Hardcover, 288 pages
English language
Published Sept. 14, 2006 by McClelland & Stewart.
One of the great but often unmentioned causes of both happiness and misery is the quality of our environment: the kinds of walls, chairs, buildings and streets that surround us.And yet a concern for architecture and design is too often described as frivolous, even self-indulgent. The Architecture of Happiness starts from the idea that where we are heavily influences who we can be, and it argues that it is architecture's task to stand as an eloquent reminder of our full potential.Whereas many architects are wary of openly discussing the word beauty, this book has at its center the large and naive question: What is a beautiful building? It is a tour through the philosophy and psychology of architecture that aims to change the way we think about our homes, our streets and ourselves.From the Hardcover edition.
[The inspiration for the TV series: THE PERFECT HOME.]
This reads as a hodge-podge clipping book of Alain's thoughts on architecture. There's an almost-synthesis that starts sounding like architecture should be designed to compensate for people's neuroses, but it fell short of a complete theory. I think there are some gems here, but they need to be polished into a coherent whole.
Simply pleasant, short meditations on how architecture reflects and informs human lives and ideals. Nothing outstanding, the sort of book you hope to find on the shelf at a B&B, relax with happily, and not mind if you aren't finished when you leave.
