Original NCAS Harris Poll survey images are above for the Hubert H. Humphrey Building – HHS HQ (2A) and the National Archives Building (2B). The four VAS test results are below. Original image source: National Civic Art Society.
🏛️🧠 Exciting News! My latest research with Hunter Huffman in an article titled “Architectural Design, Visual Attention, and Human Cognition: Exploring Responses to Federal Building Styles” is now available in the UK based journal Planning Practice & Research. Dive into the fascinating world of architecture and discover how human cognition influences preferences for federal building styles. The research builds upon the findings of the 2020 National Civic Art Society survey, which indicated that 72% of Americans prefer traditional federal buildings over modern designs. Read the full article at the link below.
ABSTRACT: This article examines the ongoing architectural debate surrounding styles for American government buildings. It tests the results of the 2020 National Civic Art Society survey that found 72% of Americans prefer traditional federal buildings over modern designs. To gain a neuro-biological perspective on these results, eye-tracking emulation software is used to evaluate the relationship between architectural design, visual attention, and human preferences. The hypothesis that traditional buildings would capture and retain pre-attentive visual processing more than modern styles was confirmed in several experiments. The research offers valuable insights for architects, urban planners, and policymakers considering design decisions about federal buildings.
CITATION: Ro, Brandon R., and Hunter Huffman. “Architectural Design, Visual Attention, and Human Cognition: Exploring Responses to Federal Building Styles.” Planning Practice & Research, (2024), 1–40. doi:10.1080/02697459.2024.2342755.
Tetrad Architecture & Planning 