Google: "It's scientific proof that design is important."

A Space For Being shows how different aesthetic experiences impact health and well-being.

Milan Design Week took on a new type of exhibiton this year, with the addition of Google's scientific exhibition, A Space For Being, designed to show how different asethetic experiences can impact our lives.

Created by Google's Vice President and Head of Deisgn for Hardware Products, Ivy Ross, the exhibition recorded how people responded to the different environments as they progressed through three different rooms named Essential, Vital and Transformative. 

With neuroscience now, you can prove things that designers and artists have always known.

The exhibition itself included several elements, but the three which stole the show were designed by architect Suchi Reddy and have since launch brought about an important discussion around how design and science can intertwine with one another. A concept that isn't entirely brand new, but one that we too, try to play an active part in.

Ross told Wallpaper Magazine: "With neuroscience now, you can prove things that designers and artists have always known, that aesthetics - which is not just making things look pretty, but enliving all the sensory systems through space, colour, texture, music and shape - affects our brain, our physiology and our wellbeing. 

"Not everyone understands the power of that, but now neuroscience is able to show that."

Each space had subtle environmental differences, as well as the obvious aesthetics. From what participants could smell, to the lighting used and the music around the room, the intention was to full submerge them into each individual environment. 

You can see that it's not just a status symbol of who you are in the world.

Speaking to Dezeen, Reddy explained: "Once you can really understand what thoughtful design and architecture does to you, you can see that it's not just a status symbol of who you are in the world. You can change your environment and you can create spaces that suit your needs, and that's a concious decision."

"At the end of the day, we're saying, design matters more than you think. I want everyone to know it." Ross added. "We are all striving for wellbeing and to be less stressed in our lives. There are choices we can make about the environments we surround ourselves with, which can actually enhance our physiology and put us into a more peaceful state. There's no other agenda than that."

The report generated at the end of a visitors experience was presented in the form of a circle painted in watercolours. Blue ares showed when the visitor was at ease and pink illustrated stimulation or excitement. 

"We worked hard to make sure that the visualisation was also beautiful, because technology doesn't have to be scary." Said Ross. "The whole premise is that technology can be beautiful - it's not either, or. We need both in our lives."

Photography: Maremosso