The space should feel calm and inviting.… Before we opened this, I visited a lot of university centres for imagination and labs and that kind of thing, and a lot of people go for this all-white, sleek futuristic feel. It’s all plastic and steel, and I think something really different happens when people are surrounded by natural materials like ston

“must be as ignorable as it is interesting,” he wrote. “An ambience is defined as an atmosphere, or a surrounding influence: a tint.”

Too often, we move through the physical world as if it were a stage set, a mute backdrop for our daily activities. Yet in reality it is alive with opportunities for inspiration, wonder, and joy.

A body of research is emerging that demonstrates a clear link between our surroundings and our mental health.