Food for Thought: Architecture of Happiness

the food for thought on November 11th was lead by Dr. Patrick Lucas. he discussed the influences that different buildings have on people. we discussed the differences in architecture that cause these impressions. the discussion revolved mainly on what makes a building happy. when the building is well lit and open, it tends to make a better impression on people than the buildings with close, little rooms and low lighting. more windows the better was another opinion that was agreed on among a lot of the faculty and students present at the session. the outside of the building seems to have to have an impact as well. the buildings that have no color or structure and the yards are left to rot will make the impression that the inside is the same way and that it is a dreary, boring building. as much as we are told not to judge a book by its cover, we do and the buildings with the dreary, boxy structure pay for that assumption.

it was also brought up that people make a building happy. when the structure allows for large groups or easy access, the building has a homier feel. the dormitories for example: they look quite boring and dreary but because they are where the students live, they all have different touches of home added to them. this makes it a nice place to be. of course, a dorm will never be a great as your mama's house but it suffices while we're at school. the dorms are where a lot of our college memories will be made. this is something to keep in mind about all the buildings, sure a lot of the impression is made by the building itself but what the people do with it is what make the impression that matters.