Spatial and Architectural Cognition Lab on SPARC Lab

In-and-Out

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The “In-and-Out” project aims to integrate indoor and outdoor spatial computing with cognitive research. Over the last decade indoor and outdoor spatial computing - previously developed in separation - has been integrated on the technical level. However, cognitive research has not followed this change. For example, wayfinding systems work indoors and outdoors but they do not change the type of support they provide based on the indoor/outdoor context and they do not consider outdoor information that is visible from the inside of the building. Thus, there is a gap between technological capabilities and cognitive understanding in spatial computing. This is critical because the key role of many spatial computing systems is to support cognition of their users, as in the cognitive geoengineering paradigm. This project plans to develop two prototypes: a wayfinding support system and an architectural design support system that for the first time will consider both indoor and outdoor information in an integrated manner. The interdisciplinary approach involves empirical experiments in VR environments and Bayesian statistical modelling.

Prof. Dr. Jakub Krukar

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

I am Junior Professor in Spatial Cognition — a branch of cognitive science studying how people think about, think in, and think with space. My background and approach are interdisciplinary, with an MA in psychology, a PhD from a department of architecture, and postdoctoral experience in geoinformatics.

Methods I work with include virtual reality, mobile eye-tracking, spatial computation, Bayesian statistics, and architectural theory of Space Syntax.

I am a Visiting Fellow at the Future Cities Lab in Singapore, an Associate Editor at the open-access Journal of Global Environmental Psychology, and head of the faculty’s Ethics Committee. Prior to coming to Germany I was at Northumbria University in Newcastle, UK.

SPACE-EYE

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Current models of human–building interaction either analyse visual attention independently of movement, or reduce movement to a fixed field of view aligned with walking direction. This artificial separation leads to research results that are often trivial and therefore underused in practice. SPACE-EYE integrates theories of visual attention — visual saliency, the perception–action loop, embodied attention — with movement data, and develops a computational framework that models gaze and locomotion jointly.

Fengxu Tian

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

I am a PhD student at the Institute for Geoinformatics, University of Münster, holding a master’s degree in environmental design with a background in architecture and spatial design. My research interests are primarily in computer-aided design, parametric design, and spatial cognition.

Methods I work with include optimisation algorithms, shape grammar, and space syntax to examine architectural configurations and their effects. I am also deeply interested in virtual reality, statistical models, and artificial intelligence to enhance spatial planning and design.

What does it take to learn a building?

Mon, 09 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Large public buildings such as airports, hospitals, and shopping malls routinely prove difficult to navigate. Architects use analysis software to anticipate such issues, but existing tools operate at the scale of the whole building: they reason about layout legibility in aggregate, or run Agent-Based Models that oversimplify human cognition by, for example, keeping the field of view constant across all agents. Small differences in how an individual actually walks through a space are treated as noise, even though walking at a slightly different angle past a column might conceal a corridor opening behind it and cascade through the rest of that person’s experience in the building.

Jung-Won Lee

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

I am a PhD student at the Institute for Geoinformatics, with an interdisciplinary background in civil engineering and computer science. My academic journey has focused on spatial cognition and human-environment interaction, with a growing interest in the cognitive processes behind wayfinding and environmental transitions.

My research draws on behavioural experiments, virtual reality, and spatial analysis to study how people think, feel, and act as they move through cities, stations, and buildings. I am particularly interested in applying cognitive insights to improve human-space interaction in complex environments.

Maximilian Elfers

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I am a PhD student at the Institute for Geoinformatics, University of Münster, with a master’s degree in geoinformatics and spatial data science. My research interests are indoor navigation as well as spatial cognition with a focus on using VR to conduct research.

In addition to my studies as a PhD student, I also work part-time as a software engineer at con terra in the Networks and Infrastructure division.

3D Mental Representations for Wayfinding

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Wayfinding in complex 3D structures such as multi-level buildings, transport hubs, and shopping malls depends on mental representations that current research struggles to capture. Two communities work on this problem largely in parallel. Geoinformatics develops computational and Virtual Reality tools that probe spatial knowledge externally, typically through sketch mapping and related externalisation techniques. Architectural and psychological research, in turn, administers domain-specific psychometric tests to characterise spatial ability internally. The two traditions have rarely been brought into direct contact.

Visual Attention in Art Galleries

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Art galleries are a very unique type of space: white, empty walls and the art itself are almost the only visual stimuli around. In such a situation, their spatial layout (the spatial arrangement of artworks and rooms) is what really steers the visitors’ attention.

