BLOG POST #7

"What we seek, at the deepest level, is inwardly to resemble, rather than physically to possess, the objects and places that touch us through their beauty."

~ Alain de Botton (The Architecture of Happiness)

Happy places and spaces are what help us connect our emotions to  architecture itself. If you follow the rules it allows you to make connections and to create emotions that resonate happiness while being in a specific place or space. 

HAPPY PLACE

"architecture asks us to imagine that happiness might often have an unostentatious, unheroic character to it, that it might be found in a run of old floorboards or in a wash of morning light over a plaster wall - in undramatic, frangible scenes of beauty that move us because we are aware of the darker backdrop against which they are set" 

~ Alain de Botton (The Architecture of Happiness)

 

I chose the fountain behind the EUC for my happy place. The atmosphere is so calming and the scenery is so picturesque. I love this place because of not only the aesthetically pleasing set up of the fountain and the tables and chairs but also because of the sound of the water in the fountain splashing. I love it because of the cold stone or the soft grass that awaken the sense of touch when you are barefoot. Another reason I love this place is because it is right off of the meditation room and the two places sort of play off of each other in the sense that they are both so inviting and beautiful in their arrangements.

HAPPY  SPACE

"The architects who benefit us most maybe those generous enough to lay aside their claims to genius in order to devote themselves to assembling graceful but predominantly unoriginal boxes. Architecture should have the confidence and the kindness to be a little boring."  

~Alain de Botton (The Architecture of Happiness)

I chose the pond near the music building as my happy space because it is so beautiful. The space has this essence about it that is so inviting and so calm and serene. One thing I like about the space is that it is not some new original and creative space. There are ponds all over the world but yet it still has this originality to it. It makes you feel as if it is the only place in the world while you are in the space. The elements such as the rocks or the trees or even the inviting benches help make the space feel happy.

A SPECIAL HAPPY SPACE

"what we call a home is merely any place that succeeds in making more consistently available to us the important truths which the wider world ignores, or which our distracted and irresolute selves have trouble holding onto." ~Alain de Botton (The Architecture of Happiness) 

I decided to include this picture of my dorm room because I feel that is is a very happy space. The colors and the decor create a very welcoming and happy atmosphere. This is one of my happy spaces because I feel the most comfortable in my room. It is my home away from home and it is the room I spend a large amount of my time in. It is a place where I am completely comfortable.