It is apparent to those involved with design, art, architecture, and scenography that visually appealing and harmonious creations have a positive effect on perception. But neuroaesthetics with its scientific research and applicable insights on how spatial design can benefit health is new to many. In gewerk in the garden 7, curator and philosopher Lukas Feireiss and cognitive scientist Corinna Kühnapfel join us to explore the therapeutic effectiveness of designed spaces. What are the mindsets and approaches that allow designers not only to create spaces that are aesthetically and informatively successful, but also to produce healing effects on the body and mind? Bridging theory and practice, we will explore this topic together in the garden of our studio.
Lukas Feireiss is a Berlin-based curator, coach, and educator with over two decades of experience in the international cultural and educational sectors. In his work at the intersection of art, science, and holistic approaches, he explores transdisciplinary practices that combine critical reflection with creative experimentation. He has curated numerous exhibitions, edited publications, and taught at universities around the world. As a founding member of the International Society for Arts and Medicine, he promotes dialogue between artistic and healing practices. In addition, he is a certified Reiki master and, through his coaching practice CURA VISION, supports individuals and organizations in creative, professional, and personal transformation processes.
Corinna Kühnapfel, PhD is a postdoctoral researcher in the ERC-funded project “Affective Aesthetic Cognitivism and Wonder” at the Arts and Minds Lab at the Technical University of Berlin. Her research examines how and when art evokes aesthetic, emotional, and transformative experiences, and what role the emotion of wonder and bodily experience play in this process. Previously, she conducted research at Humboldt University of Berlin on the effects of art and aesthetic design in public spaces on perception, well-being, and social connectedness. She earned her PhD from the University of Vienna in the field of empirical aesthetics and neuroaesthetics, with a focus on the role of the body in the experience of art. In addition, she is a co-founder of EDGE e.V., an initiative at the intersection of art and neuroscience.
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Project Team
Gewerkdesign
Stefan Rothert
Birgit Schlegel
Jens Imig
Christina Storch
Antoine Laurent
Gabriel Tecklenburg
Summary
We had long suspected it and have now confirmed it in a scientific setting: the gewerkdesign garden provides an excellent opportunity to experience the impact of a designed space. It is precisely because it is not a space intended for the presentation of content, but rather a semi-private, natural space in the open air, that this effect becomes apparent. The garden, enclosed on three sides by walls, bordered on the fourth by the office façade and surrounded by tall trees, fosters a sense of sheltered collective togetherness, which in turn facilitates a lively creative and intellectual exchange and a general sense of well-being. With the two speakers and the approximately 50 participants at the 7th edition of ‘gewerk in the garden’, a multi-layered discussion developed on the topic of the healing effects of designed spaces.
To begin with, Lukas Feireiss took us on a journey through cultural history and, using a number of striking examples, demonstrated that designed spaces and their effect on people have always been considered together, at least intuitively. From the Lascaux Cave with its prehistoric rock paintings to James Turrell’s sky-oriented light spaces, there are numerous examples of the effect that designed spaces have on people. Of particular significance to our topic is the Temple of Asclepius at Epidaurus, the most important ancient healing site and a place of worship dedicated to the Greek god of healing, Asclepius. Here, ritual practices such as sacrificial rites, medical treatments such as spa cures, and cultural activities such as theatre were combined as integrated healing methods. As early as 2,500 years ago, people were already testing what science can now prove: in spaces designed for the human experience, the arts foster our self-perception as a unity of body, mind and soul, and can thus influence healing processes.
Cognitive Science proves: The nature of spaces determines not only how the objects within them are perceived, but also how people feel within the space and what they learn, understand and internalise. It is not enough simply to guide people’s attention; spaces that facilitate attention are required. For example, areas calmed by light and colour, featuring focal objects, create a depth of experience in which content can be optimally absorbed and processed. In relation to our work, this raises the question of how we can design spaces for these forms of experience.
Corinna Kühnapfel presented ideas on this topic drawn from her research on awe and wonder. Both reactions can be triggered by designed spaces and creative works, as well as by landscapes and natural phenomena. They may be particularly interesting for design because they are not tied to prior knowledge and can evoke very different feelings. As a practical suggestion: design aimed at evoking awe could focus on pausing to take in the vastness, while design aimed at evoking wonder might focus more on details and a second, closer look. Corinna Kühnapfel will be exploring these questions in the coming years as part of the ERC project “Affective Aesthetic Cognitivism and Wonder” (AAC_Wonder).
The audience discussion that followed the two talks centred on questions from the team and from our guests, who were predominantly designers, architects, and exhibition and museum professionals. For example, an exhibition designer wanted to know whether working in collectives – that is, through the collaboration of several creative individuals – could enhance the holistic impact of designed spaces. This is indeed the case, being that cognitive diversity not only opens up broader avenues of thought in the creative process, but can also have a lasting positive impact on the user’s experience. An art historian brought Caspar David Friedrich into the discussion, whose imagery revolves around the theme of human awe in the face of sublime nature. The paintings seem to illustrate Corinna Kühnapfel’s research: they depict people as small figures set against an overwhelming expanse, and it is precisely this sense of a smaller self that is considered the essence of awe in research. A designer wanted to know what mindset is required to design healing spaces. Lukas Feireiss recommended a heightened awareness of the potential effects, which Corinna Kühnapfel confirmed by referring to the literature.
Recommended Reading
Daisy Fancourt: Art Cure. The Science of How the Arts Transform Our Health
Stefan Willich: Kunst und Medizin. Wie Musik, Malerei, Theater, Tanz, Literatur und Architektur heilen
Scientific Studies
Kühnapfel, C., Bentlin, F., Beier, T., Million, A., & Fingerhut, J. (2026). Public art boosts beauty, invitingness, and belonging across urban contexts: A comparative case study of two contrasting sites [Preprint]. SSRN.
Kühnapfel, C., Fingerhut, J., Brinkmann, H., Ganster, V., Tanaka, T., Specker, E., Mikuni, J., Güldenpfennig, F., Gartus, A., Rosenberg, R., & Pelowski, M. (2024). How do we move in front of art? How does this relate to art experience? Linking movement, eye tracking, emotion, and evaluations in a gallery-like setting. Empirical Studies of the Arts, 42(1).
Kühnapfel, C., Fingerhut, J., & Pelowski, M. (2023). The role of the body in the experience of installation art: A case study of visitors' bodily, emotional, and transformative experiences in Tomás Saraceno's "in orbit." Frontiers in Psychology, 14, Article 1192689.
