Author Archives: Genetics of Design

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 | 3 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 →

Posted in Architecture, Biology, Design, Neuroscience, People-centric Design | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

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 , , | 2 Comments

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 | 1 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 , | 5 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 | 6 Comments

Empathy in Design: Measuring How Faces Make Places

Posted on June 21, 2020 by Genetics of Design

Since 2015, Ragusa, Sicily has hosted FestiWall, an international art festival devoted to enhancing the public realm and improving citizen engagement with the modern section of an old city. Here are two views of a residential tower before and after … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, City Planning, Design, Eye Tracking, Neuroscience, People-centric Design, STEM | 2 Comments