Your Brain on Island Architecture [U.S. Virgin Islands]

I have recently been reading Your Brain on Art: How Art Transforms Us, which explores how our brains and bodies transform as we participate and immerse ourselves in the arts. While reading, I remembered this thumbnail sketch of a vibrant yellow building with an arched arcade on the ground floor, a gorgeously carved aqua verandah above, deep purple shadows, shuttered doors and windows, and lush green palm trees. I remember being transported by that one sketch and thinking, wow... I want to create something that has so much energy and information that it ignites feelings of joy and curiosity. Even in the most ordinary instances, art has the ability to help us heal, thrive, and achieve deeper states of awareness. Tapping into our aesthetic mindset allows us to be more aware of our environments, how they affect us, and how to bring them into our lives with purpose.

Last year, I was approached by Dover, Kohl & Partners to work on a project in the U.S. Virgin Islands with Horsley Witten Group. I was so excited. There were patterns to explore, experiences to understand, and a culture to celebrate. Especially taking these elements and reflecting them into envisioned places. I was pregnant at the time and had to rely on photos, books, image boards, building type sketches, and plan studies to help display patterns of the place and ask the community if these are the elements they love and where they feel as if they can flourish. My study sites were on St. John and St. Thomas. Both sites profit from high ground and trade winds that blow from the east. When analyzing building types, I looked at Chistiansted on St. Croix and Cruz Bay on St. John. The islands of St. John, St. Thomas, and St. Croix were claimed by the Danish in the 18th century and indicate a Tiano presence from 700 to the late 15th century. Between these periods, the islands were variously owned by Spain, Holland, France, England, the Knights of Malta, and Denmark.

Sketches of community character, building types, and architectural elements within Chistiansted, St. Croix and Cruz Bay, St. John.

The most notable architectural style on the three islands is a blend of 18th-century Danish neoclassicism and adaptations for the Caribbean with features like arcades, verandahs, and bright colors. These elements proliferated due to the tropical climate, and they also uniquely contribute to the public realm and built environment. Arcades and verandahs are covered extensions and provide a separation between the brightness and heat of the outside world and the coolness and modulated light of the building's interior. Louvered wood shutters on windows and doors help control light and allow the interior of the buildings to capture the cool breezes. Light colors reflect sunlight, helping to keep buildings cooler in the intense heat. The vibrant hues can also withstand bright, tropical sun without fading as quickly as more muted tones. Arcades have the ability to draw people into buildings by taking public paths and turning them into a place that is partly inside helping people feel more intimately connected to the activity within. Verandahs offer space for people inside the building to connect to and feel intertwined with the outside world. And, bright colors reflect the heritage and artistic traditions of Caribbean life. Architecture, like other forms of art, combines creativity and aesthetics with functionality and flexibility. It involves the creation of spaces and structures that evoke emotions, tell stories, and reflect cultural values. We see principles of proportion, balance, and harmony in the design of kind, beautiful buildings. These same principles are also fundamental to other forms of art such as music, painting, and sculpture. Buildings serve as symbols of cultural identity and are considered artistic representations of a society's values.

Neuroaesthetic principles have a core connection to neuroplasticity. Art and aesthetics are greater conduits for noticeable elements in our built environment. Salient elements are what our brain chooses to focus on. When it does so, neurotransmitters are released which increase synaptic activity making these connections and memories stronger and allowing others to fade away. This reinforces our brain's ability to physically rewire based on environmental stimulation. We know from history that people have spent precious resources designing architecture that allows people to access enhanced states of presence and understanding that are spiritual, such as St. Peter's Basilica, Sagrada Familia, Notre-Dame de Paris, Taj Mahal, etc. These places evoke feelings of calm, curiosity, awe, wonder, enlightenment, creativity, wholeness, and joy. We can use neuroaesthetic principles to design cities and environments that better support our well-being by focusing on enhancing emotional and sensory experiences through architecture and its gifts to the public realm.