Andréa de Paiva

 

MA in Architecture and Design​

​

​

Andréa de Paiva is a Master of Arts (Middlesex University, London) and architect (University of São Paulo) from Brazil. In her work, she seeks to bridge research, education and design. Her research interests involve the interdisciplinary field of cognitive science, applied to architecture and urbanism in order to understand how the physical environment affects individuals and society. Her research included such topics as short- and long-term effects of the physical environment, environmental enrichment and brain plasticity, how space affects memorization of experience, cognitive restoration and multi-sensory experience of places.

​

Andréa is a member of the Advisory Council of the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture (ANFA) and also the vice chair of the ANFA Chapter Brazil. She is the creator of NeuroAU, an online space to disseminate discussions about the possible connections between cognitive science and architecture, design and urbanism. Through videos, articles, webinars, in company training,  consultancies and online courses NeuroAU shares knowledge with professionals  around the world, having had more than 300 students from more than 30 countries. Additionally, in partnership with the University of Brasília, Andrea created the online course Neuroscience for Architecture: design, scientific evidence and applications, which is recognized by the Ministry of Education and Culture of Brazil.​​

 

Andréa is the coordinator of the course Interiors & Neuroscience: design focused on people at IED (Istituto Europeo di Design), and she also has helped to create and coordinate courses of neuroscience applied to business at FGV (Fundação Getulio Vargas) and, at FAAP (Faculdade Armando Álvares Penteado), she has created the course Neuroscience Applied to Environments and Creation, which completed its 10th edition in 2022. 

​

Andréa also serves as a consultant on neuroscience for architecture, having consulted at Athié Wohnrath (one of the most successful architecture offices in Brazil, according to Forbes, 2016), where she was involved in projects about schools and workplaces. She was a consultant at FGV (the best think tank in Latin America, according to the Global Go To Think Tanks Index, 2020) and is a guest contributor to research on how design affects behavior, developed by DPA Architects in Singapore/London and funded by the Design Singapore Council.