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The Scan Issue #4
The Scan: An Architecture and Neuroscience Electronic Newsletter
Issue 4: Summer 2005
The End of an Era and Start of Another
In a story called “Fair Weather” a thirteen-year-old farm girl named Rosie, who lives in central Illinois, is invited to Chicago to see the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. She calls her visit to the white city “the last day of our old lives.”
Such marks the introduction to ANFA's video, “The Difference a Hundred Years Makes”. At the onset of this century, we find ourselves on the cusp of defining a new era of development and change. The change is that we are now armed with the technology to monitor the effects of our external environments (namely, architecture) on our internal environments, our brains.
Sincerely,
John P. Eberhard, FAIA
Managing Director, Washington Office
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IN THIS ISSUE:
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. John Eberhard's Latrobe Fellowship White Paper
2. Workshop on “K-6 Classroom Design and Neuroscience”
3. ANFA, Washington DC Branch Office Opens
4. The 2005-2007 Latrobe Fellowship
5. Neuroscience and Architecture Classes at the NewSchool of Architecture and Design
RECENT PUBLICATIONS/NEWS
6. ANFA Website Updates
7. Recent Press
INVOLVEMENT
8. How to subscribe/unsubscribe from The Scan
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1. John Eberhard's Latrobe Fellowship White Paper
At the May 17, 2005 meeting of the AIA Board of Directors, John Eberhard presented his “White Paper” (the concluding report from his two years, 2003 – 2005, as the Latrobe Fellow of the AIA College of Fellows).
The Paper began by arguing that the White City (the central theme of the 1896 Columbian Exposition) marked the end of an era in architecture as well as the beginning of “The Century of Change.”
The paper developed a suggestion that the profession now stands at the end of “The Century of Change”, and is poised to begin a new era. The key elements of this new era are likely to be:
* A concern with the built environment not just a few special buildings;
* A technological base for practice spurred by electronic support for conceptual processes;
* A developing shift in the technology of the built environment away from the 19 th century inventions that marked the “The Century of Change”;
* The creation of a new knowledge base derived from neuroscience research in much the same way that “The Century of Change” used a knowledge base derived from physics and chemistry.
The paper proposed three issues for discussion and action by the AIA Board:
* Encourage schools of architecture to introduce courses in Neuroscience and Architecture;
* Support interdisciplinary doctoral programs between architecture and neuroscience in qualified universities, and seek matching financial support from federal agencies to underwrite such programs;
* Consider the creation of a new program of support for those knowledge communities directly concerned with buildings (e.g. The Academy of Architecture for Health Care Design) to assist them in building intellectual bridges to neuroscience research.
John Eberhard's “Update on Neuroscience and Architecture” held at the AIA 2005 Convention in Las Vegas featured the results of this White Paper.
Link:
The Benjamin Henry Latrobe Fellowship
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2. Workshop on “K-6 Classroom Design and Neuroscience”
In early February, ANFA and HMC Architects, with the financial support of the California 's Coalition for Adequate School Housing , The Council of Educational Facilities Planners International and the AIA Community on Educational Facilities, conducted a workshop on K-6 Classroom Design and Neuroscience. Held at the Horton Plaza Westin in San Diego , the mandate of the conference was to better understand how classrooms might be designed to be more responsive to the changing cognitive abilities of young children. The challenge was to develop testable hypotheses that could advance this understanding around a range of possible design concerns from lighting to wayfinding.
The thirty three educators, architects, and neuroscientists were brought together to share their knowledge. A significant number of professional firms in the California area provided additional financial support to the workshop expenses. The major funding was then used to create a film of the events. This film will be available on DVD in July 2005. A PDF version of the workshop report is available on the ANFA website.
At the conclusion of the workshop, John Eberhard said:
“Finding ways to bridge the intellectual concepts of neuroscience, architecture, and education is not an easy task. Some of the working groups were more successful with doing this than others, but each of them contributed to the potential development of this new field of study. I see the eventual development of intellectual bridges between these three disciplines as rewarding to all of us, but especially to future generations of students whose interests are uppermost in our concerns.”
Link:
Academy of Neuroscience For Architecture
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3. ANFA, Washington DC Branch Office Opens
June 2005 marked the official opening of the Washington DC branch office for the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture. The architectural firm 3DI has generously donated temporary space while the permanent office at the Society for Neurosciences is being constructed (estimated completion January 2006). The managing director is John Eberhard, FAIA.
The office is located at:
1001 G Street, NW
Suite 875
Washington , DC 20001
Link:
3D/I
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4. The 2005-2007 Latrobe Fellowship
Building on the research inspired by the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture established during the 2003 Latrobe Fellowship, the 2005 Latrobe Fellowship was awarded to: Chong Partners Architecture, the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc., and the University of California , Berkeley . The team, through the example of a new hospital environment, seeks to “provide proof for evidence-based design criteria”.
