ABL HOME DESIGN
Resources
A considered collection of books, research, and ideas helping to inform how ABL thinks about beauty, agency, adaptability, inclusion, and human experience in the built environment.
This is a living library. It will continue to grow as the research, and our understanding of the relationship between people and place, evolves.
Selected Reading
Neuroaesthetics and Beauty
Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us
Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross
An accessible exploration of neuroaesthetics and the ways art, creativity, and aesthetic experience influence the mind and body.
The Aesthetic Brain: How We Evolved to Desire Beauty and Enjoy Art
Anjan Chatterjee
A neuroscientist’s examination of beauty, pleasure, art, and the biological foundations of aesthetic experience.
View at Oxford University Press
Beauty, Neuroscience & Architecture: Timeless Patterns and Their Impact on Our Well-Being
Donald H. Ruggles
An architect’s exploration of the patterns, proportions, forms, and spatial relationships that contribute to our experience of beauty in the built environment.
Explore the book
View at University of Oklahoma Press
Mind, Body, and the Built Environment
Cognitive Architecture: Designing for How We Respond to the Built Environment
Ann Sussman and Justin B. Hollander
An examination of how unconscious perception, attention, evolution, and human behavior influence our responses to buildings and places.
Mind in Architecture: Neuroscience, Embodiment, and the Future of Design
Edited by Sarah Robinson and Juhani Pallasmaa
A multidisciplinary collection connecting neuroscience, embodied experience, architecture, and the ways people perceive and inhabit space.
Constructing Health: How the Built Environment Enhances Your Mind’s Health
Tye Farrow
An argument for creating environments that support connection, vitality, resilience, and whole-person health—not simply environments that avoid harm.
View at University of Toronto Press
Biophilic Design
Nature by Design: The Practice of Biophilic Design
Stephen R. Kellert
A foundational guide to creating meaningful relationships between people, nature, and the built environment. Kellert distinguishes substantive biophilic design from the superficial addition of natural imagery or decoration.
View at Yale University Press
Nature Inside: A Biophilic Design Guide
William D. Browning and Catherine O. Ryan
A practical translation of biophilic research into principles, processes, and applications for interior environments.
Learn more through Terrapin Bright Green
Inclusive and Responsive Design
Designing Neuroinclusive Workplaces: Advancing Sensory Processing and Cognitive Well-Being in the Built Environment
Kay Sargent
A practical guide to designing environments that better accommodate neurological differences, sensory processing, cognitive needs, and varied ways of working.
Although its primary focus is the workplace, its consideration of lighting, acoustics, sensory zoning, pattern, texture, movement, and choice extends well beyond the office.
Universal Design Toolkit: Time-Saving Ideas, Resources, Solutions, and Guidance for Making Homes Accessible
Rosemarie Rossetti, Ph.D.
A practical, richly illustrated guide to creating homes that support independence, safety, dignity, and changing ability.
Rossetti brings professional expertise and lived experience as a wheelchair user to the development of the Universal Design Living Laboratory, a national demonstration home designed around accessibility, universal design, healthy living, and sustainability.
Explore the book and Universal Design Living Laboratory
Research and Organizations
Science in Design
Science in Design connects the design professions with research in neuroscience, neuroaesthetics, biophilia, environmental psychology, perception, and human well-being. Brynn Freal is a Science in Design–certified practitioner.
Visit Science in Design
Explore the webinar library
Terrapin Bright Green
Terrapin Bright Green develops research and practical frameworks connecting nature, sustainability, buildings, and human well-being.
Visit Terrapin Bright Green
Read 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design
Designing a Neurodiverse Workplace
This HOK research report examines how physical environments can better support neurodivergent and neurotypical people through increased choice, varied sensory conditions, and more responsive workplace design.
It is a useful, freely available companion to Kay Sargent’s full book.
Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics
Led by neurologist Anjan Chatterjee, the center studies the neural and psychological foundations of aesthetic experience, including responses to art, architecture, and beauty.
Visit the Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics
International Arts + Mind Lab
A multidisciplinary initiative at Johns Hopkins University exploring how the arts, architecture, and aesthetic experiences influence the brain, behavior, health, learning, and human potential.
Visit the International Arts + Mind Lab
The Center for Health Design
A nonprofit organization advancing research and evidence-based practices for environments that support health and well-being.