Who are we?
Venetian Letter was created by Michal Matlon and Natalia Olszewska in 2020 to explore how insights from psychology, neuroscience, and other human sciences could contribute to better architecture and cities.
Over the following five years, we published around seventy interviews, articles, research briefs, and book reviews with people working toward more human-centered environments.
Today, Venetian Letter is preserved as an archive, while we have continued our work independently.
For current work and contact details, visit Michal Matlon‘s or Natalia Olszewska‘s website.
Biographical information and professional affiliations in articles reflect the time of publication
Michal Matlon is an architectural psychologist and space strategist dedicated to creating environments that foster human flourishing and meaningful work, from offices to entire neighborhoods. With experience at a strategic consulting firm in Vienna and one of Europe’s largest office developers, he combines practical expertise with a dedication to advancing the field. He is a passionate public speaker and writer, talking about the importance of building humane environments.
Natalia Olszewska is a Researcher and Practitioner in Neuroscience Applied to Architecture. Being a graduate in medicine (Jagiellonian University & Tor Vergata), neuroscience (Sorbonne Université & ENS), Brain and Mind studies (UCL) and ‘Neuroscience applied to Architectural Design’ (IUAV university) she works between disciplines and creates insights for people-centered environments. At work, she combines her deep care for people and their well-being with her passion for architecture and design. Natalia is a co-founder of IMPRONTA, behavioral science and neuroscience consultancy for architecture.
Why Venetian Letter?
First, because Venice has a rich history of beautiful and human-friendly architecture. It’s a city made to human scale, with pedestrian-friendly urbanism. And second, because its Iuav University of Venice was not only one of the first architecture schools in Italy, but also hosts a unique study program – Neuroscience Applied to Architectural Design. This shows that the tradition of building cities for the people is continued there even today. An otherwise rare sight, which we want to make much more common in the future.