Have you noticed that some spaces make you feel better, more relaxed, more energized, or more at peace? Neuroarchitecture is the study of how built spaces impact our emotional and physical health; its research focuses on learning how to create spaces that are more uplifting and welcoming and strengthen our resilience.
“There is no such thing as a neutral space,” wrote the Canadian architect Tye Farrow in his groundbreaking book, Constructing Space. “What we build affects how we experience the world and therefore either causes or undermines health. We must do our utmost to build high-performance – and human performance – environments that are accelerants for optimal health.”
No space impacts all of us in quite the same way, because we all have differing life experiences. Some are dramatic, like Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, I. M. Pei’s National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and, for me, the interior of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City.
Some of the most powerful spaces are quite intimate. You may have a favorite nook where you love to have breakfast or relax at day’s end. On the other hand, some spaces do great damage.
Growing up, I spent much time as a teenager and a young adult in smoke-filled bars, all with poor air ventilation. We operated a very popular tavern, and one of my jobs was to clean the space after the customers had left; afterward, my clothes smelled of smoke. Back then, the dangers of secondhand smoke had not been fully realized, and protections had not been codified into law.
The damage from the design or organization of a space can be equally intense, or more subtle, such as low ceilings, poorly lit spaces, windowless rooms, and dead-end corridors.
Spaces are experienced through multiple senses like light, sound, texture, color, and smell. How we experience them is reflected in the neurons of our brain. Farrow’s book explores the role that our built environments play in encouraging, enhancing, and causing ecological, physical, societal, and mental health. He explores discussions of neurological science, research, and a series of case studies to help us better understand how our surroundings make us feel – and how they can make us feel better.
“Good architecture has neurological and therapeutic aspects that can help people of all ages do the things they want and need to do…”
Tye Farrow
“Good architecture has neurological and therapeutic aspects that can help people of all ages do the things they want and need to do,” wrote Farrow. “Built environments can not only improve functionality and increase productivity but also enhance human comfort, creativity, connections, and health.”
Farrow is one of a growing number of people working in the developing field of Neuro Architecture and Neuro Arts. I was introduced to the importance of design in enhancing productivity by Jonas Salk, who had recently been described as the most influential patron of architecture in the 20th Century by the American Institute of Architects, an outcome of his work with the architect Louis Kahn to develop the design for the Salk Institute, a facility established to advance the betterment of humankind. Its design, which emphasized flexibility, natural light, and collaboration amongst scientists, became the model for research facilities world-wide.
Salk believed that the building’s design contributed to the high level of research and accomplishments by those who worked there. He invited me, then the director of Arts & Productions at the Cathedral Church of St John the Divine, to join a team to develop a method for measuring its impact. Sadly, Salk died a few years later during the early stages of our investigation, but his ideas didn’t. Today it is called Neuro Architecture, and the baseline tool is measuring a space’s impact through brain scans.
Researchers use brain scans to observe and measure how the brain responds to various forms of art and design, revealing the complex neural mechanisms involved in creative experiences; research that helps us understand the effects of arts and architectural design on cognitive function, emotional health, and overall well-being.
The importance of good design cannot be overstated, as the average North American spends 87 percent of their life indoors, leaving less than one day a week outdoors. No question that we in the Adirondacks are blessed to live in a region so accessible to nature, but most of our visitors do not have that luxury.
We’d do well to design the spaces we provide visitors, and those who compete, train, and work within them, so that they enhance their experience of our region and the feelings they share with family, friends, and online. ORDA’s new base lodges at Belleayre, the Gore Ski Bowl, and Mt Van Hoevenberg are flooded with natural light. They are terrific examples of creating uplifting environments for residents and visitors alike.
The bulk of my work in this area is in health care, working with Aesthetics, Inc. to use art and design to create uplifting and welcoming environments for patients, their families, and the healthcare staff. We consider all the touchpoints that, if well executed, enhance the patient experience, as well as the touchpoints that can be used to enhance the staff experience, including breakrooms, long corridors and staircases devoid of natural light, and the doorways through which they enter and leave the facility.
“Design is the beginning tool that we use to create an intentional environment,” said Annette Ridenour, president and founder of Aesthetics, Inc. “In healthcare, it’s important to create spaces that are designed specifically for the emotional needs of patients. That is the place to begin. If you don’t start with intentional design, then everything you do going forward is a band-aid.”
“We know of a lot of environments that are draining, that suck the life out of us, and we know of environments that give us that extra spring in our step; that’s the meaningfulness of well-designed spaces that is so, so important,” said Tye Farrow during an interview on Atrium’s “Meaning of Light” podcast with their CEO Ulysse Dormoy.
Farrow said that we are increasingly siloed in work, in our interactions with others, and in our lives, and that how we design the spaces we live and work in contributes to our ecological, mental, physical, and societal health, and, as is increasingly understood, to the health of our minds.
“We need to focus not on high performance buildings, but spaces that support human performance, buildings that stimulate learning, memory, social interaction, empathy, creativity,” said Farrow. “Do you want buildings that do no harm or those that uplift, support health and well-being? We’ve got to raise the bar.”
