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Cleo Valentine


I am a Senior Design Researcher in Neuroarchitecture at HKS and a Affiliate Lecturer at the University of Cambridge specializing in architectural neurophysiology and bioethics. 

My work explores the impact of architectural forms on neuroimmunological activity, with a particular focus on the relationship between neuroinflammation and the built environment.  This research aims to uncover new insights that can inform architectural practices to promote better health outcomes. 

Currently, I serve as the Senior Research and Innovation Lead at the UCL/Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE) Centre for NeuroArchitecture and NeuroDesign and the Neurophysiology Lead at Beautiful Places AI.

My research partnerships include collaborations with Heatherwick Studio’s Humanise Campaign, and I maintain affiliations with the University College London Spatial Cognition Lab, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Urban Studies and Planning, and the University of Cambridge Design Engineering Centre.

Please feel free to contact me via email, add me on Linkedin or follow my research updates on Google Scholar


Publications


Valentine (2023)
DOI:10.3390/ijerph20095637
Architectural Allostatic Overloading: Exploring a Connection between Architectural Form and Allostatic Overloading

Valentine (2023)
DOI:10.3390/ijerph20032735
Health Implications of Virtual Architecture: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of the Transferability of Findings from Neuroarchitecture

Valentine (2024)
DOI:10.3389/fcomp.2023.1237531
The Impact of Architectural Form on Physiological Stress: A Systematic Review

Valentine, Mitcheltree, Steffert & Steemers (2024)
DOI: 10.3390/buildings14051292
Architectural Neuroimmunology: A Pilot Study Examining the Impact of Biophilic Architectural Design on Neuroinflammation

Valentine & Mitcheltree (2024)
DOI: 10.1080/17508975.2024.2407319
Architecture and Bioethics: Investigating Ethical Implications of Recent Advances in the Field of Neuroarchitecture

Valentine (2024)
DOI: 10.1136/bmj.q2773
Architecture and Public Health: From Harmful Designs to Healthy Built Environments

Valentine, Mitcheltree, Sjövall & Khalil (2025)
DOI.org/10.3390/brainsci15020201
Architecturally Mediated Allostasis and Neurosustainability: A Proposed Theoretical Framework for the Impact of the Built Environment on Neurocognitive Health

Mitcheltree, Valentine, Steemers, Sunikka-Blank, Hosking & Wilkins (2025)
DOI.org/10.1016/j.foar.2025.05.004
Investigating Visual Stress Within Family and Domestic Violence Refuges in Australia

Valentine, Wilkins, Mitcheltree, Penacchio, Beckles, Hosking (2025) DOI.ORG/10.3390/buildings15132208 Visual Discomfort in the Built Environment: Leveraging Generative AI and Computational Analysis to Evaluate Predicted Visual Stress in Architectural Façades
Law, Valentine, Kahlon, Seresinhe, Tang, Morad, Fujii (2025)
DOI.ORG/10.3390/buildings15173212
Generative AI for Architectural Façade Design: Measuring Perceptual Alignment Across Geographical, Objective, and Affective Descriptors

Valentine & Mitcheltree (2025)
Publication forthcoming
Design for Wellbeing: Architecturally Mediated Physiological Stress and Allostatic Load

Valentine, Mitcheltree, Hosking, Jung, Choi, Lee, Oh, Kim, Wilkins, Penacchio (2025)
Publication forthcoming
Façade Patterning and Visual Stress: A Computational Study of Architectural Design and Visual Stress in Seoul

Valentine, Mitcheltree, Smith, Hosking & Wilkins (2025)
Research Ongoing
Investigating the Impact of Regular High-Contrast Visual Patterns in Architectural Design on Allostatic Activity using HRV and fNIRS

Valentine, Schullar, Ribiero, Hosking & Wilkins (2025)
Research Ongoing
Investigating Visual Stress in Lecture Theatre Environments: A Spatio-temporal Perspective  Using Computational Analysis and Self-Reported Measures

Valentine & Khalil (2025)
Research Ongoing
Architectural Epigenetics: The Epigenetic Consequences of Architecturally Mediated Allostaic Overload in the Built Environment

