Modulating Visitor Memory Through Architecture: Key Spatial Design Factors in Heritage-Area Museums

Neuroarchitecture examines how the built environment influences human cognition, perception, and behavior. Within this field, neuroaesthetic perspectives emphasize how architectural experiences shape perception, emotion, and memory through interactions with space. However, design concepts explicitly positioning architecture as a mnemonic medium supporting remembering and forgetting in learning environments remain underexplored. Addressing this gap, this article aims to identify architectural design parameters that support memory processes through spatial experience, using Museum Surabaya in the Tunjungan Heritage Area as a case study. Employing a qualitative approach, the study used naturalistic observation, behavior mapping, unstructured questionnaires, and in-depth interviews. All data were analyzed through triangulation and thematic coding. This study identifies architectural design parameters that link spatial qualities, human responses, and contextual characteristics as mechanisms that support learning through memory. The results indicate that attention (haptic and interactive visual contrasts), association (spatial forms evoking personal memories), collectivity (shared signage), repetition (recurring colors/light for nostalgia), and interference (targeted contrasts mitigating overload) influence visitors’ experiences of remembering and forgetting. These findings contribute to architectural discourse by positioning architecture as a mnemonic medium that supports meaningful learning experiences within heritage museum environments.