{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T17:44:56Z","timestamp":1788975896628,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":53,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,13]],"date-time":"2026-02-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1770940800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000155","name":"Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["435-2023-0015"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["435-2023-0015"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000155","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100010842","name":"Temple University","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100010842","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>This paper presents a multi-stage framework that integrates architectural design logic with empirical testing across representational scales. This exploratory, practice-driven research paradigm seeks to bridge disciplinary divides between (1) empirical rigor and situated experience, (2) visual abstraction and embodied spatial engagement, and (3) neuroscientific measurement and architectural meaning. Through a systematic reassessment of dominant methodological assumptions in current neuroaesthetics and neuroarchitectural studies, with curvature serving as a test case, the paper develops a three-phase experimental approach comprising image-based evaluation (Phase 1), object-based interaction (Phase 2), and full-scale immersive experience (Phase 3), supported by a stimulus-generation pipeline rooted in spatial logic and architectural composition. The paper details the design rationale and implementation of stimuli across all phases. Findings from Phase 1 are briefly presented to (i) illustrate the framework's capacity to generate perceptually distinct stimuli and reveal recurring evaluative patterns, including foreground-sensitive preferences for curvature under controlled figure\u2013ground manipulations; and (ii) inform the methodological calibration and design logic of subsequent Phase 2 and Phase 3 investigations, which are currently ongoing and are presented in terms of methodological structure and exploratory potential. Rather than treating the architectural environment as a passive object of evaluation, the framework positions it as a generator of perceptual, affective, and behavioral data within an iterative research process. Scalable and adaptable, this approach supports collaborative investigations across multiple contexts and offers a pathway for advancing neuroarchitectural research and progressively increasing ecological validity. Several key terms are employed in their architectural sense to support cross-disciplinary dialogue.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1666480","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,13]],"date-time":"2026-02-13T05:22:40Z","timestamp":1770960160000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["A design-integrated framework for neuroarchitectural research"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Na","family":"Wei","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University","place":["Philadelphia, PA, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Erick Gustavo","family":"Chuquichambi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, University of the Balearic Islands","place":["Palma de Mallorca, Spain"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Claudia","family":"Damiano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, University of Toronto","place":["Toronto, ON, Canada"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Keaton","family":"Bruce","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University","place":["Philadelphia, PA, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dirk B.","family":"Walther","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, University of Toronto","place":["Toronto, ON, Canada"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","volume-title":"A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction.","author":"Alexander","year":"1977"},{"key":"B2","volume-title":"The poetics of space (M. 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