Dr Michal Gath-Morad

Neuroarchitecture; Cognitive Science; Spatial Cognition; Evidence-Based Design; Human–Building Interaction

Biography

Dr Michal Gath-Morad is Assistant Professor at the University of Cambridge, Department of Architecture, and Fellow & Director of Studies in Architecture and Design at Peterhouse. She directs the Cambridge Cognitive Architecture (CCA) group and founded NeuroCīvitās, a cross-disciplinary research initiative on mental health and the built environment.

She holds a Doctor of Sciences (Dr. sc.) in Cognitive Science from ETH Zürich. Her research integrates architecture, cognitive science, and neuroscience to investigate how spatial configuration shapes cognition, affect, stress regulation, and team performance. Methodologically, her work combines behavioural experiments, psychophysiological measures, computational modelling, and BIM-based simulation to develop evidence-based and adaptive design strategies.

Dr Gath-Morad has published in leading international journals including Scientific Reports, Automation in Construction, and Building and Environment, and has secured competitive funding as Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator from UKRI/SNSF and Horizon Europe. In 2026–2028 she will hold an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship at the Berlin Mobile Brain/Body Imaging Lab (BeMoBIL) at TU Berlin.

She frequently delivers keynote and invited lectures at international conferences and professional forums, including ANFA, PropTech Connect, and events affiliated with the RIBA, contributing to cross-disciplinary dialogue between research, practice, and industry.

Her current research focuses on high-stress and complex environments, particularly healthcare and extreme settings, advancing bio-cognitive approaches to architecture

Publications

Key publications:

