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Cleo Valentine


I am a design researcher 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. 

I hold industry research roles as a Design Researcher in Neuroarchitecture at HKS and Research and Innovation Lead at the RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, alongside academic appointments as an Affiliate Lecturer at the University of Cambridge and Research Associate at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

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/ijerph20032735Health Implications of Virtual Architecture: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of the Transferability of Findings from Neuroarchitecture
Valentine (2024)
DOI:10.3389/fcomp.2023.1237531The 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: 10.1080/17508975.2024.2407319Architecture 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 OngoingInvestigating 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 Studio10/2024
Humanise Symposium No.1
Heatherwick Studio03/2024
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 and an Department Associate at Harvard University, 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.  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 both a PhD in Architecture and 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).


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