A neuro-architectural approach to emotional attachment evaluation with multimodal data: VR-empowered study of Beijing Langyuan Station's industrial heritage renewal

The renewal of urban industrial heritage in the era of people-oriented urban regeneration necessitates a deeper understanding of how spatial elements foster people’s emotional attachment to specific spaces. This study explores the impact of natural, artificial, and interactive environmental features on people's emotional responses within Beijing Langyuan Station, a welcomed renewed industrial heritage site. A multimodal neuro-architectural methodology was employed in an immersive virtual reality environment, synchronously recording behavioral, physiological, and neural data from fifty-two participants alongside emotional attachment scales. Results indicate that artificial elements (e.g. brick, glass, metal) most strongly facilitated emotional attachment, eliciting rapid visual engagement, elevated autonomic arousal, and increased cognitive alertness. Interactive elements, such as public artworks and graphic signs, promoted attachment through intuitive recognizability and experiential richness. Natural elements, though less directly tied to attachment, served essential regulatory functions by mitigating industrial rigidity and supporting spatial identity. The study demonstrates the value of neuroscientific tools in decoding human emotional experience in architectural environments. It provides an evidence-based framework for designing affectively engaging spaces and offers methodological insights for future neuro-architectural research in urban regeneration contexts.