The Brain Wasn't Built in a Day

by Andrea Mojsoska

art by Anna Siegel

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Or, do as the Romans designed. For a building’s design to be considered successful, Roman architect Vitruvius argued that it must satisfy the three principles of firmitas, utilitas, and venustas: strength, utility, and beauty [1]. These three notions are nested in Rome’s ruins, echoing the city’s eternal legacy. Yet even for those lacking Vitruvius’ technical knowledge, the way in which we perceive architecture can affect neural activity.

When I’m in Rome, I walk inside the circular Pantheon and feel an immediate sense of tranquility. I am reminded of the Romans’ ambition, and the notion that empires will fall, but will not be forgotten. This is not the same feeling I encounter when I look up at Manhattan’s skyline, and catch a fleeting glimpse of the Empire State Building. New York’s skyscrapers inspire me to pick up the pace and chase my dreams. 

You become a different person in every city you visit. This isn’t merely because of a change in routine, but also because of a change in scenery. Without much conscious effort, the brain differentiates between buildings that are curved versus sharp-angled, wide versus narrow, and symmetrical versus asymmetrical [2]. These architectural subtleties are more influential than meets the eye: building design can influence cognitive, behavioral, and emotional responses [2]. Exploring architecturally diverse spaces can become a vessel for exploring both the world and the brain. 

This article can provide you with a travel guide to expand your geographical and personal horizons – starting from New York, moving on to Azerbaijan, taking a leap towards Australia, making two quick stops in Iceland and India, and reaching Vitruvius’ homeland, Italy, before coming back to New York.

Culture and Curvature

Itinerary: The Guggenheim, Heydar Aliyev Centre, Sydney Opera House Our first stop: the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. With its spiral ramps and organic form, this museum effortlessly immerses visitors in its rich world of contemporary art. Environmental neuroscientists Tawil and Kühn argue that the Guggenheim’s spiral structure generates a sense of continuity, prompting visitors to indulge in their curiosity [3]. But what is so appealing about strolling through spiral ramps instead of linear stairs? The answer to this question lies in yet another curved and folded structure: the human brain. 

In one study, researchers investigated the relationship between a space’s geometry and emotional responses [4]. While doing so, they exposed design experts and non-experts to four different three-dimensional virtual reality environments: squared symmetrical, round-domed symmetrical, sharp-edged asymmetrical, and curvy-shaped asymmetrical. Participants entered their designated virtual space, explored it, and left. Following each exploration, they were asked to complete a questionnaire rating how much they liked each space. In a second version of the same experiment, the researchers subjected participants to these virtual environments while measuring their neural responses. In doing so, they used electroencephalography (EEG)—a neuroimaging technique that captures the changes in electrical voltage that occur during neural activity using electrodes. Analysis of the EEG data showed that the brain was able to differentiate between the four spaces in only two seconds, organizing them into two clusters of activity based on their sharpness or roundness, but not symmetry. Hence, this study concluded that space recognition is primarily driven by the aspect of curvature, showing that its participants would likely be fond of The Guggenheim’s spiral stairs [4]. 

With a similar experimental design to Shemesh et al., another study also used EEG methodologies to investigate the effect of virtual, curved spaces on brain activity. Banaei et al. allowed participants to roam through virtual reality environments with varying levels of curvature [5]. The resulting EEG data showed that curved geometries in space significantly impact neural activity in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). This result aligned with a previous finding that the ACC is most active when participants perceive beauty—especially in architectural spaces with curved designs, which were consistently rated as more beautiful than their sharp-edged counterparts [6]. As such, this study establishes that the ACC is part of the core circuit for aesthetic processing in the brain, supplementing previous findings that reward and emotion are involved in the preference of curved objects. Besides perceiving curved architecture, the ACC is also responsible for emotional regulation and attention [7]. Combined, these functions explain why curved spaces heighten the ACC’s activation: curved architecture might inspire a more emotional response than angular architecture, prompting a sensory experience that activates the ACC during appraisal of “beautiful” curved spaces. This connection may also explain many architects’ choice to design cultural spaces with spherical elements. By immersing visitors in these buildings through their curved structure, they may prompt more potent emotional responses and heightened attention to the contents of such cultural and artistic hubs. 

Now that we have explored The Guggenheim and heightened our attentiveness, the next stops on our itinerary await two flights away. The first flight is headed to Baku, Azerbaijan, where Zaha Hadid has installed her flowing design of the Heydar Aliyev Center: a confluence of art collections and cultural exhibitions. The second flight stops at the Opera House in Sydney, Australia—a coiled and geometrically experimental building—before heading off to Iceland.

