UofG joins call for more ‘joyful buildings’ at Humanise Summit
Published: 15 April 2025
University of Glasgow researchers have joined global experts who have issued a clear message: boring buildings are bad for our brains.
University of Glasgow researchers have joined global experts from across the arts and humanities, neuroscience, neuroarchitecture, psychology, property development, and public health who have issued a clear message: boring buildings are bad for our brains.
The call for more joyful and engaging buildings in cities and towns was made at the first Humanise Summit.
‘Do No Harm: Making the Walls of Public Life Healthier for All of Us’ brought together neuroscientists and arts & humanities researchers in London to explore how we can evidence, understand, and embed emotion in placemaking.
The UofG supported the Summit as part of a new partnership between the Heatherwick Studio and the Arts and Humanities Research Council funded Place Programme, which is hosted by the University.
Across the day, sessions tackled the question of how building design affects everything from infant brain development to community belonging, arguing that the built environment is as critical to our health as the food we eat.
Talks ranged from the biological impact of visual complexity to the hidden costs of poor design - economically, environmentally, and emotionally.
Rebecca Madgin is Professor of Urban Studies at the University of Glasgow and Programme Director for the Arts and Humanities Research Council's Place-Based Research Programme. At the Summit, she chaired a panel that explored how buildings and placemaking can stimulate a complex range of emotional responses which over the long-term can manifest as a sense of belonging.
Professor Madgin said: “We were delighted to be part of the Humanise Research Summit and to support a movement which asks for a greater recognition of emotion as a function of design. Buildings and places shape one of our fundamental human needs - our sense of belonging - but this is often neglected within placemaking initiatives. The time is ripe to bring cutting edge research from across the arts and humanities to ensure that we can deliver more people-centred approaches to placemaking.”
Thomas Heatherwick said: “Just as we once tolerated smoking indoors or poor air quality, we've accepted substandard buildings for too long. As part of the construction industry, we have the privilege, honour, and responsibility of building for public life. That means asking: how can we be good ancestors? Buildings should be measured by the impact they have on the broadest amount of people and places. The real challenge now is changing the public conversation, so that designing fast faҫades that lack visual complexity becomes as unacceptable as selling fast fashion, serving ultra-processed food or polluting the air we breathe.”
George Clarke said: “Good design is life-changing. Even making the ordinary very good can be transformative for people and this now feels like an emergency. Within the industry, we all agree that design matters—but what are we actually doing about it? The Humanise campaign’s call to bring the public’s voice into the discussion is ambitious and it won’t be easy – but it’s essential. The outsides of our buildings and streets affect all of us and we need to step up and show we’re not going to accept bad design anymore. Enough talk—it’s time for action.”
The campaign has been strengthened with the support of three new partners: the Allen Institute, Tibbalds Planning and Urban Design, and the Arts and Humanities Research Council funded ‘Place Programme’ hosted by the University of Glasgow.
The UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council’s Place-Based Research Programme is a six-year strategic investment designed to inform policy decisions and help enrich lives in every part of the UK. The Programme, led by Professor Rebecca Madgin, catalyses research, supports knowledge exchange, and nurtures partnerships that can advance people-centred approaches to place-based work..
First published: 15 April 2025