Pan, J., Aguilar, L., Gath-Morad, M., Bardhan, R., & Steemers, K. (2026). Spatial and operational interventions for healthy cruise ship design using agent-based modelling. Travel Behaviour and Society, 43, 101232.
Wang, C., Ding, H., & Gath-Morad, M. (2025). A systematic review: Affective perception on urban facades. arXiv Preprint, arXiv:2509.22599.
Ding, H., Wang, C., & Gath-Morad, M. (2025). How built environment shapes cycling experience: A multi-scale review in historical urban contexts. arXiv Preprint, arXiv:2509.15657.
Gath-Morad, M., Aguilar, L., Baur, R., Afzali, M., Steemers, K., Sailer, K., … Hölscher, C. (2025). Immersed in evidence: Integrating behavioural data into full-scale healthcare prototypes for evidence-based co-design. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA) (Vol. 4, pp. 407–416).
Law, S., Valentine, C., Kahlon, Y., Seresinhe, C. I., Tang, J., Gath-Morad, M., & Fujii, H. (2025). Generative AI for architectural façade design: Measuring perceptual alignment across geographical, objective, and affective descriptors. Buildings, 15(17), 3212.
Gath-Morad, M., Grübel, J., Steemers, K., Sailer, K., Ben-Alon, L., Hölscher, C., & Aguilar, L. (2024). The role of strategic visibility in shaping wayfinding behavior in multilevel buildings. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 3735.
Law, S., Kahlon, Y., Fan, Z., Gath-Morad, M., Hu, D., Shen, Y., … Fujii, H. (2024). Exploring the linkage between space syntax and visual impression of architectural spaces: A case study of Japanese streetscapes during moments of “Oku.” In 14th International Space Syntax Symposium (SSS 2024). Space Syntax Network/Sejong University Press.
Gath-Morad, M., Egli, S., Grübel, J., Steemers, K., Hölscher, C., & Aguilar, L. (2024). Designing affective workplace environments: The impact of typology, contour, ceiling and partition height on cognitive and aesthetic appraisal. Building and Environment, 265, 111928.
Gath-Morad, M., Plaut, O., & Kalay, Y. E. (2024). Attract or repel: How street features shape pedestrians’ leisure walks in cities. Journal of Urban Design, 29(3), 342–362.
Maghlakelidze, M., Mesa, A., Sawyer, A. O., Gath-Morad, M., & Ben-Alon, L. (2024). Biophilic design elements and natural materials in healthcare environments. Journal of Green Building, 19(3), 1–39.
Graham, P., Nourian, P., Warwick, E., & Gath-Morad, M. (2024). ‘Rightsize’: A housing design game for spatial and energy sufficiency.
Veddeler, C., Kuijper, J., Gath-Morad, M., & Van der Wal, I. (Eds.). (2023). Future cities–city futures: Emerging urban perspectives. TU Delft OPEN Publishing.
Gath-Morad, M., Baur, R., & Hölscher, C. (2023). Towards an evidence-based simulation toolkit for architectural design pedagogy. In Health in All Design (EDRA53) (pp. 377–378).
Grübel, J., Thrash, T., Aguilar, L., Gath-Morad, M., Hlal, D., Sumner, R. W., … Schinazi, V. R. (2022). Dense indoor sensor networks: Towards passively sensing human presence with LoRaWAN. Pervasive and Mobile Computing, 84, 101640.
Mavros, P., Conroy Dalton, R., Kuliga, S., Gath-Morad, M., Robson, S., & Hölscher, C. (2022). Architectural cognition cards: A card-based method for introducing spatial cognition research and user-centred thinking into the design process. Architectural Science Review, 65(2), 120–137.
Gath-Morad, M., Melgar, L. E. A., Conroy-Dalton, R., & Hölscher, C. (2022). Beyond the shortest-path: Towards cognitive occupancy modeling in BIM. Automation in Construction, 135, 104131.
Dubey, R. K., Gath-Morad, M., Sohn, S. S., Xue, D., Thrash, T., Hölscher, C., & Kapadia, M. (2022). Cognitively grounded floorplan optimization to nudge occupant route choices. SSRN Electronic Journal.
Gath-Morad, M., Thrash, T., Schicker, J., Hölscher, C., Helbing, D., & Aguilar Melgar, L. E. (2021). Visibility matters during wayfinding in the vertical. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 18980.
Grübel, J., Gath-Morad, M., Aguilar, L., Thrash, T., Sumner, R. W., Hölscher, C., & Schinazi, V. (2021). Fused twins: A cognitive approach to augmented reality media architecture. In Proceedings of the 5th Media Architecture Biennale Conference (pp. 215–220).
Schaumann, D., Putievsky Pilosof, N., Gath-Morad, M., & Kalay, Y. E. (2020). Simulating the impact of facility design on operations: A study in an internal medicine ward. Facilities, 38(7/8), 501–522.
Gath-Morad, M., Aguilar, L., Dalton, R. C., & Hölscher, C. (2020). cogARCH: Simulating wayfinding by architecture in multilevel buildings. In Proceedings of the 11th Annual Symposium on Simulation for Architecture and Urban Design (SimAUD) (pp. 1–8).
Dubey, R. K., Khoo, W. P., Gath-Morad, M., Hölscher, C., & Kapadia, M. (2020). AUTOSIGN: A multicriteria optimization approach to computer-aided design of signage layouts in complex buildings. Computers & Graphics, 88, 13–23.
Gath-Morad, M., Zinger, E., Schaumann, D., & Kalay, Y. E. (2018). A dashboard model to support spatio-temporal analysis of simulated human behavior in future built environments.
Schaumann, D., Gath-Morad, M., Zinger, E., Pilosof, N. P., Sopher, H., Brodeschi, M., … Kalay, Y. E. (2016). A computational framework to simulate human spatial behavior in built environments. In SimAUD 2016 Symposium on Simulation for Architecture and Urban Design.

Teaching and Supervisions

Teaching:

NeuroUrbanism Seminar MPhil in Architecture and Urban Studies
Professional Skills II (PSII) Year 2, Architecture & Design (MS & Lent Terms)
Human-Centred Design Across Scales Year 2, Design (Easter Term)