Happy by Design: A Guide to Architecture and Mental Wellbeing

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It reveals how architecture and design can make us happy and support mental health, and explains how poor design can have the opposite effect. He is also an accredited mindfulness practitioner with the Mindfulness Association, and is interested in how buildings can help us to be more mindful and present every day. Remember also that windows higher up a building will receive more daylight than windows on lower floors, as more open sky is visible. If you have the choice between materials, furniture or ornaments that feel either machine or hand-made, opt for the latter.

We are IT literate (although no experience of web design) and initially started to design the site ourselves - it looked ‘very’ average, not as polished as hoped and it wasn’t easy to add features that we wanted ourselves. Whenever we look at development sites, we always look at them in terms of access to local amenities and facilities.It reveals howarchitecture and design can make us happy and support mental health, and explainshow poor design can have the opposite effect. Also known as The Mindful Architect, Channon explains his own motivation for producing the book: “I wanted to create something that was accessible, functional and empowering. The film has tiny silver particles embedded in it, which lend a dazzling luminosity to the light as it filters through.

Having carved out a reputation as an industry expert on this subject, he is now in high demand on panel discussions, podcasts, at major corporations and for university lectures. Podcast appearances: Savills Real Estate Insights Podcast, The Business of Architecture Podcast (coming soon), Bodyshot Performance Podcast, 28Hands ‘Changing Construction As We Know It’ Podcast (coming soon), PropCast. Work in Mind is a global content platform dedicated to making the connection between better, healthier buildings, workplace wellbeing and ESG. As issues around physical and mental wellbeing become more prominent in the media and wider society, ‘Happy by Design’ offers design tips and tricks to everyone from property developers, architects, stay at home parents, university students or the recently retired, and outlines simple ways they can make rooms, homes or offices happier places to be in. I’ve noticed dramatic changes in my mental wellbeing and positivity when I’ve had to live or work in an unpleasant space.When designing buildings, it is therefore extremely important to consider how you can improve both the quantity and quality of daylight, internally and within landscaping. The book has already won favour from some of architecture’s most prominent spokespersons, including TV-star Kevin McCloud of Grand Designs saying that “anyone building a house should read this first. Given that we spend over 80% of our time in buildings, shouldn’t wehave a better understanding of how they make us feel? For such a little amount of money, this window treatment has absolutely transformed the small space, so it’s a great option if you are short on time or funds. I also see this work as being incredibly important for the design of affordable housing, as data, unfortunately, shows that the less well-off someone is, the more likely they are to suffer with mental health issues.

This book is just adorable; its topic, its approach, its aim, its size, its editing, its all too good. Join us in person or online and celebrate the launch of 100 Women with authors and leading industry voices.Most building design prioritises cost efficiencies and overheads, rather than paying attention to the nuances of human experience. There are so many changes we can make to our surroundings – from minor adjustments to those on an urban scale -that will have a palpable effect on our mental wellbeing for the better. Of course, cost, sustainability and award submissions are all important in their own right, but buildings need to serve the human experience and I think it’s very easy now for architects and developers to lose track of that. These systems give our homes a constant supply of clean, fresh air, while removing stale air and nasty pollutants from the atmosphere.

The Forum was borne out of a belief that we as an industry could all improve our understanding of mental health, and subsequently provide better environments for the mental wellbeing of people working in architecture. By taking this straightforward approach, I hope the book will be more accessible to all of us, not simply architects. I can honestly say from start to finish the whole process was seamless, it took just over a month and the end result is amazing! A recent report by Airtopia awarded our Balham development, The Tramyard, an A rating for indoor air quality.In 2017, Ben co-founded the Architects’ Mental Wellbeing Forum, which is focused on improving mental health within the industry. The brief was to refresh my site, they have gone above and beyond and I would have not hesitate to recommend them. Admittedly, most of us can’t be at one with nature all the time, but studies have found that simply being able to view greenery, water or trees from our homes can do us the world of good.