Beatrix Emo Nax: Catalogue data in Autumn Semester 2017

Name	Dr. Beatrix Emo Nax
Name variants	Beatrix Emo
Address	Chair of Cognitive Science ETH Zürich, RZ E 22.2 Clausiusstrasse 59 8092 Zürich SWITZERLAND
Telephone	+41 44 632 58 91
E-mail	emob@ethz.ch
Department	Humanities, Social and Political Sciences
Relationship	Lecturer

Number	Title	ECTS	Hours	Lecturers
851-0252-03L	Cognition in Architecture - Designing Orientation and Navigation for Building Users Number of participants limited to 40. Particularly suitable for students of D-ARCH	3 credits	2S	V. Schinazi, B. Emo Nax, C. Hölscher
Abstract	How can behavioral and cognitive science inform architecture? This project-oriented seminar investigates contributions of cognitive science to architectural design with an emphasis on orientation and navigation in complex buildings and urban settings. It includes theories on spatial memory and decision-making as well as hands-on observations of behavior in real and virtual reality.
Learning objective	Taking the perspectives of building users (occupants and visitors) is vital for a human-centered design approach. Students will learn about relevant theory and methods in cognitive science and environmental psychology that can be used to understand human behavior in built environments. The foundations of environmental psychology and human spatial cognition will be introduced. A focus of the seminar will be on how people perceive their surroundings, how they orient in a building, how they memorize the environment and how they find their way from A to B. Students will also learn about a range of methods including real-world observation, virtual reality experiments, eye-tracking and behavior simulation for design. Students will reflect on the roles of designers and other stakeholders with respect to human-centered design and an evidence-based design perspective. The seminar is geared towards a mix of students from architecture / planning, engineering, computer science and behavioral science as well as anybody interested in the relation between design and cognition. Architecture students can obtain course credit in "Vertiefungsfach" or "Wahlfach"
851-0252-08L	Evidence-Based Design: Methods and Tools For Evaluating Architectural Design Number of participants limited to 40 Particularly suitable for students of D-ARCH	3 credits	2S	B. Emo Nax, M. Brösamle, C. Hölscher
Abstract	Students are taught a variety of analytic techniques that can be used to evaluate architectural design. The concept of evidence-based design is introduced, and complemented with theoretical background on space syntax and spatial cognition. This is a project-oriented course, students implement a range of methods on a sample project. The course is tailored for architecture design students.
Learning objective	The course aims to teach students how to evaluate a design project from the perspective of the end user. The concept of evidence-based design is introduced through a series of case studies. Students are given a theoretical background in space syntax and spatial cognition, with a view to applying this knowledge during the design process. The course covers a range of methods including visibility analysis, network analysis, conducting real-world observations, and virtual reality for architectural design. Students apply these methods to a case study of their choice, which can be at building or urban scale. For students taking a B-ARCH or M-ARCH degree, this can be a completed or ongoing design studio project. The course gives students the chance to implement the methods iteratively and explore how best to address the needs of the eventual end-user during the design process. The course is tailored for students studying for B-ARCH and M-ARCH degrees. As an alternative to obtaining D-GESS credit, architecture students can obtain course credit in "Vertiefungsfach" or "Wahlfach".