blizard building

Queen Mary Institute of Cell and Molecular Science
by Will Alsop 2005

Building for the Mind
Evaluating the cognitive effects of
workplace architecture

Powered by increased efficiency and consumer demand, Governments are now prioritising creativity and innovation as essential prerequisites for economic growth, placing new demands of flexibility and competition on the human body. Inspired by Marshall McLuhan’s notion of acoustic space,
this thesis questions whether the body has evolved to keep pace with such technological pressures. In the process of evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of ergonomic design, from the static nature of Taylorism to the transhumanist potential of ubiquitous computing, a final workplace design methodology aims to support how environmental stimuli may be used to enhance creative cognition.