Curvism — Instead of Cubism
To Make Known the Unknown
An artistic vision. A historical investigation. A scientific question.
For millions of years, life on Earth evolved surrounded by the geometry of nature.
The Sun is not square. Stars are not cubes. Trees, fruits, flowers, rivers, mountains and most animal nests do not follow the rigid geometry of the rectangular room. Nature is rich in curves, spirals, spheres, branching structures and irregular forms.
Yet much of the world we have built for ourselves is dominated by straight lines, right angles and cubic spaces.
Why? And more importantly: what are the consequences of living within a geometry so different from much of the natural environment in which we evolved?
The Origin of Curvism
Curvism emerged from a lifelong artistic investigation and a dissatisfaction with the endless repetition of established artistic conventions. More styles. More movements. More of the same.
Rather than proposing another aesthetic variation, I began questioning something more fundamental: the geometry we have come to accept as normal.
Humanity has built both circular and rectangular structures since prehistoric times. Over thousands of years, however, orthogonal architecture became increasingly dominant, supported by practical advantages in construction, organisation, land division and urban development (Steadman, 2006; Libecap & Lueck, 2011).
But efficiency of construction is not necessarily the same as harmony with human perception.
Curvism questions not only how we represent the world, but the geometry of the world we have constructed around ourselves.
Beyond Biophilic Design
For a time, I described this investigation as Biophilia 2.0.
Conventional biophilic design frequently introduces plants, natural materials and vegetation into predominantly rectangular buildings. But why imitate nature through decoration while leaving the underlying geometry unquestioned?
A cubic room filled with plants remains a cubic room.
Curvism goes beyond the introduction of natural elements. It investigates the relationship between architectural geometry, human perception and the environments we inhabit.
When Art Meets Science
What began as an artistic and historical inquiry gradually encountered a growing body of scientific research.
A 2022 meta-analysis of 61 studies and some 11,000 participants found an overall human preference for curved visual forms (Chuquichambi et al., 2022). Brain-imaging studies show that curved and angular architectural interiors are processed differently (Vartanian et al., 2024; Wang et al., 2024). In a virtual-reality experiment, people in a curved room reported more positive mood, showed lower heart rate and produced more creative ideas than in an otherwise identical rectangular room (Strachan-Regan & Baumann, 2024).
These findings do not establish that all angles are harmful or that every curved environment is beneficial. Some studies have found no effect, or effects in the opposite direction (Tawil et al., 2021; Pati et al., 2016).
They do, however, show that geometry is not perceptually neutral.
And they leave open a question that researchers themselves have identified: almost every study measures minutes of exposure. A 2024 systematic review concluded that the long-term effects of chronic exposure to architectural form remain largely unexplored (Valentine, 2024).
What happens when we spend years, rather than minutes, surrounded by predominantly orthogonal architecture?
A New Field of Questions
Curvism proposes investigating architectural geometry as an environmental variable that may influence human perception, cognition, emotional experience and physiological responses. It brings together artistic exploration, archaeology, architectural history, neuroscience and environmental research.
Its purpose is not to replace one unquestioned convention with another. It is to investigate what we have overlooked. To challenge what appears inevitable. To explore what remains unknown.
Research Library — Foundational Edition 1.0
Curvism Scientific Evidence Archive
This archive brings together research from neuroscience, environmental psychology, architecture, cognitive science, physiology, archaeology and biophilic design. Its purpose is not to claim that curved environments are universally beneficial or that rectangular environments are inherently harmful, but to investigate the relationship between spatial geometry and human experience through independently published research.
Part I — Direct Geometric Evidence
01. Visual Perception and Curvature Preference
Do humans systematically perceive or prefer curved forms differently from angular forms?
Chuquichambi et al. (2022) — How universal is preference for visual curvature? A systematic review and meta-analysis
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
Method: Meta-analysis of 61 studies, 106 samples, about 11,000 participants.
Finding: An overall preference for curved visual forms, whose strength varies with stimulus type, task, individual characteristics and conditions.
Relevance: Establishes curvature preference as a measurable phenomenon rather than an artistic convention.
Limitation: Aesthetic preference does not establish physiological benefit or long-term health effects.
Bertamini, Palumbo, Gheorghes & Galatsidas (2016) — Do observers like curvature or do they dislike angularity?
