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Architecture has always been about people, yet the profession has often treated human experience as a byproduct of design rather than its driving force. This session moves beyond the buzzword of neuroarchitecture to explore what it actually means to design with the full complexity of human beings in mind: our neurology, our emotions, our need for belonging, and our capacity for joy.

Drawing on emerging research in neuroscience, organizational design, and evidence-based practice, speakers will examine how leading firms are integrating human-centered frameworks into their design processes, from programming and concept development through occupant experience. The conversation bridges academic research and real-world application, offering practitioners a roadmap for bringing science, strategy, and humanity back to the center of architectural practice.

Structure:

6:00 pm - Welcome
6:30-7:30 pm - Lecture & Q+A
7:30-8 pm - Reception

Learning Objectives:

• Identify key findings from neuroscience and behavioral research that directly inform architectural programming, spatial sequencing, and sensory design decisions that support occupant health, safety, and well-being.
• Analyze how design firms of varying scales are operationalizing human-centered research—from dedicated research branches to consultant-based models—and evaluate how these approaches can be integrated into professional practice to improve health, safety, and welfare outcomes in the built environment.
• Apply evidence-based principles from the WELL Building Standard and related frameworks to connect occupant health outcomes with specific architectural and environmental design strategies that enhance indoor environmental quality and occupant well-being.
• Analyze and apply methods to predict design outcomes early in the design process to inform decisions that enhance health, safety, and welfare (HSW) performance.

Presented by:

Yiselle Santos Rivera, AIA - Yiselle Santos Rivera is a licensed architect, medical planner, and the 2027 AIA President, making her the first Latina and first openly LGBTQ woman to serve in that role. She is the founder and CEO of YSR LLC, a practice focused on healthcare design, organizational strategy, and justice-centered leadership.

She is a Lecturer at Howard University, where she teaches third-year design and a course on the WELL accreditation system, and a doctoral student at William James College pursuing a degree in organizational psychology with a focus on neuroscience and leadership. Her doctoral research explores the intersection of architecture, adaptive leadership, and organizational design, bringing academic rigor to questions practitioners navigate every day.

Yiselle has served as Global Director of JEDI at a major design firm, building firmwide accountability structures that treated equity as operational excellence rather than compliance. She is the founder of WIELD (Women Inspiring Emerging Leaders in Design) and co-founder of LA.IDEA, both recognized nationally for expanding access and representation in the profession.

Her presidential platform centers on restoring joy, humanity, and awe to architectural practice, and on positioning architects as essential partners in building a more equitable and human-centered world.

Milton Shinberg, AIA - has practiced as an architecture firm principal since 1975, following his graduation from Carnegie Mellon University. From 1995 to 2018, he was a principal of Shinberg Levinas Architects, whose award-winning work—including international projects—has been widely published.

He is the longest-serving faculty member at The Catholic University of America School of Architecture & Planning, where he has taught since 1978 and is an Adjunct Ordinary (full) Professor of Architecture. He received the Architect Educator Award from AIA|DC’s Washington Architectural Foundation in 2021 and Catholic University’s Outstanding Part-Time Educator Award in 2023.

His teaching focuses on the intersection of architecture, neuroscience, and art through his seminar Beauty & Brains. He serves on the Advisory Council of the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture and the Advisory Board of the Johns Hopkins International Arts+Mind Lab.

His book, People-Centered Architecture: Design, Practice, and Education, was published by Wiley in May 2025.