilings were more likely to be judged as beautiful compared to rooms with lower ceilings. The Cathedral of Learning’s 52 foot tall ceiling, which features gothic wall engravings and tall pointed arches, could be a possible explanation for the general love of this building. When we walk into Cathy, we can immediately feel her beauty and magnificence, with our eyes yearning to wander upwards and bask in the vast ceiling. This feeling is reminiscent of what I first felt walking into the second floor reading room in the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh in Oakland. Though not as tall as Cathy, the ceiling is curved upward, creating a dome encircling the room. The height, curvature, and molded rectangular detail in the ceiling urges a moment of pause to appreciate its splendor. Learning about the findings in these neuroarchitecture studies illuminates the reasoning behind our positive feelings  when entering Cathy, compared to our feelings when walking into our Clapp or Chevron lecture rooms. 

With neuroarchitecture changing our outlook on the spaces we inhabit, people have been able  to apply this newfound knowledge when designing new spaces, illuminating the boundless applications of this growing field. For example, in Guilford County, NC, Signature Career Academy renovated four schools with a focus in neuroarchitecture. The designers used findings from neuroarchitecture studies to create an ideal environment that enhanced learning, critical thinking, teaching, and creativity. The modifications focused on design materials, lighting, color schemes, and furniture; more specifically, designers incorporated glass walls and doors, blue or white lighting to mimic daylight, warm color shades, and curved furniture (Chillis). With the renovations focusing on optimization of educational spaces, it is fascinating to look at different University buildings in the context of these characteristics as well. Starting with the Benedum Hall upstairs courtyard and the Frick Fine Arts Cloister, we see the utilization of glass walls to create a combined indoor and outdoor space illuminated by natural light, aligning with the material and lighting considerations in the Guilford County renovations. Also fitting the considerations, the Posvar and Hillman study rooms use glass doors, warm color schemes, white light, and curved furniture to create a more collaborative and visually pleasing space, while the bright mahogany tones of the Frick Library as well as the multicolored walls on the ground floor of Hillman Library create a bright and vibrant area. On the other hand, the dull grays of the Sennott Square lecture rooms and the darker brown and tan shades in the Chevron lecture rooms contrast these design choices, which could cause us to feel less motivated and energized when spending time there.  

Applying these research findings to characteristics of University buildings helps us realize our experiences in these buildings to spend more of our free time in spaces more conducive to positive emotion. Neuroarchitecture helps us to better understand our favorite, and least favorite, places to be in. Learning about these findings can help us realize why we feel relaxed and focused in a library bleeding with daylight, or bored and tired in a windowless, brown lecture room. Whether we are studying, catching up with a friend, or having a relaxing time alone, controlling the places we choose to be in can bring us one step closer to a more positive mindset and a brighter day.