Ann Sussman, RA, an architect, author and researcher is passionate about understanding how buildings influence people emotionally. She serves as president of the non-profit, the Human Architecture + Planning Institute Inc (theHapi.org), whose mission is to improve understanding of the built environment and improve its design through education and research.

Her book, "Cognitive Architecture, Designing for How We respond to the Built Environment" (Routledge, 2015) co-authored with Justin B. Hollander, won the 2016 Place Research Award from the Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA). The book’s 2nd edition, featuring 40 color images of eye-tracked architecture, came out in July (2021).

Sussman teaches a course on how people experience buildings, both consciously and subliminally, at the Boston Architectural College (BAC). Her research uses the latest tech tools including eye-tracking and facial-expression-analysis software, to reveal how the hidden human experience drives our subsequent behavior.

Architecture, Research & Exploration, Authors, Design, Creativity, Construction, Home Building, Urban Design