Using neuroscience to uncover the secrets of good architecture and design with Ann Sussman
Using neuroscience to uncover the secrets of good architecture and design with Ann Sussman
You don't have a modern brain. You have a hunter-gatherer brain. Sussman is finding out what it wants most in built environments.
Why do millions of tourists flock to places like Siena, Kyoto, and Porto each year and not, say, Gary, Indiana?
Why is it that some people seek out certain buildings as selfie backdrops and not others?
Why do people “feel” like one outdoor spot is a good place to eat lunch and others are not?
It turns out, biology and neuroscience have a lot to do with what we are drawn to - namely, beauty. And Ann Sussman, an architect, researcher, and author, is a leading voice on how neuroscience can be used to build beautiful places.
In my latest interview, Ann and I discussed what makes a building or city beautiful, and why modern architecture is usually ugly and off-putting.
This was a fantastic conversation, and like every good researcher, Ann not only shared her own findings but a host of resources for further reading. I kept track of the content she mentioned - here’s a list!
"Why Cars Got Angry," Wall Street Journal.
Create Streets, UK.
"The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature," Steven Pinker.
"The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma," Bessel van der Kolk.
"War: How Conflict Shaped Us," Margaret MacMillan.
"Confessions of a Recovering Engineer: Transportation for a Strong Town," Charles L. Marohn Jr.
"Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding," Daniel Lieberman.
"My stroke of insight," Jill Bolte Taylor, TED2008.
What do you think? What do you think makes a building, town, or city beautiful? Let me know in the comments.