Architecture and the Science of the Senses | Stefan Behling | TEDxGoodenoughCollege

As an architect you have an amazing opportunity to change people's lives. That is one of the great side effects of this job — we can truly make a difference. The flip side is a pretty big responsibility, because whatever we do is around for a long time. And the next complication is that we actually can't really make any decisions; we can only be the advocates and try to get clients to do something. At the end of the day, it is the client. Today I'm going to try to convince you that there is a problem. We share 96% of our DNA with chimpanzees, and if you think about the things they enjoy — like a hot tub on a cold day — you realize maybe they would find many of our buildings uncomfortable. We have poor understanding of what makes a good internal environment. Children around the world under age ten, shown landscapes, pick the savanna — there are things human beings like that stimulate their senses. The CIA studied sensory deprivation: they put people in a perfect white room, and after 24 hours students showed hallucination, after 48 hours they broke down. Sensory deprivation is as bad for your brain as lack of stimulation is for your muscles. Your brain will shrink and create hallucinations to fight it. If we were still living in the countryside, this talk would be irrelevant, but more than 50% of the world now lives in cities, and the average US citizen spends 87% of their time indoors. The worst part is artificial environments. In the 1930s the black-box factory was invented — a big box with no windows, artificial light, air conditioning. They are cheap and flexible, but they create the blandest environments possible — the equivalent of the white room. These buildings are like submarines: completely sealed artificial environments. The military studied submarines because crews suffered from hallucination and vision problems. Office towers are built like submarines; even if you're close to a window with fresh air outside, you can't get it. The air is sucked in, mixed with used air, and pumped through long ducts. These systems are extremely energy-intensive — buildings use about 40% of the world's energy — and they contribute to global warming. Why are we doing it? The environment is set by one facility manager, and everyone gets the same thing. But we are all different: our physiology and psychology vary. You would never accept someone deciding what you eat all year. We need varied sensory stimulation; the same thing all day is bad. Alexander Baumgarten, who coined the word 'aesthetics', wanted aesthetics to be a serious science of sensory cognition. Sight, sound, smell — all our senses matter. After a walk in the forest you feel different; after hours in a sealed box you might get a headache. Daylight changes color throughout the day — blue at noon, golden in the evening — which helps us produce melatonin and sleep. But in blue-lit offices, you can't sleep. Now three projects: First, Maggie's Centre in Manchester for cancer care — a gentle, naturally ventilated building with a veranda where you can enjoy the rain and the changing seasons. Second, working with the European Space Agency on lunar habitats — we can't use natural ventilation there, but astronauts miss the smell of fresh air. A window was designed for the ISS but cut for budget; it finally arrived in 2010 and allowed people to see Earth. Engineers said it wasn't critical, but it's a question of humanity. For Mars we're designing 3D-printed habitats with texture and real materials, not white plastic. Third, our practice has evolved: we have psychologists, artists, and scientists like Carlos who built a device for emotional mapping — tracking how people feel as they walk. We simulate airflow with physical models. All this led to the campus project in Cupertino, in close collaboration with Steve Jobs and Jony Ive. We broke down barriers: created the longest sheets of glass in the world with natural ventilation, so people can smell the outside and blur inside and outside. The building and the park become one. Finally, the Apple Flagship on Union Square is about breaking down barriers — a 12-meter-high wall that opens to let the evening breeze in. I urge you: go back to your offices on Monday and pause. Does it stimulate your senses or is it monotonous and bland? You deserve better spaces that give delight to all your senses. Break down the barriers. Thank you.