Happy by Design: A Guide to Architecture and Mental Wellbeing

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As issues around physical and mental wellbeing become more prominent in the media and wider society, ‘Happy by Design’ offers design advice on creating ‘happier homes’ and has been written to appeal to and be of use to everyone – from architects and property developers to DIY homeowners and students to employers who want to make their workspace ‘happier’ for their staff. 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. He is the Mental Wellbeing Ambassador at the practice, and is an accredited mindfulness practitioner with the Mindfulness Association. Calendar arrived safely in plastic-free packaging - which I've not seen before with a calendar, so kudos for that. This may sound simplistic but designing for people should be the fundamental approach of all architects – as proven by many of the greats from the twentieth century, such as Alvar Aalto and Louis Kahn.

In 2017 Ben co-founded the Architects’ Mental Wellbeing Forum, which is focused on improving mental health within the industry. Alongside my day job, I’m also a qualified mental health first aider and an accredited mindfulness practitioner with the Mindfulness Association, running regular mindfulness sessions at Assael for colleagues.

Offering practical insight and visual inspiration on successful lighting solutions and schemes, this accessible lighting design guide offeris a toolbox of techniques to apply in practice. We spend nearly all of our time inside buildings, but we rarely stop to think about how those buildings affect our physical and mental wellbeing. We currently spend between 80 and 90 per cent of our time inside buildings and over 50 per cent of the world’s population now live in cities. And when it comes to evoking calm and relaxation, lighter shades of blue and green have been associated with these feelings, meaning they’re often put to best use in bedrooms and quieter spaces. Discover a new online audience and watch your business grow, as we help your business to engage through social media and digital marketing.

As Mental Health Ambassador and senior architect at London architectural practice Assael, Channon’s relationship with mental wellbeing in design is both personal and professional. I chose a design flecked with tiny cutout stars, which allow small slivers of light to glint through and scatter pinpoints of sunshine around the room in the morning. 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. To avoid a climate catastrophe and achieve a regenerative built environment, the use of new materials and any excess waste in resources need to be cut out from the very beginning of the design process. Written by one of the UK's leading lighting designers on both commercial and residential projects, it features a variety of real-world projects.

This is often the first piece of advice I give people when they ask what one thing they should do to make their home a better place to spend time in. Happy by Design’ has already been endorsed by some of architecture’s key figures including Grand Designs’ Kevin McCloud who says that “anyone building a house should read this first. I couldn’t recommend anyone else more highly, every silly question was answered (and there were lots of them), it was like working with mind readers who knew things would crop up before they did. This book is just adorable; its topic, its approach, its aim, its size, its editing, its all too good.

This process continued and after a while, I realised that this subject had far wider implications than I’d previously imagined, with the potential to improve the day-to-day lives of people around the world, so, the process of writing Happy by Design began. If budget is an important constraint, decide which spaces will benefit most from the extra daylight they will receive from larger windows. Within architecture – and many other sectors – there’s an almost masochistic approach to studying and work, where all-nighters and skipped breakfasts are seen as rites of passage and signs of commitment.By bidding on, or purchasing this item, you are agreeing to us sharing your name and address details with that 3rd party supplier to allow us to fulfil our contractual obligations to you.