British Journal of Psychology
Finding: Preference for curved shapes should not automatically be read as aversion to angular shapes.
Relevance: Separates attraction to curvature from a proposed negative response to angularity.
Palumbo, Ruta & Bertamini (2015) — Comparing angular and curved shapes in terms of implicit associations and approach/avoidance responses
PLOS ONE
Finding: Approach-related responses toward curved forms did not come with a general avoidance of angular forms.
Relevance: Challenges explanations of curvature preference based only on threat avoidance.
Chuquichambi, Damiano, Wei, Meletaki, Bruce, Chatterjee, Skov & Walther (2026) — Curved background and foreground elements enhance the appeal of indoor spaces
Journal of Environmental Psychology
Method: Versions of the same interior with curved or angular elements in the foreground or background; 30 participants.
Finding: Curvilinear spaces were rated more pleasing and emotionally positive, and higher on coherence, fascination, hominess and willingness to spend time; the effect was stronger when curves were in the foreground.
02. Neuroscience of Curved and Angular Forms
Does the brain process curved and angular geometry differently?
Bar & Neta (2007) — Visual elements of subjective preference modulate amygdala activation
Neuropsychologia
Method: fMRI with everyday objects of different contours.
Finding: Sharp-angled objects were associated with greater amygdala activation than curved ones.
Limitation: Amygdala activation alone does not establish fear or chronic stress; stimuli were objects, not lived architecture.
Larson, Aronoff, Sarinopoulos & Zhu (2009) — Recognizing threat: a simple geometric shape activates neural circuitry for threat detection
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
Finding: A simple downward-pointing V shape activated the amygdala and related threat-processing regions more than the same shape pointing upward.
Relevance: Suggests some threat recognition relies on very simple, context-free visual cues.
Banaei, Hatami, Yazdanfar & Gramann (2017) — Walking through architectural spaces: the impact of interior forms on human brain dynamics
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
Method: Mobile EEG during navigation of virtual interiors.
Finding: Interior forms were associated with differences in brain dynamics during spatial experience.
Limitation: Neural differences alone do not show a beneficial or harmful health outcome.
Vartanian, Farzanfar, Munar, Skov, Hayn-Leichsenring, Ho & Walther (2024) — Neural dissociation between computational and perceived measures of curvature
Scientific Reports
Finding: Early visual cortex tracked computed curvature in every task, while the fusiform gyrus tracked perceived curvature only during beauty judgments.
Relevance: Shows why architectural geometry must be measured precisely, not simply labelled “curved” or “angular”.
Wang, Zhan, Dai, Dewancker & Gao (2024) — Influence of architectural interior design on human perception and emotion with the consideration of neural aesthetics
Indoor and Built Environment
Method: fMRI, 30 participants viewing curvilinear and rectilinear interiors.
Finding: Participants preferred curvilinear interiors, and neural responses differed between the two contour types.
Morphological buffering in neuro-architecture: interactive effects of color, shape and area proportion on affective processing (2026)
Behavioral Sciences
Method: EEG in virtual interiors, 61 participants.
Finding: Shape, colour and proportion interacted in early neural markers of affective processing.
Limitation: EEG components are not clinical measures of chronic stress.
03. Stress, Emotional Response and Autonomic Regulation
Can curved and rectilinear environments produce different immediate emotional or physiological responses?
Tawil et al. (2022) — The contour effect: differences in the aesthetic preference and stress response to photo-realistic living environments
Frontiers in Psychology
Method: Photorealistic interiors, 198 participants.
Finding: Curved environments were rated more restful and lower in perceived stress.
Limitation: Perceived stress ratings are not the same as reduced physiological stress.
Strachan-Regan & Baumann (2024) — The impact of room shape on affective states, heartrate, and creative output
Heliyon
Method: Immersive virtual reality, 35 participants, a curved and a rectangular version of the same room.
Finding: The curved room produced more positive and less negative mood, lower heart rate and higher creative output.
Relevance: One of the most direct comparisons for Curvism, combining physiological and behavioural outcomes.
Limitation: Short virtual exposure does not establish long-term residential effects.
Tawil et al. (2021) — The living space: psychological well-being and mental health in response to interiors presented in virtual reality
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Method: Virtual reality, 42 participants, multiple psychological outcomes.
