Maria El Helou is an architect who pioneered Neuroarchitecture in the MENA region in 2011. She specialises in designing environments that respond to both the conscious and the unconscious dimensions of human perception, emotion, and cognition. As founder of the Neurohabitat Architecture and Research Office, famous for her motto “I Build for your Unconscious©”, she has researched human behaviour, health, wellbeing, place/identity, and role in the city through the quantitative measurement of human senses and urban processing and architecture. She implements her findings in projects, addressing the needs of people with PTSD, depression, ADHD, dementia, weight issues, posture issues, fascia stiffness, vagus nerve dysfunction, and various invisible conditions. She is also the founder of the Academy of Neuroscience for Cities, Environments, and Design (ANCED), which delivers education, training, and workshops for audiences of all ages. She has lectured at leading Lebanese, Arab, European, and American universities and organisations, organised the first events on neuroarchitecture in the MENA with the Order of Engineers and Architects in Beirut when she was an administrative member at the Association of Architects, and regularly publishes and reviews in academic and professional journals. She is also the host of The Neuroarchitect podcast on YouTube and Spotify, where she engages international audiences on the intersections of neuroscience, architecture, and wellbeing.