Fragility as shelter The fifth and final article in the series. This series began in Bogotá, with the brickwork of Rogelio Salmona. It continued with the coloured walls of Luis Barragán, the vaults of Eladio Dieste and the emotional architecture of Mathias Goeritz. Four 20th-century Latin American masters who built for the body with simpleContinueContinue reading “Architecture for the Senses: Smiljan Radić”
Category Archives: Neuroarchitecture
Architecture for the Senses: Rogelio Salmona
This article opens Architects of the Senses, a series on Latin American architects who designed for the body, the senses and the mind. In an age of computer-aided design, smart homes and high technology, their work reminds us that architectural experience can also be built with simple materials: brick, timber, bamboo, water and light. Today,ContinueContinue reading “Architecture for the Senses: Rogelio Salmona”
Designing for Diversity: Why Inclusion Should Be Every Architect’s Job
A conversation with Colombian psychologist and neuropsychologist María del Pilar Pinzón Rueda As architects and designers, we tend to approach a project through function, aesthetics, cost and building regulations. But there’s a question we rarely ask in enough depth: how does the person inhabiting this space actually experience it? The brain is not a passiveContinueContinue reading “Designing for Diversity: Why Inclusion Should Be Every Architect’s Job”
How Perception Shapes the True Measure of Design
A glass bridge can be perfectly safe and still be difficult to cross. The structure may have been engineered to withstand enormous loads, and the glass may have been carefully tested and securely supported. From an engineering perspective, there may be no reason to fear it. Yet for many people, standing on a transparent floorContinueContinue reading “How Perception Shapes the True Measure of Design”
What Does Nature Actually Restore?
A quiet timber-lined study alcove overlooking trees, separated by an acoustic screen from a busier circulation space.
When the Classroom Competes With the Lesson
A student looks away while the teacher is speaking. Another repeatedly taps a pencil, rocks in their chair or asks to leave the room. A third completes very little work despite appearing to understand the subject. These behaviours may be interpreted as inattentiveness, lack of motivation or unwillingness to participate. Yet the difficulty may notContinueContinue reading “When the Classroom Competes With the Lesson”
Why We Love High Ceilings: What a 1978 Study Still Tells Us
If you were buying a house, would you prefer high or low ceilings? A flat ceiling or a sloping one? Walk into a room with a low ceiling and you instantly feel a little more contained. Walk into one with a high ceiling and you breathe differently. We all know this intuitively. This double-height livingContinueContinue reading “Why We Love High Ceilings: What a 1978 Study Still Tells Us”
The Cathedral Effect: How Ceiling Height Shapes Spatial Cognition
Imagine walking into two rooms of identical footprints. The first has a low ceiling that draws your focus downward, pinning your attention to the task immediately in front of you. The second soars overhead, pulling your gaze up and out. Nothing else changes, yet your brain shifts gears — altering your perception, attention, and approachContinueContinue reading “The Cathedral Effect: How Ceiling Height Shapes Spatial Cognition”
Orden, estilo y supervivencia humana
El estilo arquitectónico y el orden suelen considerarse sinónimos, especialmente al hablar de la arquitectura grecorromana. Sin embargo, detrás de la piedra, la geometría y la armonía visual existe algo mucho más antiguo: el cerebro humano, un órgano que busca patrones para transformar la incertidumbre en comprensión. Con frecuencia contamos la historia de la arquitecturaContinueContinue reading “Orden, estilo y supervivencia humana”
Order, Style and the Human Survival
Architectural style and order are often used interchangeably, defining the visual identity of the ancient Greco-Roman style. Yet beneath the stone, geometry, and visual harmony lies something far older than any architectural tradition: the human brain, seeking patterns that transform uncertainty into understanding. We often tell architectural history as a parade of styles. Egypt wasContinueContinue reading “Order, Style and the Human Survival”
