CRITICAL REVIEW OF MUSEUM ARCHITECTURE FROM A NEUROARCHITECTURE PERSPECTIVE

Introduction: This study focused on the behavior of people in museums. Museum visitors are known to explore the works of art through various presentation methods. People’s behavior during the museum exhibit was analyzed. The purpose of the study was to obtain physiological responses to indoor and outdoor tours in terms of neuro-architecture. Therefore, the focus was on evaluating the cognitive responses people have to spaces during museum tours. Based on this evaluation, it aimed to make spatial arrangements more human-centered. Methods: The study was conducted in a virtual reality environment. A virtual museum was designed for the study, and experiments took place in this museum. Unlike other studies, this study used Electroencephalogram (EEG), Eye Tracking (ET), Heart Rate Variability (HRV), and Skin Conductance Response (SCR) techniques. The focus was on two presentation methods commonly used in museums: audio description (AD) and information board (IB). As a result, most striking findings came from the examination of the AD+IB presentation technique. EEG records and the data from other physiological measurement devices indicated that the AD+IB presentation technique induced stress in the visitors. That is, the participants could not focus enough on the works of art. Audio description alone was found very effective in museum visits. However, if it was used simultaneously with information board (IB), the effect of the artworks on the visitors was reduced to a minimum.