The layout of space can have a larger impact on visitor’s attention than the differences between individual artworks. Although the layout can change the strategy with which visitors attend to artworks, cumulative time spent on attending to each picture is unaffected by its location. Methodologically, the project combined Mobile Eye-Tracking with the architectural theory of Space Syntax.

Architectural Cognition

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

How can psychology aid architecture in improving the usability of buildings? We study how space guides our behaviour, our attention, and our thinking. We design formal measures for architectural computation that are grounded in the cognitive experience of space.

In recent work, we have extended a popular architectural measure of visibility, called an “isovist”, from 2-D to 3-D environments. We demonstrated that our measure better predicts how “spacious” and “complex” a building feels to a human occupant, compared to the previously available methods.

3D Sketch Maps

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The 3D Sketch Maps project, sponsored by the Swiss National Science Foundation within their Sinergia programme focusing on “interdisciplinary, collaborative and breakthrough research”, investigates 3D sketch maps from a theoretical, empirical, cognitive, as well as tool-related perspective, with a particular focus on Extended Reality (XR) technologies. Sketch mapping is an established research method in fields that study human spatial decision-making and information processing, such as navigation and wayfinding. Although space is naturally three-dimensional (3D), contemporary research has focused on assessing individuals’ spatial knowledge with two-dimensional (2D) sketches. For many domains though, such as aviation or the cognition of complex multilevel buildings, it is essential to study people’s 3D understanding of space, which is not possible with the current 2D methods.

Student assistants & ongoing theses

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Tilda Blomqvist — Erasmus+ intern
Moritz Denk — student assistant

Alumni

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Amirtha Varshini Raja Sonathreesan Latha — MSc thesis
Ahmed Aly — student assistant, MSc thesis
Maximilian Elfers — MSc thesis
Lea Heming — BSc thesis
Maryamsadat Valizadeh — MSc thesis
Seyedmohammadhossein Hosseini — MSc thesis
Guangyu Wang — MSc thesis
Hamidreza Behbood — student assistant
Rabia Yagmur Yildiz — student assistant, MSc thesis
Abdelbasset Laroui — visiting PhD student, University of Ghardaia, Algeria

New Paper Accepted at the 15th Space Syntax Symposium

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Our paper “A Spatial Signature for the In-Between: Characterising Indoor-Outdoor Transitional Interface Through Space Syntax Measures” has been accepted to the 15th Space Syntax Symposium (SSS), exploring the spatial logic of transitional interfaces through a unified VGA framework. Using a controlled parametric study, we demonstrate that the intermediate zone between interior and exterior environments exhibit a distinct syntactic signature that is differentiable from both indoor and outdoor spaces. The paper is co-authored by Jung-Won, Marina, Panos, and Jakub, as part of our DFG–ANR-funded project “In-and-Out: A Cognitively-Grounded Integration of Indoor and Outdoor Spatial Computing.” Jung-Won will be presenting this work at SSS 2026. Congrats!

Maximilian Elfers joins SPARC

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Having graduated from the University of Muenster in Germany, Maximilian Elfers joins SPARC as a PhD candidate. Welcome Maxi!

Funding received for a new German-Korean collaboration

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

SPARC and Human-Centered Interior Environment Lab led by Prof. Ji Young Cho at Kyung Hee University in Seoul have received joint funding from the German Research Foundation and the National Research Foundation of Korea. The project is titled “Measuring mental representations of complex 3D structures for wayfinding: bringing together geoinformatics Virtual Reality tools and domain-specific psychometric spatial ability tests” and will involve mutual research visits of 3-4 weeks (Jakub in Seoul, Ji Young in Münster) over the upcoming year.

Tilda Blomqvist joins SPARC for an Erasmus+ Internship

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Having graduated from Lund University in Sweden, Tilda is visting SPARC for 3 months within the Erasmus+ Internship programme. Tilda comes from an architectural background and is here to research anticipations of a building’s internal layout based on external cues (facade). Welcome Tilda!

Talk on 3D Sketch Maps

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Jakub was invited to give a talk at the training school of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie-UKRI Doctoral Network - “SCALA – Spatial Communication and Ageing across Languages”. The group of 16 Doctoral Candidates and their supervisors investigates how spatial communication happens across languages, age groups, and how technology can affect it. The training school was hosted in Florence, Italy at the beautiful historical building of the Montedomini Training Center. The building was sufficiently confusing to practically demonstrate the need for this line of research.

