Marcel J. Harmon

Marcel J. Harmon, a licensed professional engineer and anthropologist, received his Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of New Mexico. He currently co-leads the Research & Development team at BranchPattern, a building consultancy dedicated to improving life through better built environments. The primary mission of the team is to provide a research/evidence-based approach for aligning design intent with occupant and organizational needs. Over the years Marcel’s academic and professional focus have included applications of evolutionary theory to understanding past and contemporary societies and the reciprocal relationships between people and their built environments. In his current role, Marcel leads research projects designed to provide insights relative to specific client questions. He engages building occupants, gathering their stories and personal narratives, to ensure that projects better account for occupant’s wants and needs. He also quantifies the built environment’s impact on occupant productivity/performance and health, as well as the occupant’s impact on building performance. Marcel uses this understanding to inform on the process from early programming through post occupancy evaluations, and encourage longer term, prosocial decision making during the design/construction process.

 

Recent Posts

September 10, 2019 in Biology, Culture, Race

Blurring the Line Between “Others” – A Practical Application of Cultural Multilevel Selection Theory

Through a cultural multilevel selection perspective, seeing an individual “other” as human can shift the level of selection from within subgroups at a lower level to between groups at a…
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April 4, 2019 in Biology, Health, Technology

The Potential Evolutionary Mismatches of Germicidal Ambient Lighting

Introducing germicidal blue light essentially creates a new environment that most bacteria appear to be mismatched to survive within. But we may be mismatched as well.
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September 12, 2018 in Engineering, Environment, Special Publication

Constructing Our Niches: The Application of Evolutionary Theory to the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) Industry

The architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry has the ability to mindfully orchestrate the direction our built environments push us with regards to climate change, occupant wellbeing, and the evolution…
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