Fiona Zisch

Fiona Zisch serves as Associate Professor at The Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London (UCL), holding key roles including Programme Director for the MArch Design for Performance and Interaction and Co-Chair of the UK chapter of the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture (ANFA). She directs the International Centre for NeuroArchitecture and NeuroDesign and leads research at UCL's BodyLab. Her academic trajectory spans positions at the University of Innsbruck, University of Greenwich, University of Westminster, and University of Plymouth.

Her educational foundation includes a Dipl. Ing. in Architecture (BSc/MSc equivalent) from the University of Innsbruck and Lunds Tekniska Hogskola, followed by a PhD from UCL's Bartlett School of Architecture and Institute of Behavioural Neuroscience.

Zisch's transdisciplinary research explores cognitive ecologies through the integration of architecture, cognitive neuroscience, experimental psychology, philosophy of mind, critical theory, and cyberfeminism. Central to her work is the concept of wickedness and wicked thresholds—dynamic spaces of transformation where discovery emerges through reciprocity between neural spatial construction, architectural design concepts, and experiential qualities. Her investigations into embodied cognition examine how movement and bodily presence shape architectural experience, informed by her background in dance and collaborations with choreographers across spatial and temporal scales.

Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals a dominant interdisciplinary trajectory merging architectural design with neuroscience. Key trends include neural mechanisms of spatial aesthetics, comparative studies of real/virtual environments, and the application of neuroarchitecture to equitable design. Her work consistently addresses spatial memory distortions, embodied navigation, and affective responses to built environments, while expanding into exhibition-based explorations of care ethics, disruption, and societal transformation through art-technology collaborations.

Zisch supervises PhD candidates in UCL's Architectural Design MPhil/PhD programme and cross-departmental students in Neurology and Behavioural Neuroscience. Her teaching emphasizes 5EA cognition (extending 4EA models to incorporate Entanglement) and atmospheric design within performance-oriented architectural education. She actively contributes to international academic discourse through lectures, workshops, and external examination roles.

She leads the BodyLab at UCL Here East, a transdisciplinary research space investigating the intersection of architectural design, neuroscience, and movement studies. The lab fosters collaborations with neuroscientists, choreographers, and technologists to develop experimental frameworks for understanding embodied spatial cognition through both physical and virtual environments.