Pro-symmetrical, Pro-social

Itinerary: Icelandic turf houses, The Taj Mahal

Stepping off the plane in Iceland, we bear witness to the country’s idyllic nature, picturesque sunsets, and rows upon rows of seemingly identical houses: two parallel windows, one door, and the same turf-based foundation. Dating back to the 9th century, Iceland’s UNESCO World Heritage-protected houses incorporate turf, timber, and stone to create the long-house look that prevails in the cities of Laufas and Siglufjordur [8]. What happened to all of the spherical spaces we saw so far? In turf architecture, the affective and attentive appeal of spherical architecture is instead evoked by the beauty of symmetry [9].

Through yet another application of virtual reality spaces, Pizzolante et al. (2025) investigated the effects of such symmetrical architecture on human behavior. Specifically, they aimed to determine whether architectural symmetry can promote prosocial behavior—voluntary behavior that helps other people. To do this, their team introduced 40 participants to two sets of 360° virtual environments that displayed symmetric and asymmetric building fronts in a random order. After seeing a set of buildings, participants were asked to complete a self-reported measure of their emotions in response to the architecture they observed. Afterward, they completed the dictator task—an ultimatum game that gauges prosocial behavior. In the task, participants were told that they would gain a specific sum of money, and were then asked whether they wished to share a portion of their sum with an anonymous recipient [10]. Pizzolante et al. found that exposure to symmetric facades prompted participants to donate more money to the anonymous recipient than did exposure to asymmetric facades, linking the symmetry of the virtual facades to increased prosocial behavior [10]. 

These prosocial behaviors have been localized in multiple empathy-related brain regions, including the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Together with the finding that the ACC engages in aesthetic processing, this study further emphasizes that the ACC lies at the core of the intersection between architecture and neuroscience [11]. 

Further, Haroush and Williams (2015) found that the activity of individual neurons in the dorsal ACC is a good predictor of whether a primate decides to display cooperative behavior, whereas the disruption of dorsal ACC neuronal activity reduces their willingness to cooperate [12]. Hence, activity in the ACC seems to be involved in promoting cooperation among a sample of primates, alongside its activation in response to curved architecture and emotional processing. As both processes involve activation of the ACC, these findings hint at a possible correlation between the perception of architecture and increased prosocial behavior; although research on the topic is ongoing and requires more investigation in the current literature. 

Remarkably, the connection between architecture and prosocial behavior can be situated within the real-life context of Iceland’s sociopolitical landscape. According to the World Happiness Report, Iceland has been the third-happiest country in the world since 2021. The country also boasts a commendably low crime index of 25.4, compared to the United States’ index of 49.3 [13]. Even though more research is needed to reach a definitive relationship between turf cities’ symmetrical architecture and prosociality, these measurements can be seen as a reflection of Iceland’s prosocial behavior. 

On a similar note, our second stop in this symmetrical domain is none other than one of the new seven wonders of the world: the Taj Mahal. On the one hand, this symmetrical structure aligns with its religious purpose of promoting pro-social values. On the other hand, the Taj Mahal inspires awe in its visitors by virtue of its soaring ceilings. 

Architectural designs with tall ceilings are linked to heightened cognitive processing and spatial perception [2, 14]. To investigate the effects of ceiling height on neural activity, Vartanian et al. repeated their aforementioned experiment on curvature and beauty, this time focusing on ceiling height as the independent variable. Participants were once again asked to classify spaces with high/low ceilings as being either beautiful or not beautiful. The self-reported findings indicated that participants tend to categorize spaces with high ceilings as more beautiful. In addition to self-reported data, Vartanian et al. also made use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). This neuroimaging technique utilizes oxygenated blood as a proxy measurement for heightened neural activity, since more oxygen is brought to the brain when it is active. The fMRI results showed a positive correlation between exposure to spaces with higher ceilings and activation in the precuneus and middle frontal gyrus. These two brain regions are responsible for spatial exploration and attention in the dorsal stream—a visual processing pathway in the brain used to situate the position of objects in space [14, 15]. Therefore, spaces with higher ceilings may prompt greater spatial attention and cognitive processing, allowing religious temples such as the Taj Mahal to immerse their visitors in their senses.

Nature and Nurture

Itinerary: Bosco Verticale, Central Park

Situated in Milan, Italy’s fashion capital, the Bosco Verticale is a tree-sized skyscraper, abounding with green shrubs and plants. It symbolizes the connection between man and nature and serves as a call to action for the practice of green architecture. Green architecture is a design philosophy that prioritizes sustainability and naturally incorporates green spaces into living spaces. On top of its awe-inspiring visual beauty, green architecture is associated with improvements in brain volume in children and reductions in dementia risk in elders [16, 17]. 

