Event Description

Architectural designs can have lasting effects, not just on the intended users of buildings, but also on passersby. Buildings, unlike art, are public objects and in many cases mandatory for daily use. While it is generally possible to avoid artistic objects that may – consciously or subconsciously – cause unease, there is much less choice in avoiding buildings and urban environments that might do the same. There is great urgency in understanding the effects of architecture - buildings are being designed and built every day that can have a massive positive or negative impact on their users for many years, and there are a great many negative trends afoot.

Stress involves communication in both directions between the brain and the bodily systems affected. In chronic conditions, stress is essentially capable of creating a self-perpetuating negative feedback loop. More than acute stressors, chronic stress represents a significant threat to health via multiple processes. Chronic stress can change the structure of the brain and have long-lasting negative effects that alter cellular composition and increase susceptibility to a host of disorders, such as suppressing or changing immune function, impairing developmental growth, and increasing biological weathering and allostatic load. These realities are exacerbated for those with already-compromised health.

The webinar will present a holistic view of the ample research that, when evaluated collectively, suggests that the built environment can amplify or defuse the effects of stress. The specific aspects of architecture that impact our physiological and psychological response indicate that buildings which correctly utilize these features will confer measurable benefit to users and passersby.

Qualifies for 1 AIA HSW Credit Hour