From Neural Space to Physical Space: Giving a “Brain” to a Building

The researchers explore the integration of two ways in which neuroscience may impact architecture.
• Neuromorphic architecture: Studying neuroethology (the neuroscience of animal behavior) in search of systems whose mechanisms can inform future developments in smart architecture. A key notion is that of ‘neural space,’ the network of sensors, effectors, and computations embedded in the building, analyzed in terms of their functionality rather than their placement in 3D space.
• Neuroscience of the experience of architecture: Assessing the ways in which different populations of people explore, experience, and interact with the built environment, in search of lessons relevant to the design process.
The researchers propose that careful attention to the ‘neural space’ of a building may yield innovative designs that enrich the physical ‘building space’ through constraint satisfaction between the physical and neural dimensions of the building.