After finding a positive correlation between enrollment in a school with more “outdoor greenness” and increased working memory, researchers decided to explore the relationship between brain structure and exposure to natural environments [16]. For this purpose, they estimated the lifelong exposure to “greenness” of 5000 students from primary schools in Barcelona by quantifying green vegetation surrounding their homes and schools. Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to look at the brain’s structural changes, Dadvand’s team found that children with higher lifelong exposure to greenness boasted a larger volume of grey matter in the prefrontal and premotor cortices—two brain regions involved in working memory, decision-making, and motor planning. Increased grey matter volumes in the prefrontal and premotor cortex suggested increased working memory and attentiveness in children. As such, exposure to more green spaces may positively impact brain structures associated with cognitive function. 

Additionally, in a U.S. cohort study, exposure to green spaces was linked to a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease by 18% and depression by 28% [18]. This inference complements the finding that exposure to urban green spaces triggers frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA)—an EEG measure that quantifies left hemisphere activation versus right hemisphere activation [19]. Increased FAA levels reflect increased left frontal cortex activity, which is associated with positive emotions and has been used as a successful treatment for depression [19]. In the study, participants were subjected to six landscape scenes and three urban scenes while their EEG signal was measured. The EEG results showed greater FAA during landscape exposure, implying that green spaces can mitigate negative mental health symptoms through frontal alpha asymmetry. Several longitudinal studies support the conclusion that residing in green spaces lowers the incidence rate of Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia [17, 18, 20]. Additionally, a group of researchers from Boston University hypothesize that natural, green spaces provide more opportunities for social interaction, physical activity, and lower levels of air pollution, therefore lowering the risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s Disease [21].

On that note, we will make our penultimate stop in New York’s Central Park: a green space designed by landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, with the purpose of creating a place for New Yorkers to rest, escape urban stress, and improve their (cognitive) health.

Where the Heart Is

Our one last stop is situated all around the world. It’s where I grew to love the look of lilac trees against the backdrop of Brutalist architecture, where I heard all of my grandmother’s childhood stories over our morning Turkish tea, and where walking through the city’s cobblestone streets evokes a million different memories: my hometown, Skopje. Your hometown. Tokyo, New York, Rome—every city that is or has been a home to a group of people throughout history. 

Hometowns evoke familiarity. From a neuroscientific perspective, familiarity can cause decreased attention levels and increased relaxation [22]. Familiar scenes also evoke shortened neural responses, because being familiar with a scene increases the speed at which the visual system receives a light stimulus and sharpens the processing of information [23]. Some brain regions, including the parahippocampal cortex and retrosplenial cortex, have evolved to specialize in perceiving familiar scenes [24]. De Paiva explains this through an evolutionary lens: primates’ alertness levels were increased in unfamiliar territories, where they had a greater chance of being attacked. In turn, they developed the instinct of territoriality, prompting individuals to recognize a space as their own territory and decreasing attention levels accordingly. De Paiva contextualizes this evolutionary argument in a modern context by analyzing the behavior of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. She highlights the finding that Alzheimer’s disease patients with personal objects in their rooms tend to display lower levels of stress and aggressive behavior, as personal decorations evoke familiarity and a sense of “feeling at home” [22, 25]. 

But even though we cannot always sculpt our homes, we can shape our brain’s plasticity. Travel, return home, and expose your brain to everything the world has to offer. You might just find a deeper appreciation for the symmetry of the building next door, or the utility and beauty of Roman roads.

REFERENCES:

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2. Medhat Assem, H., Mohamed Khodeir, L., & Fathy, F. (2023). Designing for human wellbeing: The integration of neuroarchitecture in design – A systematic review. Ain Shams Engineering Journal, 14(6), 102102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asej.2022.102102 

3. Tawil, N., & Kühn, S. (2025). Reviewing the Impact of Angular Versus Curved Designs. In Routledge Handbook of Neuroscience and the Built Environment. Taylor & Francis. 

4. Shemesh, A., Talmon, R., Karp, O., Amir, I., Bar, M., & Grobman, Y. J. (2016). Affective response to architecture – investigating human reaction to spaces with different geometry. Architectural Science Review. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00038628.2016.1266597 

5. Banaei, M., Hatami, J., Yazdanfar, A., & Gramann, K. (2017). Walking through Architectural Spaces: The Impact of Interior Forms on Human Brain Dynamics. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2017.00477 

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