Pantheon of Wonder

Essay

Abstraction of Colorful Light

Can Building Design Help Mood?

by Maria Lorena Lehman

Neuroscience

Architecture Drawing

Discover Design Connections

Some buildings are a pleasure to be in, while others feel terrible. So, why do some spaces feel better than others?

Down to the neuro level, building design affects occupants. Research in the neuroscience field is uncovering not just how building design works, but also why, when and where it works. This helps architects to better understand how certain features, like light for instance, might impact occupant physiology, thought, behavior — and mood.

Such findings can help you form connections to improve your designs for your occupants.

Examine Occupant Response

“Because of advances in neuroscience, we can begin measuring the effects of the environment at a finer level of detail than we have before,” U.C.S.D.’s Edelstein says. “We can understand the environment better, we can understand our responses better, and we can correlate them to the outcomes. I just get chills when I think about it.” (1)

Characteristics like nature, light, carpeting and ceiling height all have qualities that can be fine tuned within a design — to arouse certain occupant responses. (1) For example, different spectrums of light can be strategically used in a building to help with occupant mood and behavior.

Blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and full-specturm fluorescent lights are best to use in buildings when you want your occupants’ mood to be alert and awake. Since such lights are sensed by an occupant’s circadian rhythm, they can help mood by arousing occupant attention. On the other hand, at night it would be best to integrate lighting with longer wavelengths. This would conflict less with occupant circadian rhythm; thus, allowing for better sleep and rest. (1)

Perhaps an architecture “feels” best when it is able to meet an occupant’s needs (physiological, intellectual, emotional and otherwise) on many levels. Neuroscience holds within it many gems that you, as an architect, can use — both to understand previous architectural master-works and to create your own inspiring constructions.

In the end, your architecture can not only help mood — it can often set mood.

Reference:

(1) Carliner, Saul. How Rooms and Architecture Affect Mood and Creativity. OUNO Design.

Image Credit: © jleworks | Flickr

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Dear reader,


I believe life is a continual process of awakening. As the journey of my own life continues, I always find myself connecting my experiences, studies, and ideas to new creative projects that bring beauty, inspiration, and hope for our world. For over 30 years, since starting at age 17, I have immersed myself in architectural design; and early on, I earned a Master of Design with Distinction from Harvard University, setting the foundation for decades of deep immersion in the field. Yet even before this, I held music close to my heart. At the age of 5, I began my first piano lessons; and since then, I began to see the world through a musical lens — even while designing architecture.


Over the decades, I grew closer and closer to music with a deep love for the design of instruments, their unique timbres, and for all the immersive ways their sounds could be interwoven into beautiful orchestrated compositions. I even began to develop a musical composition methodology, Spatial Symphonics, as I found my architectural design work becoming more and more emotive, soul-stirring, and yes: musical.


In recent years, I finally turned my focus to music composition. I hold a Graduate Diploma from the Film Scoring Academy of Europe where my works have been recorded by the acclaimed European Recording Orchestra (ERO), and I am founder of MLL ATELIER® — an award-winning studio now dedicated to my work as an orchestral composer, recording artist, and spatial symphonist — where I advance architectural design through music, and innovate music through an architectural design lens.


It is my hope that I can share my ongoing musical-design journey with you, directly from my studio through my video-newsletter entitled 'Orchestral Notes'. Expect video updates filled with first-access studio news announcing: album/book releases, concert premiers, sheet music publications, creative process sneak-peeks, and my own compositional philosophies as they develop to fuel my ongoing body of musical and architectural authorial works.


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Let’s enjoy the beauty, inspiration, and hope that music brings.


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Warmly,

Maria Lorena Lehman


Founder of MLL ATELIER® | Orchestral Notes

Your invitation:


Dear reader,


I believe life is a continual process of awakening. As the journey of my own life continues, I always find myself connecting my experiences, studies, and ideas to new creative projects that bring beauty, inspiration, and hope for our world. For over 30 years, since starting at age 17, I have immersed myself in architectural design; and early on, I earned a Master of Design with Distinction from Harvard University, setting the foundation for decades of deep immersion in the field. Yet even before this, I held music close to my heart. At the age of 5, I began my first piano lessons; and since then, I began to see the world through a musical lens — even while designing architecture.


Over the decades, I grew closer and closer to music with a deep love for the design of instruments, their unique timbres, and for all the immersive ways their sounds could be interwoven into beautiful orchestrated compositions. I even began to develop a musical composition methodology, Spatial Symphonics, as I found my architectural design work becoming more and more emotive, soul-stirring, and yes: musical.


In recent years, I finally turned my focus to music composition. I hold a Graduate Diploma from the Film Scoring Academy of Europe where my works have been recorded by the acclaimed European Recording Orchestra (ERO), and I am founder of MLL ATELIER® — an award-winning studio now dedicated to my work as an orchestral composer, recording artist, and spatial symphonist — where I advance architectural design through music, and innovate music through an architectural design lens.


It is my hope that I can share my ongoing musical-design journey with you, directly from my studio through my video-newsletter entitled 'Orchestral Notes'. Expect video updates filled with first-access studio news announcing: album/book releases, concert premiers, sheet music publications, creative process sneak-peeks, and my own compositional philosophies as they develop to fuel my ongoing body of musical and architectural authorial works.


I would love for you to join me for this exciting adventure.


Simply click the button below to join my Orchestral Notes video-newsletter delivered every two weeks directly to your email inbox. Plus, get access to the full publication archives.

JOIN ORCHESTRAL NOTES

Limited availability each month.


Warmly,

Maria Lorena Lehman


Founder of MLL ATELIER

Author of PANTHEON OF WONDER

Maria Lorena Lehman has received the following awards and has been seen in the following publications: