8-9th of June, 2026
University of Southern Denmark, Odense.
Hidden Effects: Unconscious processes in architecture
How does architecture unconsciously shape cognition and behaviour through brain-body-environment dynamics? Rather than being primarily experienced at a conscious, reflective level, built environments continuously guide action through subtle cues that we adapt to automatically. These occur with physiological and cognitive costs, and yet remain largely outside awareness. My work attempts to uncover how unconscious sensorimotor dynamics are structured by the environment. A central concept in this research is affordances. Architectural spaces define what actions are possible, inviting or constraining movement in ways that are directly perceivable without deliberation. Using Mobile Brain/Body Imaging (MoBI) combined with immersive Virtual Reality (VR), I study how affordances modulate neural dynamics during active navigation. Across experiments, variations in spatial configurations, i.e. transitions or turning various degrees of corners, systematically alter oscillatory brain activity and behavioural performance. The findings suggest that our brain continuously encodes action possibilities as part of ongoing sensorimotor processing, rather than as detached cognitive evaluations. Beyond affordances, repetitive architectural elements, light patterns, and spatial transitions generate structured temporal input at the sensory level. These rhythms interact with intrinsic neural activity, shaping perception through ongoing coupling between brain, body, and environment. This perspective reframes perception as an emergent property of dynamic interaction, rather than a process confined within the brain. Methodologically, this research advances naturalistic neuroscience by embedding participants in controlled yet ecologically valid environments. VR allows for precise manipulation of architectural features, while MoBI enables the measurement of brain activity during real movement. This combination makes it possible to show how environmental structure influences sensorimotor dynamics, positioning architecture as a causal factor in cognition, operating primarily through unconscious processes that continuously regulate behaviour.
Zakaria Djebbara
Aalborg University
Zakaria Djebbara is the head of Brain, Body, Architecture Research and an associate professor at Aalborg University. He studies how built environments shape cognition and behavior using mobile EEG, virtual reality, and real-world paradigms. His work focuses on sensorimotor dynamics and environmental rhythms, emphasizing unconscious adaptations during movement through space. Philosophically grounded in enactivism and 4E cognition, he argues that the mind emerges from brain-body-environment coupling. He advances a constraint-based view, positioning architecture as a form of behavioral technology that structures human experience and action.