Building for Well-Being

Perceptions of the urban environment

At present, the aspect of how people experience their environment is already being considered when new neighbourhoods are developed. However, this is currently rarely based on evidence-based knowledge. The Building for Well-being consortium aimed to change this by researching how people experience the urban environment, how this affects them and how this can be taken into account in the design process.

The housing shortage in the Netherlands is quite severe. At the same time, plans for new construction face a growing list of requirements. For example, projects must integrate sustainable heating systems and use circular materials and include charging points for electric vehicles. The trick is to do all of this without losing sight of people’s well-being.

Frank Suurenbroek

Professor of Spatial Urban Transformation

Technological research

With the help of advanced biometric technology, including eye-trackers that register what people look at and for how long, measurements were taken for three kinds of users: residents, passers-by and visitors. This was done in a laboratory setting using a screen on which different urban situations were projected, as well as outside with a mobile eye-tracker and in a virtual reality environment based on blueprints designed by architects in the consortium.

Nanda Piersma, professor of Responsible IT at AUAS, worked with her team to explore how artificial intelligence (AI) can be deployed to scan street view images to look for patterns in design solutions. The goal was to help designers identify characteristics that promote well-being in street spaces.

Team

• Frank Suurenbroek(opens in new window)
• Gideon Spanjar
• Lyske Gais de Bildt
• Sába Schramko
• Nanda Piersma
• Maarten Groen

Partners

The Building for Well-being project involved 18 partners, including AUAS, design firms specialised in architecture, urban planning and landscape design, and sector organisations. There was also a reflection group consisting of spatial-planning clients and leading academics who work on neuro-architecture worldwide. Besides the Spatial Urban Transformation research group, the Responsible IT research group of the AUAS Faculty of Digital Media and Creative Industry was also closely involved with the project.

Previous project: Sensing Streetscapes (2019-2021)

Building for Well-being built on the earlier Sensing Streetscapes project. This explored the application of new technologies such as artificial intelligence and eye-tracking in the design of buildings and urban areas.