New publication on how architects interpret building layouts

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

New paper, “Interpreting Architectural Drawings: The Role of Gaze and Gestures in Cognitive Offloading”, now published in Applied Cognitive Psychology (open access), coming out of the PhD thesis of Yesol Park at ETH Zürich.

It shows how architects use gaze and hand gestures as complementary strategies to offload spatial thinking - across two different interpretation tasks and types of building layouts. Abstract layouts invite exploratory looking and representational gestures; detailed layouts foster focal attention and deictic pointing.

SPARC awarded a grant to enhance mobile eye-tracking in architectural contexts

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Our new 3-year project on linking walking trajectories and eye-movement trajectories has been funded by the German Research Foundation. Project SPACE-EYE: Spatial and Architectural Evidence from Movement-aware Eye-tracking will combine mobile eye-tracking and motion data to build a computational framework that models gaze and locomotion together (…of course in realistic architectural settings).

This has implications for areas interested in modelling how people move through and view space, e.g. in signage planning, or emergency evacuation scenarios.

New publication from the 3D Sketch Maps project

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

New publication from the 3D Sketch Maps project led by Marie Simonet published in Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications : Probing mental representations of space through sketch mapping: a scoping review

Our review brings together 24 studies to examine how sketch maps externalize cognitive maps of buildings, neighborhoods, and cities. We highlight both the strengths and limitations of sketch mapping—from traditional pen-and-paper to VR tools—and point to emerging opportunities.

Key findings: - There’s an intrinsic conflict: sketch maps are used predominantly in less-structured studies (real world setups, unrestricted drawing on blank paper), yet researchers predominantly use quantitative methods to analyse sketch maps. These “punish” participants for generalisations and inconsistencies that are natural in such drawings. Analysing Qualitative Spatial Relations is a way to bridge this gap. - New sketch-mapping opportunities emerge with VR and digital drawing tools. For instance, sketching vertically complex structures finally is accessible to non-expert participants.

Jung-Won Lee joins SPARC, In-and-Out project begins

Sun, 01 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Having graduated from KAIST in South Korea, Jung-Won Lee has joint SPARC to work on the project “In-and-Out: A Cognitively-Grounded Integration of Indoor and Outdoor Spatial Computing”. Welcome Jung-Won!

Talk at ETH Behavioral Studies Colloquium in Zurich

Tue, 18 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Jakub gave a talk at the Behavioral Studies Colloquium of ETH Zurich titled:

From spatial cognition to evidence-based architecture: Bridging psychology and design through computation

Abstract: Despite decades of dedicated research, psychological insights into how people perceive and navigate space remain largely underused in design practice. While it is impossible to submit a building that fails fire safety or construction regulations, no one really knows whether a building will perform its psychological function well until it is built and filled with people. The Spatial and Architectural Cognition (SPARC) Lab seeks to change this by integrating cognitive science, geoinformatics, and computational design. This talk will present three key challenges shaping our approach. First, spatial algorithms must capture the perceptual and cognitive factors that shape human navigation and experience. Second, generating empirical data at scale remains a bottleneck, as classical architectural studies are too slow to support design workflows and examine only a few variables at a time while in reality multiple variables always interact. Third, realising evidence-based design requiers automated methods for translating insight from research papers into concrete functions in architectural software.

SPARC and Télécom Paris awarded €0.5M for research on indoor-outdoor integration

Wed, 16 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Our joint project with Prof. Panos Mavros from Télécom Paris has been awarded €500,000 through the German-French DFG-ANR program. In “In-and-Out: A Cognitively-Grounded Integration of Indoor and Outdoor Spatial Computing” we will explore new ways to improve navigation and architectural design by integrating indoor and outdoor information.

Our research will focus on two critical challenges:

1. How users’ perception and orientation shift as they transition between indoor and outdoor environments.

New publication on the ecological validity of architectural research

Thu, 10 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Our latest publication with Prof. Carl Schultz from Aarhus University tackles a key challenge in architectural design: how to make psychological research truly relevant for real-world buildings. Too often, the psychological experiments don’t reflect how people actually perceive and behave in real spaces. We introduce the Ecological Validity of Architectural Cognition (EVAC) framework, which bridges this gap by ensuring that experiments mirror real-world building experiences more closely. This is a step towards truly evidence-based, user-centered architecture. The paper is available open access.