Finding: Most outcomes showed no significant contour effect; a few significant comparisons favoured angular rooms.
Relevance: Essential counter-evidence: curvature effects are not consistent across settings.
Pati, O’Boyle, Hou, Nanda & Ghamari (2016) — Can hospital form trigger fear response?
HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal
Finding: For images of hospital interiors and exteriors, curved contours were associated with higher amygdala activation.
Relevance: Challenges any universal claim that curved geometry always produces less arousal.
04. Spatial Geometry and Architectural Experience
How do architectural contours influence perception, enclosure, beauty and evaluation of space?
Elver Boz, Demirkan & Ürgen (2022) — Visual perception of the built environment in virtual reality: a systematic characterization of human aesthetic experience in spaces with curved boundaries
Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts
Finding: Aesthetic experience of curved-boundary spaces reduced to three dimensions — familiarity, excitement and fascination — each affected differently by size, light, texture and colour.
Yoshioka & Hatsumi (2012) — Experimental study on the perception and psychological effects of curved-wall spaces
Journal of Architecture and Planning (Architectural Institute of Japan) — in Japanese
Finding: Changing the form of curved walls altered perceived spaciousness, depth and the image of interior space.
Part II — Cognition, Education and Well-Being
05. Cognition, Attention, Memory and Creativity
Li, Yin & Xu (2025) — Protective and restorative effects of biophilic design in high school indoor environments on stress and cognitive function
Indoor Air
Method: Virtual school corridors and classrooms in three designs — non-biophilic, curved and biomimetic — with physiological and cognitive measures.
Finding: The designs produced context-dependent differences in attention, creativity and stress-related measures.
Relevance: One of the few school studies with a distinct “curved” condition.
Hu, Simon, Fix, Vivino & Bernat (2021) — Exploring a sustainable building’s impact on occupant mental health and cognitive function in a virtual environment
Scientific Reports
Relevance: Demonstrates EEG and virtual-reality methods for studying the psychological effects of buildings.
Limitation: Compares sustainable and conventional buildings, not curved and angular geometry.
06. Educational Architecture and Learning Environments
Barrett, Davies, Zhang & Barrett (2015) — The impact of classroom design on pupils’ learning: final results of a holistic, multi-level analysis
Building and Environment
Method: 3,766 pupils, 153 classrooms, 27 schools.
Finding: Several classroom design characteristics were associated with differences in learning progress.
Limitation: Does not isolate curved versus rectangular geometry.
Rance, Dowell & Tomlin (2023) — The effect of classroom environment on literacy development
npj Science of Learning
Finding: Reading fluency developed faster in enclosed classrooms than in open-plan ones, largely because of noise.
Relevance: Shows that architectural features affect learning, sometimes in unexpected directions.
07. Workplace Design, Productivity and Occupational Stress
Whyte et al. (2025) — Understanding the effects of timber rich workplaces on occupants perceived productivity and health: a pilot study
Scientific Reports
Method: 23 office workers measured before and three months after moving from a concrete office to a timber-rich one; surveys and hair cortisol.
Finding: Reported comfort, well-being and productivity rose. Average hair cortisol fell, but the difference was not statistically significant.
Limitation: Small pilot, no control group, and no manipulation of curvature.
Aristizabal et al. (2021) — Biophilic office design: exploring the impact of a multisensory approach on human well-being
Journal of Environmental Psychology
Method: Eight-week experiment, 37 participants.
Finding: Biophilic conditions were associated with differences in cognitive and stress-related outcomes.
Yin et al. (2019) — Effects of biophilic interventions in office on stress reaction and cognitive function: a randomized crossover study in virtual reality
Indoor Air
Finding: Some biophilic interventions affected physiological stress measures and creativity.
Limitation: Combined elements; the contribution of curvature was not isolated.
Hähn, Essah & Blanuša (2021) — Biophilic design and office planting: a case study of effects on perceived health, well-being and performance metrics in the workplace
Intelligent Buildings International
Finding: Some performance measures improved; several health and well-being measures did not change significantly.
08. Biophilic Design, Natural Materials and Restorative Environments
These studies do not isolate geometry. They are included to keep the effects of plants, wood and light separate from the effects of curvature.
