Uploaded July 2018 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
5) Fill in the blanks based on what you listen:
My first job out of school was working in Iran in the mid-70 for the mayor of Tehran, working on projects for the Shah. It was a fascinating time. It was a time of tremendous contract contrast - a 2.500-year-old culture coming _____________ into rapid modernization. But I learned some life-changing lessons when I was there and most importantly what affected the rest of my career was understanding the power of design and the ____________ that it played.
So 500 years ago, Isfahan - the Salafi Dynasty. These folks knew a little bit about how design can deliver powerful and emotional spirit. I will never forget, I can still feel what I felt in my first trip to the Shah's Mosque in Isfahan over 40 years ago.
The Shah at that time built the Ali Qapu Palace and on the top floor, he designed this room. And the ceiling of this room were a series of ________ upon _________. It was like a hundred violins on the ceiling and his belief was, that it could capture the _____________ of music and it would affect the behavior and the thought processes of people in that room to follow. And he did just that. Before he was to use the room to meditate or to meet with special guests he would have musicians play music in that room for hours. They would leave and he'd come in.
But for me it was a lot more than that. It had an impact on my understanding of the role that architecture can play and I believe that someday ‘Quantum Physics’ may actually prove that room works.
Well, science is now playing a big role in what architecture do. We used to stamp plans and now we ___________ ____________ with neuroscientists. Some of the things we've learned have really shaped what we're doing. For example - high ceilings. If you're in a space with high ceiling, your ability to think spatially and conceptually is improved, your cognitive performance in that area goes up. If you'd have a low ceiling your cognitive performance for mathematics will improve.
We used to think _______________ were horrible, now we know they are. They create stress and make you unhealthy and your performance goes down. So a connection to that, is what we've learned about how we early humans lived. We very carefully picked where we chose to live. With this idea of prospect and _____________. And what we mean by that is, you'd pick a spot where you can see what's out there and you can see what's coming. That's prospect and refuge well, a place to hide. And guess what? Cubicles have neither of either of those and they do create stress, they do create low performance and poor health, they do ______________.
And speaking of early humans for over 99% of our time on this planet we've lived outside and when we're in nature - we're home. And that's about this _____ that humans have with nature, plants and animals. So what we've learned is that if you're sitting at your desk and you can see a tree within a hundred feet your cognitive performance goes up and your stress goes down.
This is Massachusetts General Hospital. This is their new hospital in Boston. This is the brain
surgery recovery suite - one of many suites like this. And when you get out of brain surgery, you lie on this bed and you face the nurse's station for the first 24 hours. So the nurse can look you right in the eye, but at 24 hours this bed is 180 degrees and you're looking out on that garden. That garden, a good idea. That garden was an investment in health. It's on the eighth floor of the building, a significant investment in health. And they're seeing the returns because if for the rest of your recovery you're looking at that garden - you will go home sooner, you will go home healthier and the recovery rates and performance of this hospital goes up.
5) Fill in the blanks based on what you listen:
My first job out of school was working in Iran in the mid-70 for the mayor of Tehran, working on projects for the Shah. It was a fascinating time. It was a time of tremendous contract contrast - a 2.500-year-old culture coming _____________ into rapid modernization. But I learned some life-changing lessons when I was there and most importantly what affected the rest of my career was understanding the power of design and the ____________ that it played.
So 500 years ago, Isfahan - the Salafi Dynasty. These folks knew a little bit about how design can deliver powerful and emotional spirit. I will never forget, I can still feel what I felt in my first trip to the Shah's Mosque in Isfahan over 40 years ago.
The Shah at that time built the Ali Qapu Palace and on the top floor, he designed this room. And the ceiling of this room were a series of ________ upon _________. It was like a hundred violins on the ceiling and his belief was, that it could capture the _____________ of music and it would affect the behavior and the thought processes of people in that room to follow. And he did just that. Before he was to use the room to meditate or to meet with special guests he would have musicians play music in that room for hours. They would leave and he'd come in.
But for me it was a lot more than that. It had an impact on my understanding of the role that architecture can play and I believe that someday ‘Quantum Physics’ may actually prove that room works.
Well, science is now playing a big role in what architecture do. We used to stamp plans and now we ___________ ____________ with neuroscientists. Some of the things we've learned have really shaped what we're doing. For example - high ceilings. If you're in a space with high ceiling, your ability to think spatially and conceptually is improved, your cognitive performance in that area goes up. If you'd have a low ceiling your cognitive performance for mathematics will improve.
We used to think _______________ were horrible, now we know they are. They create stress and make you unhealthy and your performance goes down. So a connection to that, is what we've learned about how we early humans lived. We very carefully picked where we chose to live. With this idea of prospect and _____________. And what we mean by that is, you'd pick a spot where you can see what's out there and you can see what's coming. That's prospect and refuge well, a place to hide. And guess what? Cubicles have neither of either of those and they do create stress, they do create low performance and poor health, they do ______________.
And speaking of early humans for over 99% of our time on this planet we've lived outside and when we're in nature - we're home. And that's about this _____ that humans have with nature, plants and animals. So what we've learned is that if you're sitting at your desk and you can see a tree within a hundred feet your cognitive performance goes up and your stress goes down.
This is Massachusetts General Hospital. This is their new hospital in Boston. This is the brain
surgery recovery suite - one of many suites like this. And when you get out of brain surgery, you lie on this bed and you face the nurse's station for the first 24 hours. So the nurse can look you right in the eye, but at 24 hours this bed is 180 degrees and you're looking out on that garden. That garden, a good idea. That garden was an investment in health. It's on the eighth floor of the building, a significant investment in health. And they're seeing the returns because if for the rest of your recovery you're looking at that garden - you will go home sooner, you will go home healthier and the recovery rates and performance of this hospital goes up.
