Julio Bermudez , associate profesor of architecture, was quoted in an Atlantic article on the measurable affects of architecture on the brain. The Atlantic story was cited in a Nov. 17 Hyperallergic post and a Nov. 18 Huffington Post article. See below.
From: Atlantic Date: Nov. 10, 2014 Author: Emily Von Hoffmann
... New research conducted by a team of architects and neuroscientists suggests that architecture may indeed affect mental states, although they choose to focus on the positive.
I spoke with Dr. Julio Bermudez, the lead of a new study that uses fMRI to capture the effects of architecture on the brain. His team operates with the goal of using the scientific method to transform something opaque-the qualitative "phenomenologies of our built environment"-into neuroscientific observations that architects and city planners can deliberately design for. Bermudez and his team's research question focuses on buildings and sites designed to elicit contemplation: They theorize that the presence of "contemplative architecture" in one's environment may over time produce the same health benefits as traditional "internally-induced" meditation, except with much less effort by the individual.
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Read more about Bermudez's expertise .