Tsunetsugu, Miyazaki & Sato (2002) — The visual effects of wooden interiors in actual-size living rooms on the autonomic nervous activities
Journal of Physiological Anthropology and Applied Human Science
Fukumoto, Shimoda & Hoshino (2024) — The effects of different designs of indoor biophilic greening on psychological and physiological responses and cognitive performance of office workers
PLOS ONE
Finding: Greenery improved mood, but heart-rate variability was unaffected and task performance did not differ between designs.
Gonçalves, Sousa, Fernandes, Almeida & Sousa (2023) — Restorative effects of biophilic workplace and nature exposure during working time: a systematic review
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Ríos-Rodríguez, Testa Moreno & Moreno-Jiménez (2023) — Nature in the office: a systematic review of nature elements and their effects on worker stress response
Healthcare
Relevance: Lists biomorphic forms among the areas still needing research.
Part III — History, Adaptation and Open Questions
09. Evolution of Architectural Geometry
Steadman (2006) — Why are most buildings rectangular?
arq: Architectural Research Quarterly
Relevance: Examines the practical and organisational reasons for the dominance of rectangular buildings — one of Curvism’s founding questions.
Libecap & Lueck (2011) — The demarcation of land and the role of coordinating property institutions
Journal of Political Economy
Relevance: Explains the economic and institutional advantages of standardised rectangular land division.
Limitation: Not evidence about psychological effects of geometry.
10. Habituation, Repeated Exposure and Neuroplasticity
Chaloner & Cooke (2022) — Multiple mechanistically distinct timescales of neocortical plasticity occur during habituation
Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience
Finding: In mouse visual cortex, habituation to repeated stimuli involves distinct plasticity over seconds, minutes and days.
Limitation: Animal study; not about architecture.
Jefferis et al. (2024) — Sensitization and habituation of hyper-excitation to constant presentation of pattern-glare stimuli
Neurology International
Finding: In 40 participants, people sensitive to striped patterns showed short-term sensitisation and longer-term habituation.
Relevance: A methodological model for studying repeated exposure to visual patterns.
Limitation: Pattern glare cannot be equated with ordinary rectangular rooms.
11. Long-Term Exposure: The Open Question
No controlled longitudinal study has yet shown that years of exposure to rectilinear architecture cause chronic neurological or physiological harm — nor that they do not. Almost all direct contour experiments use photographs or virtual reality for minutes at a time.
Whether repeated exposure leads to adaptation, persistent effects or no meaningful difference remains unanswered. Future studies could compare matched curved and rectilinear environments over several months, measuring:
- cortisol and other appropriate stress indicators;
- heart-rate variability and autonomic responses;
- sleep quality and duration;
- attention, memory and cognitive performance;
- psychological well-being and perceived comfort;
- adaptation to repeated geometric exposure.
These are proposed measurements, not established Curvism findings.
12. Contradictory Evidence, Research Limitations and Future Experiments
Valentine (2024) — The impact of architectural form on physiological stress: a systematic review
Frontiers in Computer Science
Finding: Curvature, enclosure and proportion are the architectural forms so far linked to stress responses, but studies are few, short-term and hard to compare; the effects of chronic exposure remain largely unexplored.
St-Jean, Clark & Jemtrud (2022) — A review of the effects of architectural stimuli on human psychology and physiology
Building and Environment
Azzazy, GhaffarianHoseini, GhaffarianHoseini, Naismith & Doborjeh (2021) — A critical review on the impact of built environment on users’ measured brain activity
Architectural Science Review
Relevance: Warns against over-interpreting brain measurements in built-environment research.
The Central Scientific Question
Research has established that human responses to visual and architectural geometry can differ under certain experimental conditions. The evidence is strongest for visual curvature preference and more variable for neural, emotional, physiological and cognitive outcomes.
Whether these short-term differences become significant long-term effects remains unresolved. Curvism proposes that this question deserves systematic investigation.
The objective is not to prove that nature is always right and architecture is wrong. It is to investigate whether the geometric environments humanity has normalised are also the environments best suited to human perception and experience.
Research integrity statement. This archive includes supportive findings, contradictory findings and indirect evidence, and distinguishes measured outcomes from interpretation and untested hypotheses. All references were checked against publisher records (DOI) in October 2026. The archive will be expanded as further research is reviewed.
CURVISM — INSTEAD OF CUBISM. To Make Known the Unknown.