Research Internships – Architectural Cognition in Practice Group

Project background

The Architectural Cognition in Practice module at FCL Global centres on better understanding the impact of built environments on users and explores how this empirical knowledge can be applied in practice by architects and designers. Putting human psychology first, we not only address how architectural or urban features foster positive human behaviours in complex buildings, but most crucially focus on how we translate these findings into actionable design tools, to inform designers on how to make future urban developments more sustainable and resilient. To achieve this, we work as an interdisciplinary team comprising of cognitive scientists, architects and computer scientists, and we partner with industry bodies to bridge academic research and real-world practice.

This module address three key research pillars:

• How the built environment influences human behaviour, cognition, decision making, and emotion.
• Understanding how (and how well) designers conceptualise their users.
• Considering how designers can incorporate research into practice, and therefore be better equipped to anticipate the complexity of human behaviour.

Across all three streams of research, we apply methods and tools from the cognitive sciences and environmental psychology, which allow us to measure spaces and people. These include physiological, behavioural, neural and affective metrics. Alongside this, we conduct spatial analyses, agent-based modelling, and prototyping. Crucially, we meld these different perspectives and tools so that outputs from different domains can inform one another.

Investigators: Prof. Christoph Hoelscher (ETH), Asst. Prof. Zdravko Trivic (NUS), Asst. Prof. Panos Mavros (Télécom Paris, Institut Polytechnique de Paris).

For more information on the project, consult our web page,

https://fcl.ethz.ch/research/integration-and-strategies/architectural-cognition-in-practice.html

Singapore-ETH Centre has two internship positions open and now available for applications. Please indicate the exact position title that you are applying for.

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Internship 1: Architecture/Urbanism Research Intern

Job description

We are hiring a research intern for the Summer break (approx. 1 June – 1 August). The start date is dependent on university exam timetables. During the course of the internship at SEC, the desired candidate must be matriculated at the local university.

As a research intern, you will be supporting the overall research aims and deliverables of the module in collaboration with the researchers based at the Singapore-ETH Centre. Your key responsibilities will be:

• Co-developing on-going research. This work may include:
• Building 3D models of spaces for experiments.
• Assisting in the setup of digital experimental environments for wayfinding and user-experience studies, including 3D/360° scene setup.
• Support researchers in running behavioural experiments with building users, conducting interviews with architects.
• Support behavioural and interview-based data cleaning, visualisation and analysis from experiments (qualitative and quantitative).
• Assisting with participant recruitment, scheduling, and study logistics.
• Conducting spatial analyses.
• Co-developing and publishing journal and/or conference articles.

• Supporting the module research efforts in general. This includes:
• Participating in and contributing to team meetings.
• Assisting researchers across the module in their activities.
• Contributing to the preparation of academic papers and other forms of academic output.
• Presenting the module internally and externally and preparing material for such presentations.

Requirements

You must:

Mandatory:

• Have 3D modelling skills (preferably using Rhino/Revit).
• Be enrolled in a Bachelor’s/Master’s of Architecture, Urban Design, or another closely related field.
• Have good academic writing skills.

Nice to have:

• Computational design or scripting skills (e.g. Grasshopper, Python, R, or JavaScript).
• Experience with 360°/VR environments, game engines, or interactive prototyping tools, e.g., Unity.

You are:

• Experienced in urban/architectural-analysis, and comfortable using design software.
• Interested in topics related to the research project – particularly demonstrable interest in the intersection of design and human experience.
• Ideally you would also have an interest learning how to run experiments with human participants and how to look at data from experiments.
• Self-motivated and independent.
• A good communicator:
• Proactive: you can signal issues, set and commit to targets
• Rational: you can clearly articulate ideas and thoughts
• Interpersonal: you are able to take and provide constructive feedback
• A professional working proficiency in English is required.
• A team player: collaborative and constructive, and always open to help team members
• Curious