The architectural design company Lombardini22 organized on November 21st the event EMPATIA degli SPAZI.
An in-depth study that has focused on the fascinating relationship between architecture and neuroscience and the implications on a practical level of the architectural design.
Protagonist of the event was the renowned neuroscientist Vittorio Gallese, among the discoverers of “mirror neurons” , interviewed by the journalist Giorgio Tartaro.

The intervention was focused on the relationship between mind-body and the building space.
Starting from the concept of empathy, which originally means “coming into contact with an object ” they have explored the relationship between feelings, emotions and actions, according to a conception that sees the human being as an holistic creature. The interconnections between the different areas of the brain and the mirror neurons are nothing more than the physiological substrate of the complex and multidimensional experience of reality that we do everyday.
Hence resulting implications for architecture (which can be considered as a mediated form of intersubjectivity) , which can’t fail to take into account the architectural space intended as a multi-sensory and emotional experience, the reaction of a human body to an environment that produces ongoing stimulus.
The architecture cannot be reduced to a mere rational abstraction but has to be experienced with the body and senses. According to the concept of embodiment our lives, our minds and our knowledge of the objects are to be considered as the contextual and behavioral expression of the biological properties emerging from the interaction of our bodies with the space.

The contribution of neuroscience to architecture goes in the direction of shaping our domain to influence our cognitive abilities and attitudes, assuming that the workspace has great influence on the behavior of workers and can be considered a leverage tool for stimulate creativity.
The objective of this keynote was precisely to ” build a bridge ” between seemingly distant disciplines so as to create interdisciplinary connections to combine styles, influences and different expressions, making them talk and giving each work a new point of view .
On a practical level it was an opportunity to launch a Workshop on Neuroscience, a place to share theoretical research and practical applications that provide specific innovation tools; only the companies which are able to meet this challenge will be able to take advantage of the benefits in terms of competitiveness.