Are We Designing As We Watch?
The Impact of Short-Form Videos on Architecture and Cognitive Decision-Making
By the Editor-in-Chief – ArchUp
A recent study published in the scientific journal NeuroImage from the Netherlands, by Professor Qiang Wang and his colleagues, revealed concerning findings regarding the impact of short-form video addiction on the human brain. According to the study’s results, individuals addicted to watching rapid videos on platforms like TikTok and Instagram show a clear impairment in their ability to make rational decisions, especially concerning understanding consequences and financial losses. Their brains have become conditioned to only receive instant rewards, at the expense of long-term thinking.
But the deeper question here is:
Have These New Neural Behaviors Infiltrated the World of Architecture and Design?
Design Under the Pressure of Instant Allure
Short-form videos don’t just affect sleep and attention; they create a mental environment that prioritizes speed over depth, and superficiality over substance. In this cognitive climate, the majority no longer read long texts or delve deep into concepts. Instead, everything is expected to be “understood in 10 seconds” — even architecture.
We’ve begun to observe a gradual shift in how architectural projects are consumed, with designs often judged through a short video presentation or a vibrant Instagram image. Design decisions are sometimes not based on understanding the site or context, but on the project’s “virality potential.” Thus, as the researchers in the study indicated, the brain adapted to instant rewards no longer pays sufficient attention to long-term consequences or authentic architectural standards.
From Sustainability to Impulsivity
It wasn’t surprising that this study emerged at a time when we’re witnessing increasing pressure on architects and designers to present their work with a “Reels, not Research” mentality. Even urban planning projects, which demand a comprehensive, decades-long vision, are sometimes condensed into a promotional video no longer than 30 seconds.
And here lies a fundamental problem: true architectural design is built on contemplation, not scrolling; on a long timeline, not a moment of consumption; on field and community study, not just digital interaction.
ArchUp: Writing Slowly, For Collective Memory
At ArchUp, our choice to present written content curated in an encyclopedic style wasn’t arbitrary. We believe that architecture deserves to be documented, not just consumed. We know that the future might belong to fast videos, and that the browser prefers clicks and scrolls. But we see our mission as archivists and documentarians before we are publishers.
We write because we know that much of what is built today might only be understood tomorrow. We write because written — and reliable — content will remain an original link for anyone searching for a designer, a project, an idea, or a material. We write because architecture isn’t just images with hashtags; it’s a human narrative about place, time, and identity.
Should We Condemn Short-Form Videos? No.
The importance of these media in dissemination, education, and experimentation cannot be ignored. But they are tools, and their use must be conscious. We are not attacking them, but rather criticizing our unconscious way of receiving them. The problem isn’t the short video; it’s a mind that has grown accustomed to not waiting for anything longer. A mind that has forgotten that architecture takes years, not minutes, and that a great idea isn’t formed with a flick of a finger.
Between Architecture and Reception: Let’s Slow Down a Little
The world is moving fast. But authenticity doesn’t come from haste. And amidst the clutter of content and the inflation of marketing platforms, the role of neutral platforms — like ArchUp — remains to remind, to document, to converse, and to open a window towards free and independent architectural thought.
We write slowly, not because we are out of time, but because we know this time needs someone to contemplate it consciously.
✦ ArchUp Editorial Insight
This piece captures a cultural moment where watching has become designing — a shift fueled by real-time content, AI prompts, and fast-scroll aesthetics. The question is not only whether we are designing while watching, but what we are failing to see. While the article successfully critiques passive design mimicry, it could have more clearly addressed how this trend distorts authorship and reduces architecture to content.
As we move toward 2030, the architectural field risks being shaped more by algorithms and influencer imagery than by climate data, community need, or material ethics. If visual culture continues to override spatial thinking, architecture may become more ephemeral than sustainable — designed to trend, not to last. The challenge now is to reassert depth, locality, and critical intent within a media-saturated profession that often prefers the viral to the vital.
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