Design for the Mind

Can better interiors help us live, work and feel better? One architect is making the case

- MELISSA FLEUR AFSHAR

IMAGINE IF ADDING GREENERY TO A HOSPITAL could help patients heal. Or if increasing natural light in an office by upgrading the size of the windows enabled employees to focus better.

Architect Alyssa Anselmo thinks all this is possible, and is sparking conversation about the link between emotion and design.

The 30-year-old, from Edmonton, Canada, posted a video to Instagram exploring the psychological impact of everyday buildings. She never expected her clip, comparing office and church interiors, to receive over 220,000 likes and spark such interest in how we can alter our environments to enhance our mental performance and mood.

The award-winning architect behind Studio Anva spoke about how the viral video has invited people to reconsider the architecture influencing their daily lives. "I wanted to show spaces like traditional churches versus ultra modern ones, inspiring office spaces versus sterile windowless cubicles, classrooms, homes and more," Anselmo, who studied interior architecture in Florence, Italy, before joining an architecture firm in New York, told Newsweek.

"My goal was to visually illustrate how our environments have changed, and not always for the better. I wanted to make people pause and feel something... Would you be more inspired in this classroom or in this one? Would you feel more creative in this office or that one? It is not just about aesthetics, it is about how our spaces affect us on a subconscious level."

What Is Neuroarchitecture?

Anselmo's short video, posted under the handle @alyssaanselmo_, showed her addressing the viewer while showing contrasting images—one a typical dim corporate office, the other a bright, inviting workspace.