Links:
AIArchitect – “ Research to Provide Proof for Evidence-Based Design”
Chong Partners Architecture
University of California , Berkeley
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5. Neuroscience and Architecture Classes at the NewSchool of Architecture and Design
ANFA is proud to announce course offerings in Neuroscience and Architecture taught by ANFA Research Associates Margaret Tarampi, Assoc. AIA and Eve Edelstein, PhD.
Neuroscience for Architects I is a course that is intended to familiarize architecture students with the language and concepts of neuroscience. With this new vocabulary and a rudimentary ability to benefit from neuroscience research students will be able to correlate current neuroscience research to potential applications in the design of the built environment. The fundamental argument of this course is that the relationship among the brain, body and architecture is inherent, significant and compelling. Each is constantly influencing the other and each should not be considered outside the context of this relationship.
Seminars in Neuroscience for Architects continues the exploration of the body of neuroscientific knowledge that informs how humans perceive and respond to architecture. Lectures and discussion will focus on specific aspects of how the brain processes sensory, motor, emotional and cognitive information. Whereas the introductory lecture series provides an overview of brain function, this lecture series will explore processes in more detail. Leaders in neuroscience will supplement the curriculum with presentations on their area of expertise, and tours of their laboratories. Discussions will consider how the processes of brain and mind interpret and interpolate the environment encountered. The potential for applying this new layer of knowledge about neural processes to architectural settings will be explored.
Link:
NewSchool of Architecture and Design
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6. ANFA Website has been Updated
Please visit the newly renovated ANFArch.org Web site. It is now possible to access issues of The Scan and other related links under the “News” icon. Other additions include links to research reports, including Neuroscience and Health Care Facilities Workshop at Woods Hole, and up-to-date information on the events sponsored by the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture. Visit the “Board of Directors” page under “People” to view our new Board Members.
Link:
Academy of Neuroscience For Architecture
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7. Recently Published Articles on Neuroscience and Architecture: January 2004 – July 2005
The following articles are the most recent coverage of our initiatives in major publications.
AIA-J
“Erasing the Boundary Between the Physical and the Spiritual”
by Norman Koonce
July 2005
“A Neuroscience Perspective of Sacred Spaces”
by John P. Eberhard
July 2005
AIArchitect
“Organizational Entrepreneur Eberhard Tackles the Science of Human Experience”
by Douglas E. Gordon, Hon, AIA
June 2005
CAEnet, News From the Committee on Architecture for Education
“Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture K-6 Classroom Workshop”
June 22, 2005
Cerebrum: The Dana Forum on Brain Science
“Architecture with the Brain in Mind”
by John P. Eberhard and Brenda Patoine
Spring 2004
Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment
“A brain with a view”
by Katherine Ellison
Issue 4, May 2004
IIDA
“Art & Science Multidisciplinary researchers lead to design breakthroughs, shaping the quality of life”
by Eileen Watkins
Fall 2004
Inside Knowledge
“Knowledge, know-how and knowing”
April 5, 2004
www.ikmagazine.com
San Antonio Business Journal
“Architectural design can be useful tool to help the bottom line”
February 20, 2004
www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio
The San Diego Union-Tribune
“Unlocking the mysteries of the brain”
by Eduardo R. Macagno
October 21, 2004
Washington Business Journal
“Interior architects have designs on neuroscience”
by Richard Fanelli
January 9, 2004
Washington Post
“Mind Over Mortar”
by Jeff Turrentine
July 7, 2005.
“Discerning Divine Designs: Clerics, Scientists, Architects Connect Neural Stimulation and Faith”
by Ken Kusmer
July 31, 2004
The Washington Times
“Built for the brain”
by Ann Geracimo
July 28, 2005.
Steelcase 360 ezine
“Unlocking the Brain for Better Architecture & Design”
by Dana Dubbs
July 12, 2005
WBDG – Whole Building Design Guide
“Therapeutic Environments” from the Therapeutic Environments Forum, AIA Academy of Architecture for Health
June 2005
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8. How to Subscribe/Unsubscribe from The Scan
Thank you for your interest and continued support of our work.
You were sent this newsletter because you subscribed on the ANFA website or because of your previous involvement in workshops, seminars, or presentations of this work. If you do not wish to receive this newsletter or if you know someone who would like to be subscribed to this newsletter, please visit the ANFA website under “Involvement” > “Subscribe.” Directions to subscribe and unsubscribe are outlined there.
Many people have e-mailed to ask when the next issue would be coming out. We are very excited about your interest and want to stress that the newsletter will be published frequently, but not on a regular schedule.
All questions and comments should be directed to Meredith Banasiak ( meredith@anfarch.org; 202-478-2443).
Link:
Academy of Neuroscience For Architecture