The RESONANCES project crafted ATLAS, a dATabase of visuaL Atmospheric Stimuli. It collects a series of spatial patterns born from a systematic selection of generators of atmosphere. Generators of atmosphere are architectural features designed to afford atmospheric effects (such as lights, colors, materials, and proportions) and we applied them to elementary corridors, the background environments par excellence.

We need affect-based stimuli specifically conceived to investigate architectural spaces. The reference is the International Affective Picture System (IAPS), a set of photos validated as consistently eliciting a precise emotional response (self-rated upon arousal, valence, and dominance). Within the interdisciplinary field of neuroarchitecture, similar databases are rare, and methodologies differ.

The ATLAS validation process foresees multiple steps:

1. a workshop of 5th-year students trained in Atmospheric Design and Phenomenography produced 66 case studies, grown from a shared baseline and altered according to 13 generators;

2. as experts, we rated the spaces in terms of arousal and valence (the two dimensions of core affect);

3. through an online survey, which involved 365 participants, we tested our hypotheses. We simulated dynamic engagement with space by editing 12-second videos of first-person-view trajectories;

4. we dimensioned our 3D environments to use them in virtual reality protocols, incorporating wireless gear, eye-tracking technology, and physiological sensors. The validation process is moving on to this stage.