Webinar synopsis: Architecture and urban development do not emerge in a vacuum. While architects are increasingly trained to consider human perception, embodiment, and behavior in their designs, the reality is that what gets built, who it serves, and how it looks are dictated by forces outside of architecture itself. Real estate developers, public institutions, and planners - those who finance, approve, and execute projects - operate within a system where capital, rather than human or ecological needs, is the primary driver.

Speaker Bio: Sophie Schuller, PhD researcher, Educator and Built Environmental Advisor, will examine the systemic misalignment between architectural ambition and development realities, questioning why insights from neuroscience, psychology, and human experience - now central to architectural discourse - remain absent from real estate decision-making. She will explore how capital markets, valuation systems, and financial mechanisms shape what gets built and how, and what steps can be taken to shift these paradigms.

The presentation of the film What Design Can Do will take place during the first lecture of the Executive Course in Neuroscience and Design 2025.

Sarah Williams Goldhagen, Sarah Robinson, and Davide Ruzzon will host a viewing and conversation about the film. The event is open to all, whether you are a POLI.design student or not, and will be held at Bovisa Campus in Milan, Room B2 0.1, on February 21st at 2:00 PM (CET).