The Architecture of Happiness

 Anyone who knows me well knows that I have a love of architecture; however few know what drives that love. To me architecture has always been one of the foundations of life, or at the very least a way to interpret life. Through symbols in stone, grandeur of height, or reverence that encompass a structure I have found solace in my life. I believe that what Alain de Botton in his book The Architecture of Happiness is explaining, and expounding on the affection for architecture.

    As I mature in my study of architecture I am beginning to better understand that difference in and relationship of public and private space. As a child I imagined large and ornate homes for me and my family to live in, however as I better understand just what it takes to make a house a home I relish in Botton’s discussion of Le Corbusier.  That truly great architecture is “motivated by the quest for efficiency”, that home need not be overly decorated or ornate, rather frugal, clean, disciplined and aesthetically pleasing.  I believe that not all homes need be of the Bauhaus or Modern movements to fit Le Corbusier’s thought process of what a home should be.