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NAERINGSPH-Nærings-phd

Biometric Architecture: Can embodied experience of built environment be measured by its biomarkers to optimize human-centric architecture?

Alternative title: Biometric Architecture

Awarded: NOK 1.8 mill.

Project Number:

311454

Application Type:

Project Period:

2020 - 2024

Funding received from:

Location:

The review paper will be finished by late December and submitted to a relevant scientific journal for publishing in late January 2022. It will be a base for series of white papers, which later will be presented to the public. Through the first PhD hearing the scientific experiment protocol and method have been approved. This experiment will conclude in publishing number of scientific papers. The experiment is designed to measure the impact of available daylight in an interior environment on the brain's regulation of circadian rhythms. New findings in the fields of chronobiology and neuroscience point to the light environment as one of the most pivotal factors relevant to our physiological and mental health. Although there are number of laboratory based scientific experiments which study the impact of light on regulation of the circadian system, there is a knowledge gap regarding impact of light in the built environment. This experiment is designed to address similar issues in real-life situation with participants in their everyday built environment. The research hypothesis and review results were presented at "The 2021 ANFA Symposium" at Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture in September. The findings from this experiment will be presented in other relevant symposiums in the future.

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The hypothesis is that the built environment effects on human behavior, health and experience are measurable and what we can learn can: save lives, revolutionize the nature of the architectural knowledge and the design process, the economy of design and construction, and architecture itself. Architects have long been operating on the assumption that the designed environment, at least to some extent, shapes our behavior and our understanding of the world around us. The question is how does the designed environment shape us? What is the scientific evidence of this environmental effect, if any? And ultimately what are the variables that can be controlled by architects and designers in order to achieve optimum environments for varied human activities. Architecture, regardless of its quality, affects people. Enriching environments enhance our lives and poor ones hinder us in ways known and unknown. In the developed world, we live about 93% of our lives in and about the built environment and must be aware of its influence on our behavioral and biological health. What is the scientific evidence of this environmental effect, if any? And ultimately what are the variables that can be controlled by architects and designers in order to achieve optimum environments for varied human activities. when it comes to how architecture supports or influences the lives, behavior and health of the people, there is little scientific knowledge to inform the basic approach to the design process. The conceptual projections and performance objectives regarding human habitation can be tested during the design process and before the costly constructions to ensure economy and aptness. This Phd course focuses on the effect of light and lighting in the built environments on the brain’s regulation of circadian rhythms, mental and physiological acuity. This is perhaps most critical as the disruption of the circadian rhythms are associated with many life-threatening and chronic diseases.

Funding scheme:

NAERINGSPH-Nærings-phd