Methologica captures the impact of design on human behaviour, experience, interactions and well being.

By understanding how people use and engage in certain spaces, how the design of those spaces makes them feel, how the design influences behaviour, interactions and the resulting outcomes, we can identify what drives people to one space and/or design elements over others and reveal what is and is not working in the design, for whom and in what context.

Our insight offers the opportunity to refine and validate design theories, enhance user experience, and optimize the design of the built environment to achieve the most desirable outcomes at the individual, group, and community levels.

Each Methologica team is assembled to match the specific needs of the project.

Methologica was founded by Dr. Celeste Alvaro. Celeste is an experimental environmental social psychologist whose research is focused on assessing how the design of the built environment impacts human behavior, social interaction and wellbeing.

Celeste studies how architecture and the design of the built environment affects behavior, social interaction and wellbeing. She provides research expertise on architecture teams, leads the evaluation of capital redevelopment projects, creates/executes bespoke research, engages architects, designers, government, private sector, hospital leadership and brings with her an animated cadre of field researchers. Driven by curiosity, vibrant cities and neighbourhoods you will find Celeste where life happens.

Celeste has held academic appointments in the Departments of Psychology and Marketing at Simon Fraser University, the Atlantic Health Promotion Research Centre and Faculty of Health Professions at Dalhousie University, Capital Health in Halifax Nova Scotia, and the Department of Architectural Science at Ryerson University. As a recipient of design research awards, invited speaker, conference presenter and author of publications in leading peer review journals and consultant on interdisciplinary architecture and design teams, Celeste’s creative approach to collaboration and research has been recognized locally, nationally and internationally.

By introducing a creative twist to established research methods, Methologica is able to measure and assess aspects of design that were previously considered too abstract for evaluation.

We have expertise in quantitative, qualitative and mixed method approaches to research design. The techniques applied by Methologica capture the user experience and can be implemented at any stage of the design process including early visioning sessions, mock ups, simulations and carried forward to post occupancy and beyond, including interventions specifically designed to remedy underperforming areas and recommendations on how to further enhance high performance spaces.

The Methologica approach also recognizes the importance for dynamism and flexibility by offering customization and being able to scale and tailor the projects to specific needs.

Check out our Field Guide page for engagement, design research and evaluation, design development and additional insight and service offerings.

Methologica collaborates with architects, designers and stakeholders in a variety of settings.

Methologica is uniquely equipped to evaluate healthcare facilities, hotels and resorts, airports, offices and workspaces, sports and performance venues, urban design and retail commercial spaces. A customized and scalable research plan can be created to evaluate any of these settings both before and after redevelopment.

An implementation action plan, specifically tailored to remedy underperforming areas and services can be created to respond to any observed and evaluated setting.