Welcome to the Human Metrics Lab
We are a group of researchers using behavioural neuroscience to improve the outcomes of architecture and urban design projects. Our model for understanding the user-space relationship allows the lab to address a wide spectrum of built environment conditions, employing a unique methodology for the translation of research into practical insights.
How we work
When a project is conceived, it’s the experience you want to create, and its human impact that matters most. If it’s an office, you want it to be the best possible working experience. A school, best learning outcomes. A hospital? Quickest recovery. Our unique methodology was developed to ensure exactly this.
Together with our clients, we begin by defining the project’s measure of success, we call this a Human Metric. This measure guides our process, as we pass on our defined goals to our in-house lab sometimes in collaboration international network of scientists who gather the evidence to inform our design process.
That’s how we ensure we understand what’s most important for the users and activities taking place. Once a project is completed, that same human metric can be used to measure the performance of the environment, and can guide continuous improvements through our occupancy strategy.
Latest report
Children’s museums welcome more than 41 million visitors each year and recent research indicates that parents and caregivers perceive these spaces as supportive of their children’s development.
Recent papers
How can we transform places where people gather or wait into hubs for interaction and playful learning?
Journal of Cognition and Development
A call to investigate the social costs of prioritising investment in public transport systems.
Cities & Health Journal
Want to work with the Human Metrics Lab?
Groups and individual researchers can apply to collaborate with the Human Metrics Lab online by articulating their field of expertise, specific interests and availability to carry out project-related work.
Working with Hume through the Human Metrics Lab provides an opportunity to example real-world impact of your research, activity that bolsters new funding applications. Additionally, the lab will support the publication of research carried out for projects in a number of journals that focus on behavioural and cognitive neuroscience in the built environment.
The lab provides guidance and templates for translational research carried out by our partners. By standardising outputs, we’ve created a clear and efficient workflow for researchers. When a project is first paired with relevant experts, we train them through the process and how to use our online platform to deliver the outputs.