Stress Assessment Tool for Architectural Design

The aim of this project is to investigate the link between the embodied reaction and (conscious) aesthetic experience of architectural settings and the possibility of capturing this relation through a questionnaire that can be used in practice to assess the impact of spaces on stress in the design process. Starting from enactive-embodied cognition theory, cognitive linguistics, and Küller’s Semantic Environment Description (SMB) questionnaire, the project goal is to explore how the space-body-language relationship can be used together with physiological measurements (e.g., cortisol) to develop an assessment tool to describe and capture people’s aesthetic experiences of spaces and their anticipated stress reaction.