Author Archives: Genetics of Design

Eye-tracking Architecture to Understand Ourselves

Posted on January 20, 2021 by Genetics of Design

Here’s a video from the non-profit The Human Architecture + Planning Institute, Inc. (theHapi.org) showing results from a Sensing-Streetscape study that looks at how people actually experience buildings and different streets in Boston. Eye tracking can tell us a lot about … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, City Planning, Design, Eye Tracking, Neuroscience, Walkability | Leave a comment

Open Invitation to Urban Experience and Design Book Launch: Friday, January 15, 2021, 3PM EST

Posted on January 7, 2021 by Genetics of Design

The Human Architecture and Planning Institute, Tufts UEP, and Routledge invite you to a global, virtual event to celebrate the publication of the new book Urban Experience and Design: Contemporary Perspectives on Improving the Public Realm on January 15, 2021, 3PM-4PM Eastern Time. Editors Justin Hollander and Ann … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Biology, City Planning, Design | Tagged | 2 Comments

Embracing Nature on a Rail Trail

Posted on December 10, 2020 by Genetics of Design

How does this picture make you feel: Scared? Happy? Or in awe of nature’s ability to co-exist with humans? We often disrupt Nature, and she, in her wordless way, adapts. Here, a tree wraps around a concrete marker along an … Continue reading →

Posted in Nature, Patterns, Walkability | Leave a comment

‘Built Beautiful,’ the Movie on Architecture + Neuroscience Streaming Live at Boston Architectural College on Dec. 7, 2020

Posted on December 2, 2020 by Genetics of Design

Built Beautiful – Trailer from Mariel Rodriguez-McGill on Vimeo. The Boston Architectural College (BAC) announced it will screen this new documentary which bridges the arts + sciences on Monday, December 7, 2020 at 7 PM EST. All are invited to … Continue reading →

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To Keep Calm: Take in Nature + Fall Fractals

Posted on November 18, 2020 by Genetics of Design

Nature walks relieve stress, curb anxiety, and help us feel calm. That’s what we found on a recent walk through the woods in Concord, Massachusetts, and now there’s more science to back it up. Outside in nature, we easily take … Continue reading →

Posted in Fractals, Nature, Patterns, Primal Vista, Walkability | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Participate in a Biometric Study in Boston – November 5, 2020!

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Genetics of Design

Participate in this important study promoting the research we do at geneticsofdesign.com working with the non-profit theHapi.org; it’s a great chance to try out eye-tracking glasses and really see what your body’s doing subliminally as you walk down a street! … Continue reading →

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Eye Tracking Architecture to ‘See’ Human Nature

Posted on October 13, 2020 by Genetics of Design

Humans are remarkable creatures, and a great way to appreciate the hidden aspects of our nature is with eye tracking, a biometric tool that measures how our eyes move to take in our surroundings—often without our conscious awareness or control. … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Design, Eye Tracking, Neuroscience, People-centric Design | 1 Comment

How Neuroscience Reframes Architectural History (on YouTube)

Posted on September 23, 2020 by Genetics of Design

Story + video by Ann Sussman, RA This video was posted last week at the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture (ANFA) 2020 conference: It reviews a poster, first presented at the 30th Annual International Trauma Conference in Boston, MA in 2019, … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Neuroscience | Leave a comment

Faces: The Key to Making Happy Places

Posted on September 8, 2020 by Genetics of Design

Do you see faces in these gingerbread cottages in Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard, a popular summer retreat on this island ten miles off the coast of Massachusetts? Does it seem like they are looking at you? Built as part of … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Biology, Design, Neuroscience, People-centric Design | Tagged , | 2 Comments

The Case Against All-Glass Facades

Posted on July 18, 2020 by Genetics of Design

The pictures tell the story. And make the case. Biometric studies explain why. At left, is a photo of MassArt Design and Media Center, (c. 2016), a public college of applied art in downtown Boston; at right, the George Wythe … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Biology, Design, Eye Tracking, Neuroscience, People-centric Design | Tagged | 3 Comments