3D Sketching Across Cognition, Design, and Art

Tue, 08 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Together with Prof. Panos Mavros (Télécom Paris) and Dr. Marie Simonet (ETH Zürich), Jakub has co-organised a workshop on 3D Sketching Across Cognition, Design, and Art at the European Conference on Cognitive Ergonomics in Paris. Around 15 people tried out different methods for 3d sketching and discussed newly emerging opportunities, as well as persistent challenges of the 3d sketching technology.

SPARC receives new seed funding grant

Mon, 09 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Our project What does it take to learn a building? Bringing individualisation to architectural analysis received funding from the Joint Institute for Individualisation in a Changing Environment ( JICE). This joint initiative funded by the Bielefeld University and the University of Münster is dedicated to the study of individualisation from the interdisciplinary perspective.

Our project will explore how small differences in individual walking paths affect a person’s ability to navigate and comprehend large public buildings, like airports or hospitals. Current architectural analysis tools overlook personal experiences, focusing on the overall layout rather than how people interact with their surroundings. The project uses virtual reality and online experiments to examine how individual trajectories and perspectives impact navigation. The findings could lead to improved design of complex public spaces.

New publication in the "3D Sketch Maps" project

Sun, 01 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

A new study lead by our project partner Tianyi Xiao from ETH Zürich introduces “VResin” - a tool that lets users create 3D sketch maps in virtual reality to better express spatial memory. By combining 2D surface sketching with mid-air drawing, VResin helps users make more accurate 3D sketches. SPARC and SIL Labs contributed methods for analyzing these sketch maps. Tested with 48 participants, the tool shows promising potential for use in areas like spatial cognition research and design. The findings are published in the International Journal of Human-Computer Studies.

Presenting "3D Sketch Maps" at EWIC workshop

Fri, 14 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Jakub presented ongoing work on 3D Sketch Maps at the 18th European Workshop on Imagery and Cognition (EWIC) in Naples, Italy.

The EWIC series is a biennial workshop dedicated to the study of mental imagery and spatial cognition. Other topics of interest to the EWIC community include: perception, attention, working memory, language comprehension, impact of new technologies.

Talk at Future Cities Lab Singapore

Sun, 12 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Jakub Krukar visited Future Cities Lab Singapore and gave a talk on “Ecological Validity of Architectural Cognition”. Future Cities Laboratory (FCL) Global is a research collaboration between ETH Zurich and the Singapore universities with support from the National Research Foundation (NRF). It operates under the auspices of the Singapore-ETH Centre (SEC).

The Architectural Cognition in Practice team concentrates or bringing cognitive research into architectural workflows.

SPARC and SIL host a workshop on 3D SketchMaps

Wed, 17 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

SPARC and SIL have jointly hosted a workshop on “3D SketchMaps”. The project, in which we partner with Chair of Geoinformation Engineering and Chair of Cognitive Science (both at ETH Zürich), is sponsored by the Swiss National Science Foundation within their Sinergia programme focusing on “interdisciplinary, collaborative and breakthrough research”.

The goal of the project is the extend the popular method for studying human memory of spatial environments - “sketch maps” - from a traditional paper-based 2D format to Virtual Reality-based 3D set-up. First publication describing the concept is already available here.

Online talk for partners in Korea

Mon, 11 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Jakub gave an online talk for Ji Young Cho’s lab at KyungHee University in Seoul, South Korea who focuses on spatial ability performance in interior design and architecture.

SPARC co-organises the 'HabiTech' workshop

Tue, 02 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

SPARC co-organises a workshop to help define a new research area – the building-level counterpoint to digital civics - how do new technologies enable and empower the inhabitants of a multi- occupancy buildings? This workshop will gather interdisciplinary experts in HCI, design, architecture, data ethics, and cognitive science to reflect on the role of HCI in cultivating digital civics inside buildings. The workshop will be a rolling full-day hybrid event with options to participate online or offline in Honolulu, Hawai’i during the Computer-Human Interaction (CHI) Conference. Workshop date: May 11th, 2024 https://habitech.space

New publication on visual attention in art galleries

Fri, 22 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In a new book on museum architecture edited by Prof. John Peponis from GeorgiaTech I write about ‘glancing away’ from art works. Why do we look away “into empty space” when spending time in museums and why has this been ignored by empirical research? The chapter is available here.