About Mu.S.Ex.: architecture meets psychology
Mu.S.Ex. is a think tank where architecture meets psychology. We study how the spaces around us shape the way we think and feel. That study is called Project E, and architects, psychologists and planners have helped build it. We use what we learn to design spaces, to teach, and to write: through the Design Dialogues podcast and our Person-Place essays. We also bring the same thinking into everyday homes, through Zuiora.
Our Foundation
Mu.S.Ex. began when Nikita started working as an architect and noticed something missing. Spaces were being designed for budgets and schedules, but hardly anyone was asking how people feel in them. So she set out to build a place to gather the theories and look closely at how people and places affect each other. The hope is simple: that the world gets designed with more empathy for the person who will live in it.
Our Ideology
['We believe architecture and psychology belong together. Spaces change how we feel and behave, and the smallest details of a room can shape an experience. Mu.S.Ex. is an open place for designers, researchers, academics and curious people everywhere to explore that idea.', 'Today a lot of life happens on screens, in virtual and augmented worlds, and physical space can start to feel less important. We think it matters more, not less, and we look beyond buildings and objects to the experience itself.']
Our Opportunity
We spend most of our lives surrounded by nature or by something built. Like a wind-up toy car, Mu.S.Ex. pulls back to the roots of architecture and its long, quiet link with psychology, then lets go, so that architecture rolls forward into its next chapter: conscious design. Alongside the research framework, we want to put these ideas to work and help architecture become a more human-centred discipline.
Our Vision
Architecture and psychology have shaped each other for centuries. At Mu.S.Ex. we look at the person-place relationship across times, cultures and settings, and we test our insights against the theories and designs of the pioneers. Our vision is to see Environmental Psychology grow into a branch of its own, so the next generations grow up in inclusive, conscious environments.
Our Founder: Nikita Sheth
Founder, Mu.S.Ex. · Lead Contributor · Bachelor of Architecture, Mumbai University
Nikita has been drawn to psychology since she was young, and she kept that curiosity alive while she studied architecture. By her second year she could see how closely the two are linked. Her Bachelor of Architecture dissertation took three years: a proposal for a research centre for “rehabilitation of the human mind, using architecture as the only medium, through an interaction between the audience and the environment.”
Questions
Who founded Mu.S.Ex., and why?
Nikita Sheth founded it. Early in her professional life she noticed that spatial design lacked an understanding of human behaviour and emotion, so she set out to build a platform for the Person-Place Relationship.
What is Mu.S.Ex.?
Musing Spatial Experiences is a think tank at the intersection of architecture and psychology. Its work runs in three strands: Research, Design and Pedagogy.
How can I get in touch?
Use the Reach out circle floating in the sky. It opens your email app, addressed to us.
What is Project E?
A multi-decade study of architectural psychology, in three phases: Theorising, Analysing and Experimenting. It is divided into twelve research areas.
Who carries the research?
Each area is credited to its contributors, with their own pages and links. Nikita Sheth leads the project.
Can I read the full studies?
Each area has a page with its focus, aims, contributors and keywords. Press the button on its card to open it.
Can I contribute?
Mu.S.Ex. is a platform for designers, researchers, academics and anyone interested in these fields. Write to us through the Reach out circle.
What are these essays about?
The relationship a person builds with a space over time, and how design leaves its mark on people and people on their spaces.
Who writes them?
Each essay carries its author's name and date at the top.
Can I write for Mu.S.Ex.?
Write to us through the Reach out circle to begin the conversation.
What does Mu.S.Ex. design?
Mu.S.Ex. is a think tank and design firm that creates nature-inspired spaces using sustainable materials such as wood, stone and metal, from resorts to sound studios.
Where can I see the work?
In the project cards along this corridor. Open a card to see its pictures and hear the story of the project.
How do I start a project?
Write to us through the Reach out circle and tell us about the space.
What is Design Dialogues?
A podcast series for younger generations to watch and understand what architecture is about, with seven long conversations and fourteen stories drawn from them.
Who is it for?
Anyone planning a career in architecture, or already studying or practising it.
Where can I watch or listen?
The episodes play right here in their cards, and everything is also on YouTube. The series can also be found on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
What is Zuiora?
Zuiora is a Mu.S.Ex. brand: Homes with Empathy. It brings mindful, psychologically informed design to everyday homes.
Who is Lucy?
Lucy is Zuiora's design partner. She helps you make decisions about light, colour, layout and texture that support the way you actually live. Design with Lucy is live now and free.
What else is coming?
A Zuiora Concierge for upkeep, a Marketplace of skilled trades and trusted materials, and Complete Project Management are all marked as coming soon.
Where do I start?
At zuiora.com, using the button on the card.
Who this is for
Researchers and academics
If you study how architecture and the built environment shape perception, behaviour, emotion and wellbeing, start with Project E, our twelve research areas in architectural and environmental psychology, and our essays on place memory, inhabiting, neurodiversity and sustainability.
Clients: homes, workplaces and hospitality
If you want a home, office, shop or resort that supports how people feel, see our design projects, such as a farm resort at the Corbett Tiger Reserve, a Goa guest room and a Pune office. For homes designed around you, see Zuiora, our brand for homes with empathy.
Students and young architects
If you are choosing or studying architecture, Design Dialogues is our architecture podcast and video series on careers and education in India, from the field of study to sustainability, vernacular architecture, interiors and product design.
The people behind it
Mu.S.Ex. was founded by Nikita Sheth, architect and neuro-designer, who spoke on biophilic design and AI at the Living Future Europe Biophilia Summit 2026.