New Research By Cambridge-Led Team Shows How Building Façades Trigger Visual Stress

Cambridge researcher and IMCL speaker Cleo Valentine, along with her colleagues at Cambridge, The University of Essex and Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, find disturbing health implications

Left, the Marsham Towers in London, by the architect Eric Bedford, remarkably unpopular and demolished in 2002. Right, the Barcode Project in Oslo, representing "state of the art" contemporary architectural design. While such compositions might be intended as worthy artistic expressions by the architects, they can also have profoundly negative impacts on people who must experience them unintentionally. Images: Malcoml Campbell via Wikimedia Commons; Bjørn Erik Pedersen via Wikimedia Commons.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This post is part of a series of discussion posts for the upcoming 62nd International Making Cities Livable (IMCL) conference.

CAMBRIDGE, UK - Can a building make you feel uncomfortable – even unwell – without your full awareness of the reason? According to a new study by researchers from the University of Cambridge and their collaborators, the answer is yes – and the reason may lie in how your brain unconsciously processes the visual patterns of architectural design.

In a new paper just published in the journal Buildings, researchers Cleo Valentine, Arnold J. Wilkins, Heather Mitcheltree, Olivier Penacchio, Bruce Beckles, and Ian Hosking reveal how repetitive, high-contrast patterns commonly used in modern façades can cause subtle yet measurable strain on the human visual system. Using artificial intelligence (AI) and computational tools, they find evidence that some architectural designs might literally stress out our brains.

Cleo Valentine, the lead researcher, is a past speaker at the International Making Cities Livable (IMCL) conference series, and she is scheduled to participate in the next conference in Potsdam, Germany, October 15-19, 2025.

The Brain and the Built Environment

As the authors note, it is well known that our surroundings affect our mental and physical health. Sunlight, noise levels, and even ceiling height have been shown to influence mood and behavior. This study explores how the visual patterns encountered every day – especially on building exteriors – interact with the brain’s processing systems.

The authors suggest that the human visual system evolved in natural environments with soft, irregular patterns, but modern architecture often features repetitive, high-contrast designs that deviate from these natural characteristics. For at least some people, exposure to the modern patterns may lead to discomfort, headaches, and even more serious neurological reactions.

This phenomenon, known as visual stress, has been documented in individuals with migraines, photosensitive epilepsy, and sensory processing disorders. However, the researchers propose that even people without these conditions might experience subtle strain from prolonged exposure to visually stressful environments.

A New Way to Measure Visual Discomfort

Studying how architecture impacts the brain is challenging. Traditional methods rely on artificial laboratory patterns – like black-and-white stripes – or surveys asking people how they feel when looking at photos of buildings. These approaches often lack either realism or scientific rigor.

To address these challenges, the team developed a hybrid method. They used Midjourney, a generative AI tool, to create a series of nine different building façades. Each design was systematically varied in features like contrast, repetition, geometric shapes, and spatial frequency (a measure of how often elements repeat in a visual field).

The designs were then analyzed using the Visual Stress Analysis Tool (ViStA), a computational system that measures how much an image deviates from the statistical patterns found in natural scenes. When an image contains too much energy at certain spatial frequencies, especially around three cycles per degree (a scale to which human vision is highly sensitive), it is more likely to induce discomfort.

The researchers liken this to audio feedback for the eyes: when patterns are too regular and high-contrast at certain scales, they may overload the visual cortex, leading to effects ranging from mild irritation to, in extreme cases, migraines or seizures.

What They Found

The findings reveal that façades with highly regular, high-contrast patterns showed the strongest indicators of visual stress. In particular, designs featuring vertical slats or metal screens repeated at around three cycles per degree produced the highest stress metrics.

One façade with closely spaced vertical wooden slats (at precisely three cycles per degree) showed peak residuals of 1.1 x 10^10 in the ViStA analysis, far exceeding the baseline design. Another, with layered vertical metal screens, also produced elevated stress markers, even though its patterns repeated at a higher frequency.

Implications for Architects and Urban Designers

This research emerges at a time when cities around the world are grappling with the health impacts of dense, visually intense urban environments. Architects often favor clean, repetitive lines for aesthetic or functional reasons, but the study suggests such choices may have unintended consequences.

The authors argue that not all repetition is bad, but designers should be aware that certain patterns, especially when combined with high contrast and reflective materials, can create environments that subtly fatigue the human brain.

The methods developed in this study could serve as a design aid. The ViStA tool can generate “heat maps” of façades, highlighting areas likely to cause visual stress. Designers might use this feedback to refine their projects, balancing aesthetic goals with neurophysiological well-being.

Limitations and Next Steps

While the study provides valuable insights, the authors caution that it is an early step in a complex field. Their analysis relied on static, two-dimensional images, which do not fully capture the dynamic way people experience buildings as they move through space.

Future research plans include expanding the work using virtual reality and real-world studies. Ultimately, the team aims to link computational predictions with physiological measurements from real people, such as heart rate variability and brain activity, to validate and refine the model.

The researchers are also exploring equity issues. They suggest that visually stressful environments may disproportionately affect neurodiverse individuals and those in lower-income neighborhoods. Future studies could map visual stress across urban areas to inform more inclusive design policies.

Rethinking the Visual Language of Cities

This study highlights an important idea: architecture is not just about how buildings look, but how they make people feel at a neurological level. It adds to a growing body of research on the impact of the built environment on health and well-being. (Another example is the research of UCL Professor of Neuroaesthetics Semir Zeki, also a former speaker at the IMCL, who has noted that the experience of beauty in architecture can "nourish the emotional brain" and is "not a luxury, only a necessity".)

As cities grow and design trends evolve, integrating insights from neuroscience may lead to environments that are not only beautiful but also healthier for the mind. These and other findings indicate that while architects have long considered light, sound, and space, they now might benefit from thinking about the visual patterns people process every day. Even small changes in design could make cities and buildings healthier for everyone.

The next time you find yourself squinting at a building or feeling inexplicably uneasy in an urban street, your brain could be sending a message: it's not you, it's the architecture that's the problem. We deserve better, and it's time to demand better.

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For more information about the upcoming IMCL Potsdam conference and travel logistics, please visit https://www.imcl.online/potsdam-2025.

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