Valentine, Mitcheltree, Hem Lee, Hosking (2025)
Research Ongoing
Reducing Visual Stress in Psychiatric Inpatient Settings: 
A Computational Analysis of Sensory Environments

Valentine & Schrage (2025)
Research Ongoing
Quantifying the Relationship between Biomorphic Design and Aesthetic Preference in Architectural Facades: 
A Computer Vision and Machine Learning Approach


Conferences


Mind Body Space International Symposium
Office for the New Earth
06/2025

LCH² Seminar: Health and the Built Environment
KU Leuven
05/2025

Designing Humane Places
iMotions Citymakers Collective
04/2025

Human Sciences and the Future of Architecture Moving Boundaries 12/2024
CRAASH - Mindscape: Future Research at the Intersection of Wellbeing, Education and Architecture12/2024
International Making Cities Livable Conference 2024  
Institute for Livable Cities
11/2024

Humanise Symposium No.2
Heatherwick Studio
10/2024

Humanise Symposium No.1
Heatherwick Studio
03/2024

International Making Cities Livable Conference 2023    
Institute for Livable Cities
10/2023

ANFA 20th Anniversary Conference
Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture
09/2023

Movement and Cognition
UCL & Royal Society of Medicine
06/2023

International Conference on Urban Experience and Design
Tufts University
04/2023

Architecture and Spaces of Healing
University of Cambridge
03/2022

SFERA 2020: Biourbanism Conference
Sfera Institute
06/2020


Media & Press


Boring facades can seriously damage your health
RIBAJournalRead

"Los edificios aburridos tienen un impacto en el cerebro, aumentan el estrés y el cortisol"
El MundoRead

It's Official: Boring Cities Are Bad for Your Health
WIREDRead

Many of our everyday spaces are causing harm
DezeenRead

Rethinking architecture and ethics in the age of neuroscience
Building DesignRead

How the buildings you occupy might be affecting your brain
PsycheRead

Architects and Healers: Buildings as Medicine
ArchitectingListen

Cleo Valentine: We Now Know Architecture Can Cause Stress 
Venetian LetterRead  

Neuroscience and the Architecture of Inflammation Create Streets
Theory of Architecture | #24 - Cleo Valentine
Theory of ArchitectureListen

Do buildings impact the brain via the immune system?
Bitbrain Technologies

Time & Delight feat. Cleo ValentineFrequencies Lab


Bio





Cleo Valentine is a researcher and lecturer working at the intersection of architecture, computational neuroscience, bioethics, and public health. She is an Affiliate Lecturer in Architecture at the University of Cambridge, where she is investigating how visual exposure to architectural form influences allostatic activity and neurophysiological stress.  In doing so, she is working to establish the emerging field of architectural neuroimmunology.

Cleo serves as Senior Design Researcher in Neuroarchitecture at HKS and Senior Research and Innovation Lead at RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, maintaining active collaborations with Harvard University, MIT, and University College London. 
She has presented her research to Autodesk, Heatherwick Studio, Foster + Partners, and Hawkins\Brown, and has lectured internationally at institutions including Harvard GSD, IUAV Venice, KU Leuven, McGill University, Politecnico di Milano, and the Architectural Association. Her work has been exhibited at the Venice Architecture Biennale (2025) and the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism (2025), and featured in WIRED, RIBA Journal, El Mundo, The Times, and Dezeen. She has also served in advisory capacities for the UK Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government and the US National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, contributing to emerging discussions on health and ethics in design. In her editorial roles, she is an Associate Editor for Intelligent Buildings International and a Guest Editor for Buildings on the special issue “BioCognitive Architectural Design.”

Cleo completed a Doctoral Visiting Fellowship in Public Health at Harvard University (2025) and holds an MPhil in Architecture and Urban Studies from the University of Cambridge (2022), an MSc in Sustainable Urban Development from the University of Oxford (2019), and a BA in Urban Systems and Economics from McGill University and the University of Copenhagen (2016).


Partners




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