A neurocognitive study of the emotional impact of geometrical criteria of architectural space

Abstract

The paper presents a new approach to examining the connection between human emotions and architectural space, focusing on the aspect of geometry. It examines how emotional reactions to geometrical manipulations within architectural space can be empirically measured and quantified. By using physiological sensors, such as EEG (Electroencephalography), GSR (Galvanic Skin Response), and eye-tracking (ET), we were able to collect data from participants experiencing virtual environments, differentiated by criteria of scale, proportion, protrusion and curvature. Findings suggest that these criteria influence the user's emotional state. The developed methodology, which combines both qualitative and quantitative measurements, shows changes of interest, both ‘positive’ and ‘negative’, suspected to indicate different emotional states.

KEYWORDS:

• Virtual environment
• space perception
• affective response
• parametric design
• evidence-based design
• space geometry
• neuroaesthetics
• neuroarchitecture

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for the productive cooperation with Prof. Ronen Talmon from the Department of Electrical Engineering of the Technion, and his laboratory. We would like to acknowledge the wonderful and dedicated work of Professor Paul Feigin and Naama Wolf, PhD, from the Faculty of Industrial Management, Statistics Unit, of the Technion. We would like to thank the Laboratory of Human and Biodiversity Research Lab directed by Assistant Prof. Assaf Shwartz and the Technion's Institute of Research and Development Ltd. for their contribution of resources. The study was approved by the Ethical Review Committee of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Israel.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary, s.v. “proportion.” Accessed June 18, 2020, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/proportion.

2 Miriam Webster Dictionary, s.v. “Protrusion.” accessed June 18, 2020, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/protrusion.

3 EMOTIVE. "Emotive Insight." Accessed July 19, 2020. https://www.emotiv.com/insight/.

4 VR/AR Overview, Pupil Labs. Accessed July 19, 2020, https://pupil-labs.com/products/vr-ar/.

5 Cale Hunt, “Field of view face-off: Rift vs. Vive vs. Gear VR vs PSVR”, July 19, 2020, https://www.vrheads.com/field-view-faceoff-rift-vs-vive-vs-gear-vr-vs-psvr.