The Emotional Atmospheres ATLAS: A Database of Architectural Experiences Surveyed through Arousal and Valence

In designing (neuro)physiological signal-based protocols aimed at detecting and measuring atmospheric emotions, we need normative affect-based stimuli specifically conceived to analyze architectural settings. 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. We crafted ATLAS, a dATabase of visuaL Atmospheric Stimuli: namely, 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 (e.g., lights, colors, materials, and proportions).