What if beauty made you happy
Photo credit: @saarmanche
The beautiful. If it is considered subject of superficiality for some, it is quite the opposite for me.
By beauty, I don't mean “aesthetic standards” and even less “perfection”. For me, beauty is above all surrounding. It is a sensory experience that involves light, heat, colors, shapes, movement. In short, everything that can exalt our feelings.
It's simple: beauty makes me feel good. Come to think of it, I look for it everywhere, often without it being conscious. At the library, for example, I always sit in that corner surrounded by plants, near the window. In the afternoon, the sun comes to warm a very specific plot of this little corner. I then find myself half shade / half light to dive into my reading. Happiness.
My point is that psychology and architecture don't go together. That's why you probably don't go to places you don't like. It's human nature to prefer inviting places.
This is also the conviction of the architect Pierre Thibault and the journalist François Cardinal who, together, published the essay “And if beauty made people happy” . They present five places where beauty and happiness come together and nourish each other.
They discuss in particular the splendid Copenhagen, which sits on the list of the happiest cities in the world. The Danish capital is indeed sensitive to the impact of urban development on the quality of life of its citizens. In its development, the criterion of beauty is treated on the same footing as technical and financial considerations.
Like the authors, I also plead in favor of more beauty in Quebec public spaces. Because, without this being a miracle solution, it cannot be denied that beauty and well-being go very well together.
And if the beauty of the places brings out the beauty of the inhabitants, it is because we can be different people in different places. So let's build human cities, able to inspire the best of ourselves ☺
Of course, on a smaller scale, we also have an emotional connection with our home. So if you want to be the architect of your happiness, you can start at home by creating a place of comfort!