What kind of buildings stress you out?

A new study from Cleo Valentine, commissioned by Humanise, explores how the outsides of buildings in Seoul across five architectural periods, vary in the stress levels they cause passers-by.

This new study explores how the external design of buildings – specifically, the patterns and materials used on façades – either supports or undermines visual comfort in cities. Focusing on images of 78 buildings across Seoul, spanning five historical periods from the Late Joseon Dynasty to the present day, the research from Cleo Valentine of the University of Cambridge, uses advanced image analysis tools to measure how different architectural features affect the brain.

The results indicate that specific design features – particularly repetitive façade features – can robustly predict visual stress. This relationship persists across a range of viewing distances and architectural eras, which suggests that both temporal and spatial variables contribute to sensory overload.

Traditional Korean architecture, with its visually rich, harmonious patterns, produces lower levels of visual stress than modern façades with repetitive patterns, hard lines, and high-contrast materials which are more likely to overload the visual system and contribute to discomfort, especially in dense urban areas.

Buildings from the contemporary era in Seoul show on average the highest levels of visual stress of any era since the late nineteenth century.

Overall, the findings suggest that visual comfort in cities can be influenced by specific, measurable design choices. The findings offer compelling evidence that better façade design, based on how our brains naturally process visual information, can reduce stress and enhance public wellbeing.

Using this science could produce urban environments that actively support human health and cognitive wellbeing, instead of undermining it.

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