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T hink of the new Brain Performance Institute as your brain on good design. Slated to open this spring in the Dallas Medical District, the Institute, which is part of University of Texas at Dallas, puts into practice much of the fascinating cognitive research and clinical trials going on next door at the Center for BrainHealth, with programs for teens, veterans, executives, athletes, and people with autism, Alzheimer's, and PTSD. And it's all wrapped in a beautiful building that tickles the cerebral cortex. "We intentionally didn't make it look like a health-care institution of any kind," says Hilary Bales-Morales of Page architecture, who worked with lead designer Larry Speck on the building's design. The architects took inspiration from the brain, including the three-story elliptical central space, which pays homage to the oval shape of the brain. The structural exterior sunshade of metal "fins" was inspired by the rhythmic pattern of an EEG strip. The 65,000-square-foot building also includes a first-floor healing garden for meditation and yoga, an imaging suite with two MRI machines, a Warrior lounge for veterans and their families, a virtual-reality lab, and 34 dedicated cognitive training rooms. "One thing [founder and chief director] Dr. Sandi Chapman pushed hard was that it's important to have spaces where your brain can do deep thinking," Bales- Morales says. "The trend with corporations is to tear down walls, put up cubicles, and throw everyone in the middle. But turns out it's actually detrimental to the brain. We need places for quiet thinking with less distraction." The answer was to create zones for different activities, including separate offices for focus, and "crash" areas where people can collaborate. Says Bales-Morales: "I've learned so much about how the brain works, it will definitely make me rethink how I design projects in the future." For more on the Brain Performance Institute, click brainhealth.utdallas.edu. Rebecca Sherman GO MENTAL Brain Performance Institute