The Architecture of Happiness

So in my quest for understanding the bigger picture which I would like my thesis to explore... I have been skimming through a book that I've read in the past that I love.  It's called The Architecture of Happiness by Alain de Botton.  A brief description of the book....

"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."

That is the synopsis from the book's cover.

A quote I have been puzzling over is, "We seem divided between an urge to override our senses and numb ourselves to our settings and a contradictory impulse to acknowledge the extent to which our identities are indelibly connected to, and will shift along with, our locations."

And also...."Belief in the significance of architecture is premised on the notion that we are, for better or for worse, different people in different places - and on the conviction that it is architecture's task to render vivid to us who we might ideally be."

I have the book in my studio if anyone wants to browse through it.  See y'all tomorrow in class.