Space profoundly shapes how we think, feel, and act.
I help organizations and architects turn people’s needs into spatial strategies, design briefs, and better-informed design decisions.
Drawing on psychology and user research, I help define what a place should offer and what that means for its architecture and design. I also speak, teach, and write about the connection between the places we create and the lives we want to lead.
Image: Sarah Weiss
How I can help
Spatial strategy and briefs
I help define what a place should achieve and how it should support the people who use it.
Bringing together your goals, user research, and scientific knowledge, I develop spatial strategies, design principles, and architectural briefs that give the design team a clear direction.
Design advice and review
I assess how design proposals respond to people’s needs and your project’s goals. My recommendations help the team identify gaps, weigh alternatives, and make decisions about layout, privacy, comfort, interaction, and other qualities of the place.
Evaluation of existing places
I investigate how a place is used, how people experience it, and how well it supports its intended purpose. The findings give your team clear priorities for improvement and lessons to carry into future projects.
The best time is while a project’s goals and brief are still taking shape.
I can also join during design or evaluate an existing place to guide what happens next.
Selected projects
Examples of my consulting work across workplaces, public buildings, housing, and neighborhoods.
A real estate developer’s headquarters
I translated organizational priorities, team needs, and research into a workplace strategy for the new headquarters. I then guided the design team in applying the strategy to support the company’s ways of working.
In collaboration with theLivingCore and Gensler
Experiential science center and planetarium
I contributed to the architectural competition brief through user interviews and research on learning and curiosity. My input focused on design requirements for exploration and discovery, alongside opportunities to pause and recharge.
In collaboration with harcarik architekti, Štefan Starinský, and Katarína Šoltýsová
A humane and sustainable neighborhood in Reykjavik
I helped develop the winning competition concept by connecting future residents’ needs with a shared vision for the neighborhood. Through research and workshops, I shaped the internal brief and translated principles of human-centered and biophilic design into guidance for the architects.
In collaboration with theLivingCore, Brandsvik, ESJA, Arkibygg, Anna Landscape, Ístak, and exa nordic
Nature-connected living
I developed design principles for shared and public spaces based on the needs of different user groups. The guidance addressed how to bring people together, accommodate different activities, and provide room for both social life and quiet retreat.
Design team: What Architects, BB+GG and LABANC Studio.My background is in psychology. I’ve spent more than ten years connecting it with architecture and user experience, including work at real estate developer HB Reavis and strategic consultancy theLivingCore. I also co-founded The Venetian Letter, a publication about people and places, now available as an archive.
More about me →My approach
Your goals and context
“What should this place make possible for your organization or community?”
We clarify its purpose, priorities, and constraints so the spatial strategy supports what you want to achieve.
People and everyday use
“Who will use the place, what will they do there, and what matters to them?”
Interviews, observation, and other methods help me understand their needs, activities, and experiences.
Scientific knowledge
“What does research tell us about the experience we want to support?”
I interpret findings from psychology, neuroscience, and related fields in the context of the project.
I bring these perspectives together, weigh competing needs, and develop principles and guidance that help your team make decisions about architecture and design.
How do the places around us influence our health, relationships, and behavior?
I connect psychology and architecture through research, stories, and examples that help audiences understand how places affect us. My talks, discussions, and educational programs explore what this means for design, everyday life, and the decisions we make about our surroundings.
Biophilic design: How nature affects us
An introduction to biophilic design through research on nature, stress, and well-being. The talk connects the theories behind our responses to nature with practical principles for architecture.
What makes a building worth keeping?
A conversation about how beauty, emotional accessibility, and attachment influence whether people value a building and care for it over time. I contribute a psychological perspective alongside architects, developers, and others shaping the built environment.
Why would people choose to work in the office?
A look at what makes an office worth coming to, from focus and comfort to collaboration and choice. Participants learn to translate people’s needs and ways of working into priorities for workplace design.
“Definitely one of the best of the entire conference: direct, inspiring, based on data and knowledge, and at the same time optimistic.”
In the media
Selected articles featuring my expert commentary.
Tell me what you’re working on
Planning a new place, rethinking an existing one, or organizing a talk or educational program? Tell me a little about it and what you hope to achieve.
You do not need a finished brief to get in touch.