Biography
Dr. Michal Gath Morad is an Assistant Professor at University of Cambridge’s Department of Architecture, where she directs her own research group - Cambridge Cognitive Architecture. She is an architect holding a PhD in cognitive science, conducting research around three key themes: understanding how architecture impacts spatial cognition, translating behavioral findings into evidence-based design tools, and analyzing how evidence influences architects' cognition, design communication, and design outcomes. She is an honorary research associate at UCL’s Space Syntax Lab, a fellow and Director of Studies in Architecture at Peterhouse College in Cambridge, as well as a visiting lecturer at the Chair of Cognitive Science at ETH Zurich
Research
● Evidence-Based Design in Architecture
● Simulation-powered co-design in architecture and urban design
● Wayfinding by architecture
● Spatial cognition
● Active buildings and cities
● Behavioural experiments in virtual reality
● Cognitive agent modelling and simulation
● Choice Architecture
● Architectural design pedagogy
● Design cognition
Current Research Projects
● Simulation-Powered Co-Design for Resilient Built Environments (March 22-March 24), as part of a Post.Doc Mobility grant by the Swiss National Science Foundation, Switzerland. In collaboration with Prof. Koen Steemers and Prof. Kerstin Sailer (The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL).
● cogARCH: Linking Cognition and Architecture (June 21-August 22), as part of an ETH innovedum grant, in collaboration with Prof. Christoph H lscher (Chair of Cognitive Science ETH Zürich)
Publications
Journal articles
● Gath-Morad, M., Melgar, L. E. A., Conroy-Dalton, R., & H lscher, C. (2022). Beyond the Shortest-Path: Towards Cognitive Occupancy Modelling in BIM. Automation in Construction, 135, 104131.
● Mavros, P., Conroy Dalton, R., Kuliga, S., Gath-Morad, M., Robson, S., & H lscher, C. (2021). Architectural Cognition Cards: a Card-Based Method for Introducing Spatial Cognition Research and User-Centred Thinking into the Design Process. Architectural Science Review, 1-18.
● Gath-Morad, M., Thrash, T., Schicker, J., H lscher, C., Helbing, D., & Aguilar Melgar, L. E. (2021). Visibility Matters During Wayfinding in the Vertical. Nature Scientific Reports, 11(1), 1-15.
● Dubey, R. K., Khoo, W. P., Gath-Morad, M., H lscher, C., & Kapadia, M. (2020). AUTOSIGN: A Multi-Criteria Optimization Approach to Computer-Aided Design of Signage Layouts in Complex Buildings. Computers & Graphics, 88, 13-23.
● Schaumann, D., Pilosof, N. P., Gath-Morad, M., & Kalay, Y. E. (2020). Simulating the Impact of Facility Design on Operations: a Study in An Internal Medicine Ward. Facilities.
Preprints
● Aguilar, L.*, Gath-Morad, M.*, Grübel, J.*, Ermatinger, J., Zhao, H., Wehrli, S., ... & H lscher, C. (2022). Experiments as Code: A Concept for Reproducible, Auditable, Debuggable, Reusable, & Scalable Experiments. arXiv preprint arXiv:2202.12050.
● Dubey, R. K., Gath-Morad, M., Sohn, S. S., Xue, D., Thrash, T., H lscher, C., & Kapadia, M. (2022). Cognitively Grounded Floorplan Optimization to Nudge Occupant Route Choices. Available at SSRN 4003119.
Conference papers
● Gath-Morad, M., Baur, R., & H lscher, C. (2022). Towards an Evidence-Based Simulation Toolkit for Architectural Design Pedagogy. In EDRA53 Greenville HEALTH IN ALL DESIGN: PROMOTING HEALTH, EQUITY, SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCE THROUGH ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN.
● Grübel, J.*, Gath-Morad, M.*, Aguilar, L.*, Thrash, T., Sumner, R. W., H lscher, C., & Schinazi, V. (2021). Fused Twins: A Cognitive Approach to Augmented Reality Media Architecture. In Media Architecture Biennale 20 (pp. 215-220).
● Gath-Morad, M., Aguilar, L., Dalton, R. C., & H lscher, C. (2020, May). COGARCH: Simulating Wayfinding by Architecture in Multilevel Buildings. In Proceedings of the 11th Annual Symposium on Simulation for Architecture and Urban Design (pp. 1-8).
● Gath-Morad12, M., Zinger, E., Schaumann, D., & Kalay, N. P. P. Y. E. (2018). A Dashboard Model to Support Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Simulated Human Behavior in Future Built Environments. in depth, 12, 13.
● Schaumann, D., Gath-Morad, M., Zinger, E., Pilosof, N. P., Sopher, H., Brodeschi, M., ... & Kalay, Y. E. (2016, May). A Computational Framework to Simulate Human Spatial Behavior in Built Environments. In SimAUD 2016 Symposium on Simulation for Architecture and Urban Design.
Book Chapters
● Gath-Morad, M. (2022, April). Towards Cognitive Urbanism: Employing Choice Architecture to Design Active Cities. In FUTURE CITIES – CITY FUTURES. Emerging Voices for the [(Post-)Pandemic] City. Delft Press.
● Gath-Morad, M., Schaumann, D., Zinger, E., Plaut, P. O., & Kalay, Y. E. (2016, May). How Smart is the Smart City? Assessing the impact of ICT on cities. In International Workshop on Agent Based Modelling of Urban Systems (pp. 189-207). Springer, Cham.
Books
● Veddeler, C., Kuijper,J., Gath-Morad, M., Van Der Wal, I. (2022, April). FUTURE CITIES –CITY FUTURES. Emerging Voices for the Post-Pandemic City. TU Delft OPEN Publishing.
