Book Talk: Designing for Empathy

Join Aybars Aşçı, author of Designing for Empathy: The Architecture of Connections in Learning Environments (ORO Editions, 2024), to discuss the inextricable relationship between developmental psychology and our physical environment. The conversation will be moderated by editor Julia van den Hout with a panel of experts including Natalie Brito, Jeff Clark, and Sandi Lam Harder. This thought-provoking discussion will explore how architectural design influences human behavior, emotions, and learning processes. Panelists will delve into Aşçı’s research on creating spaces that foster empathy, particularly in educational settings.

Speakers:
Aybars Aşçı, AIA, President, Efficiency Lab
Natalie Brito, Associate Professor of Applied Psychology, NYU
Jeff Clark, CEO and Co-Founder, AEON Learning Sciences
Sandi Lam Harder, AIA, Head of Workshape Labs

Moderator:
Julia van den Hout, Founder, Original Copy

About the Speakers:
Architect and educator Aybars Aşçı is an advocate of research-driven design, with a focus on designing learning environments. His projects range from planning large-scale campuses to designing play structures. As a practicing architect he has over 25 years of experience, working in New York and London, on projects located in North America, South America, Middle East, and Asia. As an educator, he has taught seminars and design studios at the City College of New York, Cornell University, Pratt Institute, and Northeastern University. As an inventor, he holds a U.S. patent for a high performance enclosure system (Patent #9003727; approved 4-14-2015). Aşçı is the president and founder of Efficiency Lab for Architecture, a design practice based in New York. He holds a Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University.

Natalie Hiromi Brito is a developmental psychologist who examines how early social and cultural contexts shape the trajectory of neurocognitive development, with the goal of better understanding how to best support caregivers and create environments that foster healthy child development. Specifically, her work examines links between the early home environment and the development of attention, memory, and socio-emotional skills during the first three years of life. Prior to joining the NYU faculty, Dr. Brito spent two years as a Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholar and two years as a postdoctoral research fellow within the Division of Developmental Neuroscience at Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Brito has received numerous awards for her work, including recognition from the Association for Psychological Science (Rising Star Award), NYU Steinhardt (Gabriel Carras Research Award), the International Society of Developmental Psychobiology (Kucharski Young Investigator Award) and American Psychological Association (Boyd McCandless Award). She has also been the recipient of grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the National Institutes of Health (NICHD/NIMH).

An innovative and forward-looking education leader, Jeff Clark brings 25 years of experience to AEON Learning Sciences, a new organization formed by key members of the Avenues The World School team, which Clark led for more than a decade. AEON’s aim is to revolutionize how students learn and empower them to make a difference in the world. From 2013–2024, Clark served as president of Avenues The World School, leading its growth from 700 students at one campus to more than 4,000 students at five interconnected and interdependent campuses located in leading cities around the globe. Under his leadership, Avenues established a reputation as one of the most prestigious toddler-12th grade independent schools in the world. Before joining Avenues, Clark served for seven years as president and CEO of National Heritage Academies (NHA), where he led a team of 4,000 people and oversaw all aspects of the fast-growing organization. Prior to starting his career in education, Clark held various leadership positions in investment and corporate banking. He served as community president of National City Bank and president of Westwater Group. He earned a B.A. degree in political science from Hope College.

Sandi Lam Harder is the head of Workshape Labs, the research and experimentation arm of Workshape, a research-based creative agency that helps teams get the most out of getting together. She is a licensed architect and San Francisco-based consultant specializing in the intersection of people and places. She has practiced in Chicago and Seattle, working on projects spanning transportation, commercial, cultural, and workplace sectors. Sandi recognized the importance of aligning project purpose with design, operation, and policy, which led her to an internal workplace role in tech, managing global design and construction projects and leading workplace strategy programs. Her career is dedicated to implementing strategies that support the highest potential of the built environment.

Julia van den Hout is an architecture writer, editor, and curator. In 2014, she founded Original Copy, a communications studio specializing in editorial, curatorial, and communications projects within architecture and design. Working across multiple platforms, the office strives to generate new productive content and open conversation, reexamining how architecture and design are presented and discussed, and focusing on discourse beyond the mere presentation of completed work.