How do our homes shape the way we think, feel, and connect? Bridging psychology and architecture, this presentation introduces the Healing Boundary (HB) - a novel interdisciplinary framework emphasizing that the influence of the home on residents’ health and well-being extends beyond its interior spaces to encompass the quality of indoor–outdoor connectivity. At a time when many people struggle with feelings of isolation within their homes, particularly in multi-unit housing, the HB concept highlights how architectural interfaces can mediate residents’ interactions with nature, social life, and the surrounding environment. HB captures both the physical and perceptual boundaries that shape how we restore attention, regulate emotion, and feel a sense of belonging. Drawing on environmental psychology, architecture, and public health, the talk reveals how home boundaries influence neural and behavioural processes, from sensory stimuli and spatial comfort to stress recovery and emotional co-regulation. The presentation outlines high-level design principles through which HB can support these mechanisms and positions it as a systemic framework that informs future directions in housing research and design. Finally, it discusses pathways for integrating HB into housing policy and cultural contexts, positioning the home as a neuro-social ecosystem that links architecture, neuroscience, and behavioural science. Together, these insights advance a transdisciplinary approach to healthy architecture - one that literally bridges the mind, the brain, and the society we inhabit.

Sepideh Masoudinejad holds a Ph.D. in Architecture with a specialization in Environmental Psychology. She is currently a Research Officer at the National Research Council Canada (NRC), Construction Research Centre, where she works with the Human-Building Interaction team. Dr. Masoudinejad has extensive academic and research experience across Canadian and international institutions, complemented by professional practice through her own design studio, which has received multiple design awards. Her primary research focus is on residential psychology - an emerging interdisciplinary field, for which she recently co-edited a special issue in the Journal of Environmental Psychology.