Intentional Spaces Summit

The International Arts + Mind Lab Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics Launches Global Initiative to Amplify Design for Health and Wellbeing

WASHINGTON, DC (November 7, 2023) – The International Arts + Mind Lab and Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics (IAM Lab), a global effort developed at the Pedersen Brain Science Institute at Johns Hopkins University, is collaborating with the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture (ANFA) to create a worldwide Intentional Spaces initiative. 

“Intentional design, architecture, and aesthetic experiences hold enormous potential to address some of the most intractable issues facing our planet,” said Susan Magsamen, Founder and Executive Director of the IAM Lab. “The Intentional Spaces initiative aims to expand the foundation for collaboration between scientific researchers, technologists, social scientists, and design practitioners.”

The initiative launches on November 9 at the Intentional Spaces Summit, which is being hosted at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center in Washington, DC. In this collaborative two-day exchange, panelists and invited attendees will share design practices, research, and technological insights and ideas with the goal of creating a dynamic translational model. A primary outcome for this inaugural event is to develop a shared framework that advances the field by amplifying the impact of design on the human experience within the built environment.

“We spend as much as 95% of our life in the built environment, with some structures housing tens of thousands of occupants/workers, shaping their activities for most of their waking state. Science is just now catching up to the great need for multidisciplinary research on the effects of these spaces on well-being, social interaction, and personal effectiveness,” said David Kirsh, President of ANFA. “The Intentional Spaces Initiative is a clear harbinger of things to come.”

The Summit draws upon learnings from a 2021 study by the IAM Lab, in which the Lab convened international experts in the fields of architecture, neuroscience, technology, design, urban planning, and creative placemaking. These interdisciplinary groups discussed the state of the field and made recommendations for future research and practice to build collaboration and connectivity.

“This event recognizes our Lab’s investment in spearheading translational research for the spaces where we live, work, heal, and learn. It is the continuation of a legacy that began almost 15 years ago through the vision of the Pedersen family. Together, we will expand new approaches and frameworks that bridge the gaps between the sciences and the arts, resulting in even more impactful spaces and programs to meet the needs of the global community,” Magsamen noted.

The Intentional Spaces initiative website is www.intentionalspaces.org. Funding support for the Summit comes from Thermengruppe Josef Wund, MillerKnoll, MillerKnoll Foundation, White Mirror, Perkins Eastman, the Human Architecture + Planning Institute, the IAM Lab, and Johns Hopkins University.

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The International Arts + Mind Lab Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics (IAM Lab) is a multidisciplinary research-to-practice initiative from the Pedersen Brain Science Institute at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine that is focused on accelerating translational approaches in the field of neuroarts. Its mission is to amplify human potential through the arts and aesthetic experiences. IAM Lab is pioneering Impact Thinking, a translational research approach designed to solve intractable problems in health, well-being, and learning through the arts. In partnership with the Aspen Institute’s Health, Medicine & Society Program, the IAM Lab co-leads the NeuroArts Blueprint initiative. The Blueprint’s mission is to cultivate an ecosystem for neuroarts, defined as the transdisciplinary and extradisciplinary study of how the arts and aesthetic experiences measurably change the body, brain, and behavior, and how this knowledge is translated into specific practices that advance health and wellbeing. The Blueprint engages leaders across a wide range of disciplines, as well as people with lived experience. 

The IAM Lab website is www.artsandmindlab.org

The NeuroArts Blueprint website is www.neuroartsblueprint.org 

The Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture (ANFA) is a nonprofit, international organization founded in 2003 as a legacy project of The American Institute of Architects (AIA) with support from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, CA.  ANFA addresses the influence and impact of architectural education & practice on building occupant behavior. Its mission is to promote and advance knowledge that links neuroscience and cognitive science research to a growing understanding of human responses to the built environment.

The ANFA website is www.anfarch.org