Author(s): Alain De Botton

AUDIO

One of the great, but often unmentioned, causes of both happiness and misery is the quality of our environment: the kind of walls, chairs, buildings and streets we're surrounded by. And yet a concern for architecture and design is too often described as frivolous, even self-indulgent. The Architecture of Happiness starts from the idea that where we are heavily influences who we can be - and argues that it is architecture's task to stand as an eloquent reminder of our full potential. By asking the large and naive question, 'What is a beautiful building?', Alain de Botton aims to change the way we think about our homes, streets and ourselves.