Genome of the Built Environment the mind, sensory experience, and the city

DATE:  2015

TEAM:  Myrna Ayoub, Timothy Logan and Ramzi Naja

PROJECT LOCATION: Boston, Massachusetts

PROGRAM:  research analysis, prosthetics, diagrams, mapping, movie

The built environment has a profound impact on our everyday experience. In fact, our daily lives are structured around the very construct of the city, which includes form, space, flows, networks, and mobility. Experiencing the city is most heightened during transit, where different layers of spatial experience are activated and different dimensions of the city are exposed. Experimenting with a prosthetic combining proximity sensors, micro-controllers, an EEG brain scanner, and a GoPro camera for documentation, a study of Boston generated a complex set of results that would then be used to illustrate a lexicon of urban scenarios and their impact on the mind, interpreted based on proximity data and state of mind readings. Ultimately, the outcome serves as a reference to be consulted as urban environments are designed for better livability.