Category Archives: Architecture

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

Empathy in Design: Measuring the Impact of Biophilia

Posted on May 26, 2020 by Genetics of Design

Is home your happy place? Does it make you feel warm and welcome? Now that a pandemic has turned our homes into multipurpose spaces that double as offices, gyms, schools, playgrounds and safe havens from a virus, feelings matter more than … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Biology, Design, Eye Tracking, Health, People-centric Design | Tagged | 4 Comments

Why Buildings Need ‘Eyes’

Posted on November 13, 2019 by Genetics of Design

As a social species, we are built to see eyes, so we look for them all the time — everywhere — without conscious awareness or control. When we find them, they grab our attention, anchoring us in space, securing us … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Eye Tracking, STEM | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

How Boston’s Glassy Seaport Fails + Why It Always Will!

Posted on July 27, 2019 by Genetics of Design

A recent article in the Boston Globe Magazine, 15 Things to Love and 11 Things to Loathe about Boston, labels the newest glassy section of the city “soulless” something people “loathe,” calling Boston’s Seaport District a “bland cityscape, a tract of … Continue reading →

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Posted in Architecture, City Planning, Design, Health, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 14 Comments

Why eye track the Mona Lisa? To see your brain at work!

Posted on July 1, 2019 by Genetics of Design

Humans are pattern recognition experts. And looking at Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa (c. 1503) below, listed as the world’s most viewed painting,  is a good way to see the pattern we’re most cut out to see. It’s the face, … Continue reading →

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

‘Ux+Design’ Conference Take-aways: Biometrics Can Tell Us a lot about Buildings …and Ourselves

Posted on May 8, 2019 by Genetics of Design

A good turnout at the 1st International Urban Experience and Design (Ux+Design/2019) conference at Tufts last month, which drew architects, planners, researchers and students from around the world interested in improving the built environment and better understanding our responses to … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Biology, City Planning, Eye Tracking, STEM, Walkability | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Eye-tracking Architecture at Ux+Design/2019 Conference

Posted on April 18, 2019 by Genetics of Design

Thanks to the attendees and presenters at Ux+Design/2019, the 1st International Conference on Urban Experience and Design on April 26 at Tufts University. This conference brought together creative thinkers from around the world who are shaping ‘evidence-based’ design practices, ones … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, City Planning, Design, Eye Tracking, People-centric Design, STEM, Walkability | Tagged , | Leave a comment

‘The Postcard Test’ in Copenhagen + beyond

Posted on March 30, 2019 by Genetics of Design

If you want to know which buildings attract people in cities—head to the postcard rack. The postcard above is from Copenhagen by Danish illustrator, Martin Schwartz, who’s created a series that capture “the soul of a city in a single … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, City Planning, Design, Patterns | Leave a comment