Most of us think the biggest decision about a room is whether it's functional. Leidy Klotz thinks that's the wrong question, and the right one changes how a desk, a kitchen, or an entire return-to-office policy actually lands on the person living inside it.

Leidy Klotz is a behavioral scientist and engineering professor at the University of Virginia who studies how and why humans design. His research has appeared in Nature and Science, and he's been interviewed everywhere from Hidden Brain to Freakonomics to The Atlantic. Before any of that, he spent 22 years as a professional soccer player and then built schools for a living, which is part of why his take on space is so physical and so lived-in.

In this conversation, you'll explore:

The three psychological needs that every space either feeds or starves, and why they trace straight back to hunter-gatherer survival
Why Susan Cain's open-office backlash and today's return-to-office mandates are the same failure wearing different clothes
The strange, well-documented phenomenon of "habituation," including the story of an architecture student who walked past a six-story landmark building for years without ever seeing it
A simple practice called "space before screen," and why the top of a parking garage might be the cheapest awe you'll ever find
What it means to build a space that keeps someone's memory alive, drawn from one of the most personal stories Leidy has ever told on a podcast

If you've ever felt something shift the moment you walked into a certain room and couldn't say why, this conversation gives you the language for it.

You can find Leidy at: Website | LinkedIn | Episode Transcript

Next week, we're sitting down with Chris Guillebeau to talk about why the anxious feeling that you're running out of time might be less about your calendar and more about a story you've never questioned. Be sure to follow Good Life Project wherever you get your podcasts so you don't miss any upcoming episodes!

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The 3 Things Every Room You Live In Must Have to Be Okay | Leidy Klotz

Good Life Project

The 3 Things Every Room You Live In Must Have to Be Okay | Leidy Klotz