Neurological Evaluation of the Emotional and Social Interaction of Visitors in the in-between Spaces of the Museum of the Islamic Revolution and Holy Defense

Interstitial spaces are spheres in-between and borderlines, which join two main functions in the buildings, and therefore play a great role in the mutual communication of humans and place. Liminality and alterity as two applicable terms derived from anthropology and sociology are applied in this research, to describe the characters of a place in- between in the body of the museums. Upon this interdisciplinary approach, the levels of social and emotional interaction were analyzed. The main question is: “Which geometrical attribution in liminal spaces of the museums can enhance the social and emotional interaction in the visitors?” To answer the question, Behavioral neuroscience was used as a methodology to observe the behaviors, and body language was employed as an analytical standard. The museum of The Holy defense in Tehran was taken as the case study. Five exhibition halls as in-between joints with the Participation of random visitors were selected for observation and analysis via ObserverX10 software. Finally, it was obtained that “plaster relief wall” and the “brick passage", had the highest level of emotional interaction, yet, the “brick passage” and the “glass floor” reported the highest level of social engagement. The asymmetric, non-Euclidean, nonlinear, unconnected geometry and Complex polygons are the best selections for using in designing of the in-between spaces of the museums due to the incensement they cause in the activity of the brain. The results of this research can be retrieved as a guideline for designing the boundaries and liminal spaces in future museums.