#44 Ann Sussman and Kelsey Bradley: Cognitive Architecture – Stone Age Brains In A Modern World: What Neuroscience Can Teach Us About Making Places People Love

What if the key to designing better cities wasn’t just in concrete, code, or cost, but in understanding how our brains actually work?In this episode, I talk with Ann Sussman and Kelsey Bradley of the Human Architecture and Planning Institute (HAPI) about a subject that’s as profound as it is underdiscussed: how our unconscious biology reacts to the built environment – and how that should change everything about how we design.Ann, architect and author of Cognitive Architecture  and Kelsey, founder of Design Cause Inc., now Executive Director at HAPI, walk us through the neuroscience of placemaking. We talk eye tracking. Skin conductivity. Heart rate variability. And how our “Stone Age brains” are still calibrated for the Savannah, even when we’re stuck in a strip mall.This episode will validate what many of us feel but can’t quite explain why some places energize us, and others quietly drain us. The answers aren’t just aesthetic. They’re evolutionary.CHAPTERS:00:00 The Car-Free City: Oslo's Urban Transformation03:43 Human Architecture: Merging Biology and Design08:03 Understanding Human Experience: The Emotional Brain11:24 The Impact of Environment on Human Behavior18:37 The Influence of Modernism on Architecture23:28 The Threatening Nature of Suburban Design26:47 Measuring Human Responses: Biometrics in Architecture31:25 The Science of Emotions in Design33:52 The Power of Empathy in Leadership36:57 Designing for Human Flourishing40:07 The Impact of Built Environments on Mental Health45:35 Understanding Human Perception in Urban Design49:13 The Need for Beautiful and Functional Spaces53:00 The Future of Urban Planning and Community Well-beingMENTIONED RESOURCESBook: Cognitive Architecture: Designing for how we respond to the built environmentBook: Urban Experience & Designhttps://thehapi.org/Free course on "The Genetics of Design" – HAPI.org Courses Design Cause Inc. – Kelsey’s nonprofit building schools in AfricaCONNECT WITH ANN SUSSMANLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ann-sussman-a1a34a14/X: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ann-sussman-a1a34a14/ Ann’s Blog: https://annsussman.com/ The Genetics of Design: https://geneticsofdesign.com/about CONNECT WITH KELSEY BRADLEYLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelseybradley/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kelseydeebradley/ CONNECT WITH AUSTIN TUNNELLNewsletter: https://playbook.buildingculture.com/ https://www.instagram.com/austintunnell/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/austin-tunnell-2a41894a/ https://twitter.com/AustinTunnellCONNECT WITH BUILDING CULTUREhttps://www.buildingculture.com/ https://www.instagram.com/buildingculture/ https://twitter.com/build_culture https://www.facebook.com/BuildCulture/ SPONSORSThank you so much to the sponsors of The Building Culture Podcast!Sierra Pacific Windows: https://www.sierrapacificwindows.com/ One Source Windows: https://onesourcewindows.com/