Have you ever thought?
How does a person get positive vibes when they visit a temple or a church?
Have you ever observed?
Cafes and restaurants with open or outdoor seating areas at public spaces like malls, airports, pedestrian spaces have a semi enclosed shade. Why?
On similar lines, when you walk into a hotel or an airport, the public circulation spaces like the lobbies or the atriums are in monumental scale of around 8-10m in height while the meeting areas, discussion zones, outdoor cafes are in human scale of around 2.4 to 2.8m in height.
The user employs the outdoor seating areas for long duration and a space with smaller boundaries creates a comfortable ambience for the user. Similarly, when you walk into a palace or a monument you feel exulting, euphoric, and elated as the scale of the space, the materials used, the lighting, colours etc. integrate, forming a monumental ambience that creates an feeling in our mind.
Creating or designing a space that is user specific or function specific like a temple or a church where the presence of a deity must create a sense of enlightenment or peace in the user. While a public space with multiple activities and continuous movement a primary function of a café or a restaurant on dealing with user comfort must be seamless.
What is neuro architecture?
It can be defined as a study on how architecture as a built form interacts with the human mind or influence the human emotions.
To be more specific, it is a concept of understanding the emotional reactions of human mind with respect to a built form. Designing an user specific space or tailor made design for an individual user by understanding their reactions towards a particular subject.
When did it all start?
Back in 1950s, an American doctor Jonas Salk, who created the polio vaccine observed that every time he visited Basilica of St. Assisi, located in the city of Assisi, Italy built in 13th century, he became more creative and inspired. Inspired by this, he called the architect Louis Kahn to plan and construct a project that is a mixture of art and science, where every building shows functionality and aesthetics.
The design was intended to inspire scientists to do research. This led to the creation of the school called the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, a research institute for molecular biology, genetics, neuroscience, and plant biology in La Jolla, California. The building is one of the most incredible and emblematic buildings built in the 20th century.
How does it work?
Basic elements in architecture like the use of colour, light, material, texture, scale of space creates a large difference in the perception of space by the end user.
Conclusion
Neuro architecture as a subject has great advantages of using design as a primary element in enhancing the end user experience. Perkins & will, a U.S based firm existed since 1935, has branches in several cities around the world. It works in projects such as corporate, commercial and hospital environments with a focus on humanity and sustainability has mastered in developing a user-specific design in health care sector where the design focuses on the positive healing environment and end user comfort and not just the function of the spaces.
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