Open-plan offices are a common format in contemporary work environments, but their exposed nature may increase cognitive demands. Work pods and other enclosed microspaces have been proposed as an alternative. However, scientific evidence demonstrating that these isolated spaces effectively reduce cognitive load remains scarce. This study examines how workspace type influences mental workload by analyzing how cognitive load evolves across two spatial configurations (open-plan office and work pod) during typical office tasks. Twenty-six participants completed auditory, reading, and writing tasks while their brain activity was recorded using EEG. The results show that each spatial typology generates distinct patterns of cortical activation: in the open-plan office, neural activity progressively increased throughout the tasks, indicating a growing effort to maintain performance, whereas in the work pod activation levels decreased, suggesting reduced cortical effort required to sustain task. These findings provide neurophysiological evidence that spatial design directly influences the mental workload associated with office work.

The location of vegetation within a dwelling, whether integrated into interior living spaces or arranged on exterior terraces, remains an underexplored variable in biophilic design research. Most experimental studies compare vegetated versus non-vegetated environments without distinguishing the spatial position of greenery. This paper presents a controlled study in which 100 participants evaluated three conditions of a single biophilically designed residence using 360° virtual reality panoramas: no vegetation, interior vegetation, and exterior (terrace) vegetation, balanced at equivalent green-pixel density (~2%). Affective states were measured using the Short-Form PANAS (Thompson, 2007), perceived sensations through a biophilic sensation scale, and nature connectedness via the CNS (Mayer & Frantz, 2004). Results show that both vegetated conditions elicited significantly higher positive affect and sensation scores than the non-vegetated condition. Exterior vegetation was marginally preferred overall (47 vs. 43 votes), with notable demographic modulation: younger participants favoured interior greenery, while older groups and women showed a stronger preference for exterior vegetation. These findings suggest that vegetation placement constitutes a meaningful design variable independent of vegetation quantity, with practical implications for biophilic architectural strategies in urban residential contexts.

Well-being has become a central concept in architectural research on housing, yet the term remains operationally imprecise, typically reduced either to measurable physical comfort or to broad associations with health and happiness. This paper addresses that gap by developing an evidence-based, operational definition of domestic well-being grounded in well-being theory, environmental psychology, neuroarchitecture, and Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) research. Methodologically, the work takes the form of a systematic conceptual review, synthesizing hedonic and eudaimonic traditions and mapping their spatial correlates in residential design. The principal outcome is a five-dimensional framework of domestic well-being articulating physical-environmental comfort, physical and psychological restoration, control-functionality-safety, identity and meaning, and privacy-coexistence-social quality. Each dimension accompanied by architectural design correlates and key empirical references. The framework repositions housing not as a neutral technical container but as an active environment capable of shaping physiological, emotional, and cognitive states, and contributes to current discussions on evidence-based residential design, neuroarchitecture, and architecture for health.

As part of a doctoral research project on how architectural space influences individuals, this article examines how spatial experience is formed through the interaction between the body, perception, memory and sociocultural frameworks. Drawing on theoretical perspectives from authors such as Norberg‑Schulz, Heidegger, Bachelard, Pallasmaa, Zumthor, Grosz and Merleau-Ponty, the study approaches space not as a neutral backdrop but as an active medium through which meaning, identity and self‑perception are continuously shaped. Integrating contributions from fields such as neuroscience, psychology, sociology and urban studies, the article highlights the increasingly interdisciplinary interest in understanding how individuals interpret and emotionally respond to their environments. The review shows that the perception of space emerges from the interplay between its physical characteristics and the observer’s sensory, cognitive and cultural background. Although spatial experience is profoundly individual, empirical studies reveal consistent patterns within groups differentiated by age, gender, professional training or social position. These findings confirm that architectural space is not only perceived but also interpreted and valued through frameworks that give form to emotion, judgement and self‑understanding. By bringing together these perspectives, the article provides a conceptual foundation for understanding architecture as a phenomenon that participates actively in shaping both our perception of the world and our sense of place within it.