Architect-in-Residence
Advancing the intersection of architecture, neuroscience, and human wellbeing
The International Arts + Mind Lab (IAM Lab) at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine has appointed internationally recognized architect Michael P. Murphy as its inaugural Architect-in-Residence Visiting Scholar.
Established through the IAM Lab’s Intentional Spaces Initiative, this new residency represents a significant opportunity to bring together leading voices from around the world across architecture, neuroscience, medicine, the arts, and technology to explore how the design of spaces shapes human health, wellbeing, and experience.
Launching the Architect-in-Residence program continues to establish the IAM Lab and JHU as a global hub for neuroarts and for human-centered or neurospatial design. By bridging the spatial sciences and the spatial arts, the residency aims to advance a new model of interdisciplinary collaboration, recognizing the built environment not simply as a backdrop to human experience, but as a powerful influence on how we heal, learn, and live.
Advancing Research and Practice
Working with Johns Hopkins faculty, clinicians, researchers, students, and community partners, Murphy will help advance conversations and collaborations exploring the relationship between the built environment and human experience.
Central to this effort will be the creation of interdisciplinary forums that bring together architects, neuroscientists, designers, the business community, healthcare leaders, and community stakeholders. This will include a series of salon-style conversations with national leaders around trauma-informed design, brain-machine hardware and software, and new criteria for measurement and evaluation in pilot projects being led by JHU faculty.
Activities will include:
- Interdisciplinary forums and public lectures bringing together leaders in architecture, neuroscience, healthcare, design, and related fields.
- Exploration of emerging ideas and research, including trauma-informed design, technology, and approaches to measuring the impact of built environments.
- Opportunities for practical application of neurospatial design principles in clinical, academic, and community settings.
These activities aim to strengthen connections between research and practice and foster new approaches to designing environments that support human wellbeing.
About Michael Murphy
Michael P. Murphy is the founder of AMMA, a design and development collaborative focused on how space shapes our minds, bodies, and communities. His practice rethinks the role of the architect and value of design by acting as systems artists for governments, institutions, non-profits, and developers who believe spatial change is possible and urgent.
Previously, he was the lead founder and CEO of MASS Design Group, where he led projects including the Butaro District Hospital in Rwanda, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, and the Gun Violence Memorial Project. His work has received numerous honors, including recognition as Architecture Innovator of the Year by The Wall Street Journal.
Murphy is also the author of Our World in Ten Buildings, which explores how architecture reflects and shapes the values and histories of societies.
Events & Conversations
How Architecture Transforms Us
October 7, 2026 | Johns Hopkins University
Michael Murphy’s inaugural public lecture explored the relationship between architecture and human experience and the potential for design to shape healthier environments. It was part of a series of events honoring the Johns Hopkins University Sesquecentennial that are supported, in part, by an Envisioning the Future award.
Additional events, conversations, and resources will be featured as the residency progresses.
The Architect-in-Residence appointment is part of the Intentional Spaces Initiative and is supported in part by the Pedersen Foundation.