The Patch

Abstract

This thesis explores the impact of the embodied experience on cognitive development in early learning environments through the intersection of neuroscience and architecture. We as human beings spend 90% of our lives within architecture. Architecture should be designed to improve human quality of life and well-being. To do that, we must look at neuroscience to better understand the population we are designing for. Neuroscience has established, when you enter into a space, in milliseconds your brain has perceived the space, shifting your mood and attention/awareness. Children are our future, to bring about a positive change, this exploration investigated children, ages 3-6. During this period, children are developing executive functioning skills, while brain plasticity and curiosity is at its highest, They use their senses to absorb information about their environments. Which presents this period as an ideal time to gather if learning environments could be improved to enhance cognitive development? The architectural experience is multimodal, resulting in your senses intersecting or stitching together. The design approach contextualizes the stitch into a tangible entity. The Patch is a network of programmatic patches that are stitched together through contrast and sensory intersections. The stitches draw attention to architectural affordance and foster cognitive development through awareness of one's self and the world around them. Utilizing architecture as a catalyst for teaching students about a their environment, themselves, or their culture/community. Stitching takes place at every scale of the project, from location, learning philosophies, and architectural elements. The Patch Preschool becomes a quilt of memorable moments in architecture that teaches the next generations to come.