Ana Mombiedro is an architect specialized in educational neuropsychology. For her, spaces are not just places to inhabit, they are what directly influences our way of behaving and interacting. While we constantly care about their decoration, the ergonomics and positive functionality of these must also be a priority.
The specialist is a professor in a pioneering master at the university of Alicante about Neuroarquitectura, a term that emphasizes the active participation of all rooms (including streets and parks) in the lives of citizens. Through his experience, he recounts for the avant -garde the differences he has been able to show between the common areas of other countries, as in his case, Sweden, with Spain. The meaning of this? A change in the social behavior of its inhabitants.
How we behave
Common spaces: Spain and Sweden
“I lived four years in Sweden and went through many houses, because I was a student and then a worker,” the expert begins by telling her passage through the Scandinavian country. In places to relate inside it is not an option (low temperatures become social enemies), spaces between four walls become places of entertainment, daily life and meetings with family and friends. Although, not as in Spain we understand it.
Mr and Mrs Howe
“Interestingly, in almost no house there was a living room. The common thing was to have bedroom, kitchen and bathroom, and down, a community sauna. Social meetings, with friends or neighbors, were in the sauna,” says the architect. This is because it is a warm and intimate place ideal for building nearby relationships. “It’s a pleasant space, where you showers, enter, you go out … and all that has an impact on personality. You know yourself as you are,” he tells us.
“It was there that I lived in the first person the link between how the body is and how character is formed. That’s why it would be fascinating to study the same in other cultures,” he continues.
Madrid-Ostock StreetKelvinJay
And in Spain corners such as sauna are not a priority. Here we live and live together in an external way, much more connected with the advantages of living in a sunny country most of the year. “I give class to students from the United States who come to Madrid, and during the first week we teach on the street. I explain that here the public space is our great room. We sit in a bank, we take something, we talk … we live away from home, in the squares, the terraces, the sidewalks. And that is part of our identity,” reveals the specialist.
This relationship between space and personality is increasing interest in the well -known ‘neurourbanism’. “The concept studies how the urban environment affects people. In the Master of the University of Alicante – which is the first university master’s degree in Neuroarquitectura – we deal with this topic in depth. We measure, analyze, evaluate … and study how to apply all this to real projects,” he explains.
The teleworking
Other essential spaces
The exterior not only influences how we relate, but also how we work. Pandemia brought a new phenomenon to our lives: teleworking. Knowing how to carry it out is essential, and not only for productivity, also for health.
Having different visual depths in the environment is very beneficial
Ana Mombiedro, Architect
This is reported by the expert, “if we telework, the ideal is to have a window nearby. Looking at the horizon allows you to change the visual focus, which rests the eye muscles and also the mind,” he advises. “Having different visual depths in the environment is very beneficial. That is why I do not recommend teleworking in the bedroom, or for physical or mental health. In addition, it would be ideal to have different corners for different tasks: a space to respond emails, another to make video calls, another to prepare classes … you do not need much space, but it does variety,” Ana ends.
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